Columbia University President Minouche Shafik faces growing calls to resign as anti-Israel protests on the Manhattan campus continue to intensify with some 200 demonstrators gathering Monday.
New York’s Republican delegation, along with the Columbia Jewish Alumni Association, each wrote letters calling on the embattled president to resign over his handling of protests where anti-Semitic and pro-Hamas chants on campus made headlines in recent days with little or no results. opposition from the university.
“It is time for Columbia University to turn the page on this shameful chapter. This can only be done through the restoration of order and your prompt resignation,” wrote House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik and the Empire State’s nine other Republican representatives in a letter obtained in exclusive by The Post on Monday.
The CJJA echoed the Republican sentiment, saying the protests have made the university “the center of global hatred and intolerance” as other schools, including NYU and The New School, launched similar protests in solidarity with Colombia.
“President Shafik’s silence is deafening. Appeasing anti-Semitism never works,” the alumni group wrote in a scathing statement Monday.
“It is high time to ask the NYPD to clean up campus and enforce university rules. President Shafik must resign immediately,” added the CJJA.
Hours later, the CJJA reversed its initial statement, declaring: “President Shafik must recall the NYPD and take immediate and decisive action that radically changes the facts on the ground: or resign.” »
Local Democrats also called on the university to quell the protests, but did not demand Shafik’s resignation.
“Elected officials and members of university administration must combat this dramatic rise in anti-Semitism and feelings of insecurity among Jews on campuses,” said U.S. Representative Dan Goldman (D-N.Y. York).
Follow the Post’s coverage of anti-Israel protests at Columbia University:
His colleague Josh Gottheimer (Democrat of New Jersey), echoed Goldman and said it was now up to the university to prove itself by suppressing the protest and standing with its Jewish students and staff .
“I think the pressure is on for the president of the university to act. I think there has to be accountability,” Gottheimer said. “We’ve seen good progress, but ultimately we’re going to monitor it every day.”
What you need to know about the anti-Semitism controversy at Columbia University:
Shafik, who defended his school’s handling of anti-Semitism to lawmakers last week, canceled in-person classes on campus Monday, telling students in an email that they “need a reset » as the heated protests entered their sixth day.
“I am deeply saddened by what is happening on our campus. Our bonds as a community have been strained and it will take a lot of time and effort to reaffirm them,” Shafik wrote before the start of the Passover holiday Monday evening.
“Students from various communities have expressed concerns for their safety and we have announced additional measures we are taking to address safety concerns. »
Along with pressure from politicians including President Biden and Mayor Eric Adams, the university is facing financial consequences – New England Patriots team owner Robert Kraft announced he was withdrawing his support for Columbia, saying it was “no longer an institution I recognize.”
“I am deeply saddened by the virulent hatred that continues to grow on campuses and across our country,” he said in a statement. “I am no longer confident that Columbia can protect its students and staff and I am not comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken.”
Kraft, who is worth $11.1 billion, has been a prolific donor to the university and funded the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life across the street from Columbia’s campus with an $11.5 million gift in 2000.
The billionaire then donated another $1.5 million in 2005, followed by a $5 million donation to support Columbia’s athletic program.
Despite the pressure, the university was accused of giving in to protesters after forcing classes to take place remotely on Monday ahead of the Passover holiday.
Columbia professor Shai Davidai — a vocal critic of the administration’s response to the protests — was banned from campus Monday, saying administrators told him they “can’t keep you safe.”
“I teach campus business,” blasted Davidai, who organized a pro-Jewish rally outside Columbia’s gates earlier in the morning. “They want me to do my job and keep all my responsibilities but none of my rights. »
Meanwhile, a huge new tent city on the Morningside Heights campus appeared with about 200 protesters, all of whom reportedly had to use their Columbia ID cards to gain entry.
A sign above the tents read “Gaza Solidarity Camp,” with the students showing no indication that they would be leaving soon.
“I’ve been camping here for several days,” Kahymani James, a political science student, told the Post.
James said students are demanding “financial divestment, financial transparency (and) amnesty for all students who have been subject to disciplinary action as part of a university boycott.”
The students were also joined by some faculty members, 54 of whom wrote a letter to the university opposing the decision to suspend the student protesters and authorizing a raid by the New York Police Department.
Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, said it was “unacceptable” that protesters were allowed to disrupt classes at the Ivy League school.
“We should remove the word ‘elite’ from universities that tolerate these attacks against Jews,” said Potasnik, visiting Colombia on Sunday.
“It’s a capitulation to the hate mongers, to those who shout anti-Semitic remarks at us,” he added. “How is it that pro-Hamas protesters can enter the campus but not an Israeli professor who teaches at Columbia?
The rabbi also called on the university to face “severe consequences” following the hateful demonstration.
It remains to be seen who will be punished by the university after days of vitriol and anti-Semitism on campus during the protest. More than 100 protesters were handcuffed last week — including Isra Hirsi, the daughter of far-left Rep. Ilhan Omar — after Shafik called the New York police to crack down.
The NYPD stressed Monday that its hands are tied because Columbia is on private property.
“In the absence of continued crime, we cannot come to the Columbia campus as we please,” Mike Gerber, deputy commissioner for legal matters, told reporters. “It’s up to the university to decide whether or not they want to see us on campus. Generally speaking, and this goes back many years, Columbia does not want the NYPD on campus. »
A Jewish Columbia student filed a hate crime report with the NYPD on Monday, claiming he was accosted and hit in the head with rocks by pro-Palestinian protesters on campus after arriving with Israeli flags Saturday night .
That same night, pro-Israeli demonstrators were also accosted by demonstrators who shouted: “Go back to Poland!” and “Go back to Belarus!” »
Another viral video of the protest circulating on the Manhattan campus shows a woman waving a Palestinian flag and shouting, “Go Hamas!” … Long live Hamas and the rebellion.”
Mayor Adams, who condemned the protest, said any anti-Semitic crimes or incidents occurring on and around campus would be investigated.
“I am horrified and disgusted by the widespread anti-Semitism on and around the Columbia University campus – such as the example of a young woman holding a sign with an arrow pointing at Jewish students reading “The next targets of Al-Qasam”, or another where a woman says “We are Hamas”, or another where groups of students chant “We don’t want Zionists here” – and I condemn this hate speech in the strongest possible terms. strong,” Adams said in a statement.
“Supporting a terrorist organization that aims to kill Jews is sickening and despicable,” he added.
New York Post
