Columbia University is canceling its large university-wide commencement ceremony amid ongoing pro-Palestinian protests but will hold smaller school-based ceremonies this week and next, the university announced Monday.

“Based on feedback from our students, we have decided to focus attention on our Class Days and school-level graduation ceremonies, where students are honored individually alongside their peers, and to forego the university-wide ceremony that is scheduled for May 15,” Columbia officials said in a statement.

The protests stem from the conflict that started Oct. 7 when Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking roughly 250 hostages. Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel launched an offensive in Gaza that is still ongoing.

The protests have been filled with shockingly anti-Semitic calls and demands, and university officials dragged their feet for weeks before confronting the problem, culminating in an NYPD raid on protestors who had invaded and hijacked a Columbia University building.

The University of Southern California earlier canceled its main graduation ceremony while allowing other commencement activities to continue.

(AP)