Saham Ali used her Columbia University commencement speech to spread anti-Israel propaganda, call for amnesty for students who vandalized campus property and occupied buildings, and endorse a coalition tied to pro-terror campus activism. Her speech came just weeks after Columbia’s “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” was dismantled for violence, intimidation, and antisemitic harassment.
Commencement Speech at Columbia
On May 14, 2024, Ali, also known as Saham David Ali or Saham David Ahmed Ali, delivered the student address at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health graduation ceremony. In her speech, she:
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Referred to Israel’s war against Hamas as “genocide,” claiming: “It feels dystopian to walk through Mailman’s halls every day…while I witness the genocide of the Palestinian people.”
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Claimed Columbia administrators pressured students into silence, accusing professors of hypocrisy.
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Called for amnesty for students suspended for vandalism, trespassing, and breaking into Hamilton Hall, saying Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) had been demanding “to get NYPD off our campuses” and for “amnesty for all students.”
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Endorsed CUAD, a coalition of more than 80 anti-Israel groups linked to Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), both of which were banned from Columbia for their support of terrorism.
Columbia’s Pro-Hamas Encampment
Ali’s speech directly tied her to the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, launched at Columbia on April 17, 2024. The encampment:
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Was organized by CUAD, SJP, and JVP with reported guidance from National SJP.
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Featured harassment of Jewish students, antisemitic chants, and blocking access to facilities unless students declared themselves “non-Zionist.”
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Ended in mass arrests after protesters smashed doors, broke cameras, threw property from windows, and held university custodians hostage inside Hamilton Hall.
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Police recovered knives, hammers, gas masks, ropes, and pamphlets calling for “DEATH TO ISRAEL” and “DEATH TO AMERICA” and urging “LONG LIVE THE INTIFADA.”
Affiliations and Background
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Ali was listed as having graduated from Georgetown University in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in biology of global health.
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As of May 2024, she graduated from Columbia’s Mailman School with a master’s degree in public health.
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Her LinkedIn identified her under multiple names and confirmed her student status.
Conclusion
By using a graduation platform to endorse antisemitic groups, excuse violent encampment participants, and call for amnesty for those who terrorized Columbia’s campus, Saham Ali aligned herself with the very movement that endangered Jewish students and turned universities into staging grounds for pro-Hamas extremism.
