Columbia University admitted in an August task force report that some of its faculty refused to take action against those who participated in acts of antisemitism against Jewish students.
The task force’s report mentions how Jewish students faced hostility and violence across campus, social media channels and in club meetings or classes. Columbia was the scene of several violent protests in which Jewish students were victims of physical violence, harassment and abuse following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack against Israel.
Almost 500 students at the university came forward and shared their stories with the task force, which referred to them as “heartbreaking.” Students came forward with testimonies about being spit on, shoved against doors, stalked and having necklaces torn from their bodies.
“On campus, my friends have been spit on, been called like terrible, terrible names, a very close friend of mine was called, a lover of genocide and then a lover of baby killing,” one student stated in their testimony. “This was only a couple of days after October seventh.”
The report notes that Jewish students on campus who tried to seek help from the university when experiencing “bigotry” and “hostility” had no idea how to report incidents. Some students shared that when they voiced concern regarding antisemitism, some faculty suggested “mental health counseling.”
Other testimonies included examples of students and organizations sharing antisemitic posts online, the report states. One student found over 750 antisemitic online posts, including one LGBT-related group’s flier for an event reading “It’s FREE PALESTINE over here. Zionists aren’t invited.”
Some faculty members had an “unwillingness” to take action against the antisemitism, according to the report. A faculty member shared with the task force that another professor referred to Jewish donors as “wealthy white capitalists who laundered dirty money” at the university.
Multiple demonstrators were arrested during the protest, but 31 of the 46 individuals charged with trespassing had their cases dropped by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg due to a “lack of evidence.” Bragg stated that the other protesters would have their charges dropped if they could avoid getting arrested in the following six months.
The university called in the New York Police Department (NYPD) in April after protesters broke in and occupied a campus building.
Three deans at the university were removed from their positions in July after getting caught sending texts with “antisemitic tropes” in June. The three deans sent the text messages during a panel on Jewish life, and the university responded by stating that faculty and staff go through antisemitism training.
“Antisemitism is prejudice, discrimination, hate, or violence directed at Jews, including Jewish Israelis,” the report states. “Antisemitism can manifest in a range of ways, including as ethnic slurs, epithets, and caricatures.”
Columbia University deferred the Daily Caller News Foundation to a statement from the university president.
