Columbia University has finally addressed the issue surrounding the three deans who sent egregiously antisemitic text messages amid the campus protests concerning the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Official Confirmation of Antisemitic Content
The Ivy League institution confirmed on Monday that the messages contained blatantly antisemitic tropes. The revelations have sparked outrage and concern within the university community and beyond.
The three administrators will be placed on indefinite leave and not return to their previous roles. Columbia will provide antisemitic training as well.
As The New York Times reports:
Nemat Shafik, the Columbia president, described the sentiments in the text messages as “unacceptable and deeply upsetting, conveying a lack of seriousness about the concerns and the experiences of members of our Jewish community.” She said the messages were “antithetical to our university’s values and the standards.”
The announcement came about a month after a conservative website published photos that showed some of the text messages sent by the administrators. [emphasis added]
And it followed weeks of unrest at Columbia over the war in Gaza as the university emerged as the center of a nationwide protest movement. Pro-Palestinian demonstrations led Dr. Shafik to order the arrest of students on trespassing charges this spring. In late April, protesters occupied a campus building, leading to more arrests. In May, citing security concerns, the university canceled its main commencement ceremony.
The three Columbia administrators involved in the text message exchanges are Cristen Kromm, formerly the dean of undergraduate student life; Matthew Patashnick, formerly the associate dean for student and family support; and Susan Chang-Kim, formerly the vice dean and chief administrative officer. They did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Context: Anti-Zionist Protests on College Campuses
The situation at Columbia is part of a broader pattern of controversial anti-Zionist protests at various college campuses, which have frequently ventured into the realm of antisemitism. Here are some notable examples:
- University of California, Berkeley: A student organization hosted a speaker who equated Zionism with racism, prompting backlash from Jewish student groups.
- New York University: Protestors disrupted a lecture by a pro-Israel speaker, chanting antisemitic slogans.
- University of Michigan: A professor refused to write a recommendation letter for a student intending to study in Israel, citing political reasons, which sparked a heated debate over academic freedom and antisemitism.
It is about time that some will be held accountable. Our universaties have been flooded with hate fill teachers. Enough is enough. They should be fired and other universaties should take a hard look at very hate filled liberal instructors.