Columbia University Interim President Katrina Armstrong has come under fire from members of the school's Jewish community after she apologized to people who felt “hurt” by the university's decision to clear disruptive anti-Israel protests on campus last spring.
Dr. Armstrong apologized in an Ivy League interview. The school's newspaper, the Columbia Spectator She made the remarks after being asked about the school's request last April to the NYPD to break up a sprawling encampment and remove protesters from Hamilton Hall.
“I know this is a hard thing for me to say, but I know this is the job I do, so I want to let anybody who's been hurt by this know that I'm truly sorry,” Armstrong told the newspaper, which published the story early Thursday.
“I know it wasn't me, but I'm really sorry. I saw it. I'm really sorry.”
Armstrong took up the post following the abrupt resignation in August of Columbia University's former president, Minouche Shafik, who came under intense criticism for his handling of the relentless and sometimes destructive anti-Israel protests following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks and the subsequent Gaza war.
More than 100 protesters at a Gaza solidarity camp on the campus green were detained after Shafik asked the NYPD to enter campus. Nearly two weeks later, hundreds of police were allowed back on campus and removed more than 100 protesters from Hamilton Hall.
In both cases, the prestigious school said it regretted calling police but stressed that school officials had no choice. It accused protesters who occupied Hamilton Hall of chasing school security guards off the building and threatening custodians.
Armstrong's apology was roundly condemned by Jewish members of the school community.
“Instead of apologizing to anti-Semitic protesters, [Armstrong] “The university administration should apologize for failing to protect Jewish students from relentless discrimination and harassment,” student Maya Cukierman, 19, told the Post.
Matthew Schweber, a member of the school's Jewish alumni association, said the apology “only highlights the moral corruption, intellectual bankruptcy and systemic anti-Semitism that plagues my alma mater.”
Rory Lancman, a Columbia Law School graduate, called Armstrong's apology an “ominous sign” as the new law school gets underway.
“It is an ominous sign for Columbia's dwindling Jewish student body that Columbia's interim president apologized at the start of the semester for the university's enforcement of basic time, place and attitude restrictions on anti-Israel protesters that have terrorized Columbia's Jewish community and impacted other students and staff on campus,” said Lancman, senior counsel at the Louis Brandeis Center for Human Rights under Law.
Ari Schrage, president of the school's Jewish alumni association, called Armstrong's comments “insensitive.”
“Why would she apologize? An apology would send the message that people shouldn't be punished for breaking the rules,” he said. “This is exactly the opposite of what Colombia needs right now.”
In a statement, the university told The Post that Armstrong has sought to engage and listen to a wide range of students and communities on campus and has “heard about the harm they have experienced over the past year.”
“Dr Armstrong gave a wide-ranging interview to the student newspaper, focusing in part on the impact of the past year. As she has spoken to many groups on campus, she reiterated that she acknowledges their pain and is sorry to all students who have been hurt,” the spokesperson said.
“She continues to work hard to ensure everyone at the university feels safe and respected as we rebuild and recover this year.
Armstrong, who also heads the school's Irving Medical Center, told the Columbia Spectator that schools must work to allow students to express their opinions and participate in debates while ensuring academic activities continue.
“We want to keep this campus a peaceful and safe place,” she stressed.
“I just want to say that I see the damage that's happened,” Armstrong was reported as saying, “and I'm committed to working with all of you, with the whole community, to address and understand that damage.”
