The popular chant calling for the elimination of Israel was used during one of seven organized interruptions of Danon’s speech by individuals associated with the New York City school’s chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and other left-wing groups.

As the protesters were escorted out by security — to cheers from the audience — Danon said the slogan’s message demonstrates “a very important point”: that there are those who “don’t want to see the existence of a Jewish state,” within any borders.

“Some Palestinians — not all, but some — don’t want a Palestinian state alongside Israel, but a Palestinian state that will replace Israel,” the ambassador said, referring to the chant of the demonstrators about the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea — the entire Jewish state

Event co-sponsor Victor Muslin of Columbia Alums for Campus Fairness (ACF) — part of a national network engaged in combating antisemitism and anti-Israel bias on campuses — told The Algemeiner that Danon “masterfully called attention to Palestinian incitement and to the fact that the Palestinians’ interest is Israel’s total destruction, not peace.”

Among the other slogans chanted by some 70 demonstrators gathered on the street and in the lecture hall were: “Racists not welcome,” “Danny Danon you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide” and “One, two, three, four, occupation’s gotta go. Five, six, seven, eight, Israel’s an apartheid state.” Protesters also held signs and banners supporting “resistance” and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

Rudy Rochman, president of the Columbia chapter of grassroots activist group Students Supporting Israel (SSI) and an organizer of the event, told The Algemeiner that SJP and JVP are “hate groups on campus that have hijacked legitimate Palestinian voices.”

“We want to create a space on campus where we can have actual dialogue,” Rochman said. “However, groups like these are not willing to listen and or talk at all.”

Throughout his lecture, the ambassador invited protesters to stay and debate with him, a move Columbia Chabad director Rabbi Yonah Blum said was filled “with grace and humor.”

Danon told The Algemeiner that the anti-Israel movement’s efforts “to spread lies and silence our voices” will not succeed.

“We will continue to stand up for Israel in any capacity, defending the Jewish state’s right to exist and our right to defend ourselves, both across our borders and within our lecture halls,” the ambassador said.

Responding to The Algemeiner’s request for comment about the students’ disruptions, a Columbia spokesman stated: “Almost all of the attendees at last night’s event with Ambassador Danon came to listen and to engage in conversation. Ambassador Danon delivered his remarks and responded to questions from students as he and the sponsors intended. A small number of students sought to disrupt the event and their actions will be addressed under the Rules of University Conduct.”

Rochman told The Algemeiner that he “highly doubts” the university will go through with punishing disruptive protesters.