The Columbia University Apartheid Divest group has sparked significant controversy and backlash after posting the phrase “Marg bar Amrika,” which means “Death to America” in Persian, on social media.
The phrase was posted Saturday on its X account after the joint U.S.-Israel military strike on Iran that killed the Ayatollah Khamenei, who popularized the slogan. The post on X went viral before it was deleted.
Columbia University officially denounced the post and distanced itself from the group.
“The group that calls itself ‘CUAD’ is not a recognized student group, or affiliated in any way with the University,” Columbia’s March 1 statement read. “There is no evidence that anyone currently in control of their account is a current Columbia student, staff, or faculty member. They are illegally using the Columbia name.”
