Grant Miner, a Jewish student and president of the Student Workers of Columbia-United Auto Workers, said Columbia University "expelled and fired" him, accusing the Ivy League institution of "caving" to US President Donald Trump's demands.
Miner, a Ph.D. student in the Department of English and Comparative Literature, took to X on Monday to narrate the "real story" behind his expulsion from the university.
"Thousands of students across the country have been exercising our First Amendment rights to oppose genocide. Standing against genocide is not just a moral imperative — it is an act of anti-racism and solidarity. Columbia’s response? Expulsions, suspensions, and retaliation," he wrote on the social media platform.
Accusing the US administration of "trying to silence us with fear," he said the administration believes that the student movement for Palestine is anti-Semitic and violent while slamming Department of Justice "for sending officers to crack down on universities, kidnapped Mahmoud Khalil and other students."
A far-right Zionist group, which took credit for Khalil’s arrest, claims to have submitted "thousands of names" for similar actions.
Miner said, as a Jew, he knows what’s it like to go through genocide, referring to Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza where Israel has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians, majority of them women and minors, wounded over 110,000 and uprooted almost entire population of the besieged Palestinian territory which now faces permanent expulsion.
"I am Jewish, I work in Jewish studies, and I am not alone in opposing the ongoing genocide. The Jewish people know what genocide is. That's why so many of us, alongside people of all backgrounds, are standing up against what’s happening in Palestine."
He added: "Columbia has caved to Trump’s demands at every turn. They have brought the NYPD (New York Police Department) onto campus to brutalise students. Now, they've let DHS (Department of Homeland Security) terrorise students in their own dorms."
TRT Global - Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian from occupied West Bank, was arrested for overstaying her visa, and Ranjani Srinivasan, whose activities 'supported Hamas' self-deported after her visa was revoked, officials say.
Trump's crackdown 'has already failed'
The expulsion of the student came after Columbia University's Judicial Board issued sanctions to students ranging from multi-year suspensions, temporary degree revocations, and expulsions related to the occupation of Hamilton Hall during pro-Palestine protests.
Miner said he was fired one day before contract negotiations were set to open with the university.
"Our union is here to defend student workers, and we won't stand for this blatant repression from Columbia and Trump. Firing and expelling me just before bargaining is a transparent attempt to dodge accountability for endangering students," he said.
Miner said the Trump administration crackdown "has already failed", citing massive protests in support of the release of Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and a US resident known for his advocacy for Palestinian rights.
"We are organising. We are fighting back. This movement isn't going anywhere. Release Mahmoud Khalil! Reinstate all students and workers. And as always, #FreePalestine," he wrote.
Columbia was the epicentre of pro-Palestine protests that hit several US college campuses as US-supported Israeli carnage in Gaza.
Protesters demanded that university endowments divest from Israeli interests and that the US end military support to Israel, among other demands.
The Trump administration has vowed a severe crackdown on what it labels as pro-Hamas protesters.
