There was never the slightest chance that Columbia, or any of the other universities, would give in to the demands of the pro-Palestinian students for divestment. Even if they had, so what? The Israeli government wouldn’t care. It won’t even listen when Biden threatens them with a loss of diplomatic and military support.
The students have, however, succeeded in damaging their future prospects. They have convinced the people who watch Fox News that DeSantis is right about the need to tame our woke universities. Finally, they may have persuaded some swing voters that we need a strongman–Trump, of course–to bring order to a country dissolving in chaos.
Was it worth it? Next time, stick to defending free speech and leave out the trespassing, the vandalism, and the antisemitism.