NEW: Black, queer Columbia student claims he was the victim when he said 'Zionists don't deserve to live,' comments were taken out of context by 'far-right agitators'

Khymani James, the black, non-binary student leader of the Gaza Camp protest at Columbia University, has issued a statement after a video from January was brought to light showing him saying that "Zionists don't deserve to live." James uses he/she/they pronouns. 

In that statement, he discussed the 6 minute video and disavowed his comments. 

"On Thursday," James began, "a video of me taken back in January began to circulate online. What I said was wrong. Every member of our community deserves to feel safe without qualification." 

"I also want people to have more context for my words, which I regret," he said, going on to blame the Daily Wire for posting the 6 minute clip for taking the entire 6 minutes out of context. 

"Far right agitators went through months of my social media feed until they found a clip that they edited without context," he said. That context, apparently, was that he was "upset" and that he was the victim not only in the exposing of the video but had been a victim prior to making those remarks. He blamed that victimization for his comments. 

"When I recorded it," James said of the remarks he made and shared online himself, "I had been feeling unusually upset after an online mob targeted me because I am visibly queer and Black." 

Then he leaned into it, saying "Unfortunately, this is not my first time being targeted by online trolls and harassed by people who use racist and homophobic slurs - 'f*ggot monkey' and worse - in an effort to intimidate student protesters like myself." 

In response to his claims that it was out of context, reporter Kassy Akiva posted the full video.

"CUAD and the Gaza Solidarity Encampment have made clear that my words in January, prior to my involvement in CUAD, are not in line with the CUAD community guidelines. I agree with their assessment. Those words do not represent CUAD. They also do not represent me," he said. 

"Here is what I wish I had said in the video that is circulating of me: I affirm the sanctity of all life and the movement for liberation. This applies to all people regardless of their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or nationality," James continued. 

His feelings on Zionism, or the belief that the nation of Israel has a right to exist, have not changed since his remarks. "Zionism is an ideology that necessitates the genocide of the Palestinian people," he falsely stated. "I oppose that in the strongest terms." 

"All people deserve to be safe from physical harm," he said using rhetoric that four short years ago during the BLM and Antifa riots of 2020 was considered to be essentially a white supremacist equivocation. Then he blamed Israel for their self-defense actions after being attacked by Palestinian terror group Hamas "Palestinians have been subjected to decades of brutal violence and now genocide by Israel. The Israeli government and military should be held accountable for their actions." 

"I am frustrated that words I said in an Instagram Live video have become a distraction from the movement for Palestinian liberation," James said, noting that the movement is more important than any personal struggle he may face. "I misspoke in the heat of the moment, for which I apologize." 

"My focus remains on drawing attention to the plight of the Palestinian people, and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. I remain committed to learning and building a better, more just world for all of us," he concluded. 

The video James made in January was a recording of a call he had with the Center for Student Success and Intervention. It appears that James had been reached by that center to discuss comments he had made online. 

Those comments were "Zionists in my DM wanting to meet up and fight. I don't fight to injure or for there to be a winner or loser, I fight to kill. See ya'll in New York January 2024." 

Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar shook hands with James on campus when she attended that protest on Thursday with her daughter, a Barnard student who had been suspended and arrested over her involvement. 

In a recent video, James can be seen leading a group of protesters to verbally and physically push Jewish students out of their Gaza Camp demonstration. 

"There should not be Zionists anywhere," James told the Center for Student Success and Intervention. "People who hold those types of ideologies, the world is better without them. That is what my comment is indicative of, and I will stand with that.” 

James continued speaking to the camera after the call ended, saying, “Zionists don’t deserve to live comfortably, let alone Zionists don’t deserve to live. The same way we are very comfortable accepting Nazis don’t deserve to live, fascists don’t deserve to live, racists don’t deserve to live, Zionists, they shouldn’t live in this world.” 

He added that he would be fine getting thrown out of the school after stating, “Be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists. I’ve never hurt anyone in my life, and I hope to keep it that way.”