Heads of Columbia University to Testify Before Congress on Antisemitism in April

By Matis Glenn

Leadership of Columbia University will testify before Congress in April on its handling of antisemitism, days after launching an investigation into a faculty member who called attention to Jew hatred on campus, the House Education and the Workforce Committee announced Monday.

Nemat Shafik, president of the New York City college, along with Claire Shipman and David Greenwald, who co-chair the school’s Board of Trustees, will testify before the Committee on April 17.

Due to scheduling conflicts, Columbia dodged a Committee hearing late last year which featured the presidents of three of the nation’s most prestigious colleges, who were taken to task for allegedly permitting Jew hatred to go unchecked on campus.

The heads of Harvard, MIT and University of Pennsylvania were grilled by the Committee on December 5 over accusations that they had not done enough to prevent and stop antisemitic incidents, including assaults, harassment, discrimination, and hate speech.

The presidents of all three colleges refused to state that calls for genocide against Jews would be categorically forbidden, stating that it depended on “context.” Condemnation of what critics called a tepid response and a movement by prominent donors to remove funding led to the eventual resignation of two out of three – UPenn’s Liz Magill and Harvard’s Claudine Gay, the latter of whom resisted pressure until allegations of personal academic plagiarism finally made her fold.

Last Friday, Shai Davidai, an associate professor at Columbia’s business school who has reported extensively on antisemitic incidents since the Oct. 7 massacre, announced that he was being investigated by the school, as detractors alleged that he targeted students in his reporting. Davidai, who stated that he only reports on student groups and not individuals, wrote that Columbia “has opened an investigation into my advocacy for the Jewish and Israeli students, faculty, and staff at the university. This is a clear act of retaliation and an attempt to silence me.”

The Committee’s chair, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), had strong words for Columbia.

“Some of the worst cases of antisemitic assaults, harassment, and vandalism on campus have occurred at Columbia University,” Foxx said in a statement Monday. “Due to the severe and pervasive nature of these cases, and the Columbia administration’s failure to enforce its own policies to protect Jewish students, the Committee must hear from Columbia’s leadership in person to learn how the school is addressing antisemitism on its campus.”

During a Feb. 29 bipartisan roundtable discussion featuring students from various colleges under federal investigation for Title VI violations, Columbia undergraduate student Eden Yadegar stated that he and other Jewish students have been physically assaulted by anti-Israel protesters on campus.

“We have been attacked with sticks outside of our library…we have been surrounded by angry mobs,” Yadegar said.

Last month, the Committee requested that Columbia provide documents pertaining to how the school handles antisemitism.

Columbia, unlike the other universities summoned to Washington, has stated that speech such as “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and calls for “intifada” will not be tolerated on campus, as they are seen as calls for violence and genocide. However, demonstrations featuring the slogans have taken place, according to students and faculty.

Last month, the Columbia Law’s student Senate rejected the formation of a student group intended to spread awareness of antisemitism. Law Students Against Antisemitism (LSAA), was rejected partially due to its use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which includes delegitimizing Israel.

Davidai wrote on social media regarding an incident in December, after the announcement banning the phrases, that “It’s been 24 hours since supposedly banned student organizations at Columbia chanted ‘Long live the intifada.’ The silence of Columbia’s President, Provost, and Board of trustees is deafening.”

Columbia suspended its chapter of the Students for Justice in Palestine and the Jewish Voices for Peace groups, which support the Hamas terror group, in November. However, the group has only increased its activities since then, according to witnesses who spoke with Jewish Insider.