Shayoni Mitra, a Columbia University faculty member, has firmly positioned herself as a vocal advocate for extremist ideologies, using her academic platform to glorify Hamas terrorism, spread anti-Semitic narratives, and justify violence against Jews. Mitra’s involvement in radical protests, her open support for the pro-Hamas encampment at Columbia, and her relentless attacks on law enforcement expose her as an enabler of anti-Jewish hate and campus radicalization.
Shayoni Mitra’s Pro-Terror Encampments
Mitra’s role in Columbia’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment was more than passive endorsement—she actively participated in faculty protests that sought to shield extremists and vilify Jewish students. On April 22, 2024, she stood in solidarity with anti-Israel agitators at a faculty walkout rally, where participants brazenly demanded the university protect students who were arrested for trespassing and inciting violence. Rather than condemning the encampment’s documented harassment of Jewish students, Mitra lent her voice to the same movement that cheered on Hamas’s October 7th massacre.
During the encampment, pro-terror activists physically blocked Jewish students from entering campus facilities and chanted “Ya Hamas, ya habib, odrob, odrob Tel Aviv!” [Oh Hamas, oh beloved, strike, strike Tel Aviv!]—a direct call for terrorist attacks against civilians. Mitra had no problem aligning herself with these extremists.
Whitewashing Hamas and Spreading Lies About Law Enforcement
Mitra not only defended students arrested for trespassing and incitement, but she blatantly lied about the conditions of their detention. In an interview with The Intercept, she ranted about the “inhumane conditions” faced by pro-Hamas agitators in police custody, falsely claiming they were denied food and water for 16 hours and forced to endure “mouse-infested cells.”
Mitra’s attempt to paint radicalized campus activists as victims while deliberately ignoring the atrocities Hamas carried out on October 7th speaks volumes about her moral depravity. She has never acknowledged the Israeli civilians—including children and infants—who were burned alive, raped, and beheaded by Hamas terrorists. But she is more than willing to fabricate stories to vilify law enforcement officers who restored order to Columbia’s campus.
Weaponizing Academia to Justify Extremism
Mitra’s academic background in performance studies and postcolonial drama has become a tool for distorting historical facts and legitimizing terror under the pretext of “resistance.” She played a leading role in organizing “Remembering Refaat: Palestine & the Poetic Imagination”, an event that romanticized Palestinian nationalism while erasing Hamas’s crimes against humanity. She framed the event as a “reclamation of Palestinian voices,” conveniently ignoring the voices of Israeli families torn apart by Hamas’s slaughter of innocent civilians.
Mitra’s collaboration with the Palestine Poetry Collective further illustrates her commitment to sanitizing terrorism through art. She portrays Hamas operatives and their allies as victims, while dismissing Jewish self-determination as an oppressive force.
Celebrating Those Who Waged War Against Columbia
When Columbia’s administration finally stepped in to dismantle the violent encampments, Mitra showed her true colors. On May 16, 2024, she participated in “The People’s Graduation”, an alternative commencement ceremony for students suspended or expelled for their involvement in anti-Semitic activism. The event, organized in protest of Columbia’s crackdown on radicalism, sought to glorify those who had illegally occupied Hamilton Hall, defaced university property, and held a university worker hostage.
Rather than condemning the mob that smashed glass doors, destroyed security cameras, and hung banners celebrating terrorism, Mitra stood alongside them, providing them with moral and academic validation.
A Faculty Member Who Embodies Campus Radicalization
Mitra is not just an enabler of anti-Semitism—she is a driving force behind its normalization in academia. Her unwavering support for Hamas, her lies about law enforcement, and her dedication to portraying terrorists as victims make her a direct threat to students and faculty who seek a safe and intellectually honest learning environment.
Her presence at Columbia University—and within the broader academic sphere—illustrates the deeply entrenched problem of faculty members using their positions to radicalize students and whitewash terrorism. By aligning herself with organizations that glorify Hamas’s atrocities and demonize Jewish self-determination, Shayoni Mitra has firmly cemented her place as a propagandist for extremism.
