Under pressure from US feds, Columbia announces new measures to combat antisemitism

NEW YORK — The head of Columbia University in New York City on Tuesday announced new measures to combat antisemitism on campus, as the Trump administration applies heavy pressure on Columbia and other elite universities.

Acting Columbia President Claire Shipman said in an email to the campus community that the negotiations with the federal government have “put a harsh spotlight on many of the difficult issues regarding discrimination and harassment we’ve seen on our campuses.”

“The fact that we’ve faced pressure from the government does not make the problems on our campuses any less real; a significant part of our community has been deeply affected in negative ways,” Shipman said.

Shipman announced that the university was “formally incorporating” the IHRA definition of antisemitism into the university’s Office of Institutional Equity, which deals with discrimination.

“This definition will strengthen our response to and our community’s understanding of modern antisemitism,” Shipman said.

The university will appoint coordinators to ensure that Columbia complies with federal civil rights laws that protect Jews as an identity group. The coordinators will also be in the Office of Institutional Equity and will have advising and enforcement responsibilities, Shipman said.

Columbia will also implement campus training on antisemitism for students, faculty and staff. For the training, the university will partner with groups including the Anti-Defamation League and the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism.

“It’s become clear that ongoing educational work will be the most critical and consequential of all our efforts to combat antisemitism,” Shipman said.

Shipman reiterated that Columbia has “zero tolerance for discrimination and harassment based on protected traits, including Jewish and Israeli identity.” The university will reinforce that message in regular statements to the campus community, she said.

The university will also cease recognizing or meeting with Columbia University Apartheid Divest, the campus coalition leading anti-Israel protests, including any of its representatives or affiliated organizations. Dozens of student groups are part of the alliance. The university administration was criticized for negotiating with the group last year, after the activists caused widespread turmoil on the campus that included instances of antisemitism.

“Organizations that promote violence or encourage disruptions of our academic mission are not welcome on our campuses and the University will not engage with them,” Shipman said.

The announcement came after reports indicated Columbia was nearing a deal with the Trump administration, which has stripped hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to the university.

Some Jewish students were skeptical of the announcement, saying they were not far-reaching enough or a move to curry favor with the federal government.

A Jewish Columbia faculty member told The Times of Israel they had spoken to Shipman shortly before the announcement and given her recommendations. Shipman adopted many of those suggestions, but the announcement did not go far enough, said the faculty member, who declined to be publicly identified because they have received threats for their involvement in the antisemitism issue.

“These are kind of low-hanging fruit,” the faculty member said of the announced reforms. “They are not the cause of the problem and they are not going to fix anything.”

The faculty member called on Columbia to make changes, including to the university governance structure that has made it difficult to punish anti-Israel protesters who violated campus policies, and to the university’s Center for Palestine Studies. Professor Joseph Massad, for example, hailed the October 2023 Hamas invasion of Israel as “awesome,” but remains on staff and last semester taught a course on the history of Israel.

Ari Shrage, co-founder of the Columbia Jewish Alumni Association, which has been pushing for campus reforms, said the statement did not amount to “real actions.”

“This is a superficial attempt to respond to the backlash from the Trump administration,” he said.

Brian Cohen, the head of Columbia’s Hillel, said he welcomed the announcement, “including the unequivocal recognition that there is an antisemitism problem on campus and that it has had a tangible impact on Jewish students’ sense of safety and belonging.”

“I hope this announcement marks the beginning of meaningful and sustained change,” Cohen said on X.

Last week, New York’s Barnard College, an affiliate of Columbia, announced similar measures to combat antisemitism while settling an antisemitism lawsuit filed by Jewish students. Columbia was also a defendant in the lawsuit, but was not part of the settlement.

Shipman became acting university president in March after her two immediate predecessors resigned amid the campus turmoil. Shipman had been seen as a more effective advocate for Jewish students until text messages released earlier this month showed she had targeted a Jewish member of Columbia’s board of trustees who had spoken out against the harassment of Jewish students. Shipman apologized for the comments after the texts were released.

Last week, Shai Davidai, an outspoken Israeli assistant professor at Columbia, resigned, saying he had “lost all trust in the institution and respect for my colleagues.”

Columbia was an epicenter of widespread anti-Israel and in some cases antisemitic protests that took place on campuses across the US last year. A Columbia antisemitism task force on antisemitism reported “crushing” discrimination against Jews and Israelis in a report released last year.

Is The Times of Israel important to you?

Yes, I’ll give

Yes, I’ll give

Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this

You appreciate our journalism

Join Our Community

Join Our Community

Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this