A newly posted Craigslist ad has offered $20 for photos of "Hamas supporters" at Columbia University.
The listing, which was posted to the ad website on Friday, read: "Columbia University Hamas Supporter Photo Session. We pay $20 via Venmo for each photo clearly showing the face of the Hamas supporter...Happy hunting and we are looking forward to paying you $20 FOR EVERY FACE (only one payment per face)."
However, the posting was unavailable as of Friday afternoon with a note saying, "This posting has been flagged for removal."
Newsweek reached out to Columbia University via email for comment.
The posting comes amid controversial pro-Palestinian protests that have erupted on university campuses like Columbia University in Manhattan, New York, in the past few weeks. There have also been pro-Israel and other counter-protests. A major demand from pro-Palestinian protesters has been universities' divestment from Israel amid the current conflict in the Middle East.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza. Roughly 1,200 people in Israel were killed and about 250 hostages were taken by Hamas. Some hostages were released during a temporary cease-fire late last year.
Israel's military operation has killed over 34,500 people, mostly women and children, according to Gazan health authorities. Health officials in the region do not distinguish between civilians and combatants in their death tolls.
Many pro-Palestinian protestors are not supporters of Hamas but rather want to see a cease-fire in Gaza to prevent more innocent Palestinian lives from being lost in the war.
The Craigslist ad is anonymous and it is unclear what the advertiser's objective is in obtaining these photos. The words "JA RASTAFARI!" are written at the end of the ad.
Rastafari, also known as Rastafarianism, is an Abrahamic religion created in Jamaica during the 1930s and was popularized by reggae musicians like Bob Marley. Rastas, those who practice the religion, refer to God as Jah based on the ancient Hebrew Yahweh and the old English Jehovah, according to history site TheCollector.
Controversial Protests
The controversy surrounding the pro-Palestinian protests has gone beyond Americans' differing views on the Israel-Hamas war and has turned into a debate on how college protests should be carried out.
Protestors have been criticized for trespassing and disrupting classes, which some have argued has taken away other students' right to an education, and for, in some cases, vandalizing school property.
Police have arrested protesters at several colleges, including Columbia University, New York University, Yale University, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Southern California.
Meanwhile, some faculty members have stood in solidarity with their students.
Columbia University history professor Nara Milanich told The Intercept in an article published on Thursday, "This moment has actually brought faculty together in a way I've never experienced in 20 years on campus. I've found myself working closely with colleagues I'd never met before."
"We need to reclaim our campus from outside groups—congresspeople engaged in political theater; agitators on social media; the NYPD [New York Police Department]—so that faculty and students can get back to the critical business of the university: teaching and learning," Milanich added.
Update 5/3/24, 5:47 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to reflect that the ad has been flagged for removal.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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