Anti-Israel protests on the Manhattan campus continue to grow, with about 200 demonstrators gathering on Monday and increasing calls for Columbia University President Minoush Shafik to resign.
New York’s Republican delegation and the Columbia Jewish Alumni Association resign as president embattled over his handling of protests that have made headlines in recent days for anti-Semitism and pro-Hamas chants on campus. They have each written a letter asking for the same. Opposition from the university.
“The time has come for Columbia University to turn the page on this shameful chapter. This can only happen with the restoration of order and your swift resignation,” said House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik and other members of the Empire State. nine Republican senators said in a letter obtained exclusively by The Post on Monday.
CJJA also echoes the Republican sentiment, saying the protests have led to the university’s “global hatred and He claimed that it had become a center of prejudice.
“President Shafik’s silence was deafening. Appeasing anti-Semitism never works,” the alumni group said in a scathing statement on Monday.
“It is long past time to call on the NYPD to clear the campus and enforce university rules. President Shafiq must resign immediately,” CJJA added.
Hours later, the CJJA retracted its original statement, saying, “President Shafiq must take immediate and decisive action to recall the NYPD and dramatically change the facts on the ground, or resign.” said.
The local Democratic Party also called on the university to suppress the protests, but stopped short of demanding Shafik’s resignation.
“Elected officials and academic administrators alike must combat this dramatic rise in anti-Semitism and anxiety among Jews on campus,” said Congressman Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.). There is a need.”
Follow The Post’s coverage of anti-Israel protests at Columbia University.
Fellow Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) echoed Goldman, saying it’s up to universities to prove themselves by quelling protests and standing by Jewish students and staff. Stated.
“I think there’s a lot of pressure on presidents to step up and take action. I think there has to be accountability,” Gottheimer said. “We’re making good progress, but the bottom line is we’re watching every day.”
What you need to know about the anti-Semitism controversy at Columbia University:
Shafiq, who defended the school’s response to anti-Semitism before lawmakers last week, canceled in-person classes on campus on Monday and said “we need to reset” after heated protests entered their sixth day. “Yes,” he told students via email.
“We are deeply saddened by what is happening on our campus. Our bonds as a community are being severely tested in ways that will require significant time and effort to reaffirm.” Shafik wrote Monday night, before the start of Passover.
“Students from various communities have communicated their safety concerns, and we have announced additional steps we will take to address their safety concerns.”
In addition to pressure from politicians such as President Biden and Mayor Eric Adams, the university is facing financial ruin. New England Patriots team owner Robert Kraft announced that he would cut off support from Columbia University, saying it was “no longer a university that I recognize.”
“I am deeply saddened by the virulent hatred that continues to spread on our campuses and across our country,” he said in a statement. “I no longer have confidence in Columbia University’s ability to protect its students and employees, and I am reluctant to stand by the university until corrective action is taken.”
Mr. Kraft, who is worth $11.1 billion, is a major donor to the university, including an $11.5 million gift in 2000 to the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life, located across the street from Columbia’s campus.
The billionaire then donated another $1.5 million in 2005 and an additional $5 million to support Columbia’s athletics program.
Despite the pressure, the university has been accused of falling in with protesters after forcing classes to go remote on Monday ahead of the Passover holiday.
Shai Davidai, a Columbia University professor who has been a vocal critic of the administration’s response to protests, was banned from campus on Monday after administrators told him it was “unsafe.”
“I teach on a business campus,” enraged Mr. Davidai, who had organized a pro-Jewish rally in front of Columbia’s gates early in the morning. “They want me to do my job and protect all my responsibilities, but they don’t protect my rights at all.”
Meanwhile, about 200 protesters showed up at a new large tent city on the Morningside Heights campus, and everyone was required to use a Columbia ID to enter.
A sign above the tent reads “Gaza Solidarity Encampment,” and the students show no signs of leaving anytime soon.
“I’ve been camping here for a few days,” Kahimani James, a political science major, told the Post.
James said students will learn about “financial divestment, financial transparency; [and] Grant amnesty to all students disciplined for academic boycotts. ”
The students were joined by some faculty and staff, and 54 of them sent a letter to the university protesting the decision to suspend the student demonstrators and authorize the NYPD’s raid.
Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York State Board of Rabbis, said it was “unacceptable” that protesters were allowed to disrupt classes at the Ivy League school.
Professor Potasnik, who visited Columbia on Sunday, said: “The word ‘elite’ should be removed from universities that condone these attacks on Jews.”
“This is a surrender to those who spread hatred and those who shout anti-Semitic remarks at us,” he added. “If pro-Hamas protesters can come on campus, why can’t Israeli professors who teach at Columbia University?”
The rabbi also called on the university to bring “serious consequences” for the hateful protests.
It remains to be seen who will be punished by the university after days of abuse and anti-Semitism on campus during protests. Last week, Shafik was handcuffed by more than 100 protesters, including Isra Hirsi, the daughter of far-left Rep. Ilhan Omar, after he called on the NYPD to crack down.
The NYPD stressed Monday that its hands are tied because Columbia is on private property.
“We cannot just conveniently walk onto Columbia University’s campus and ignore ongoing crimes,” Deputy Attorney General Mike Garber told reporters. “It’s up to the university to decide whether or not to let us on campus. As a general matter, and this goes back many years, Columbia University doesn’t want the NYPD on campus. ”
A Columbia Jewish student was accosted by pro-Palestinian protesters on campus and hit in the head with a rock on Monday after he arrived carrying an Israeli flag on Saturday night, the NYPD said. I submitted a crime report.
On the same night, pro-Israel demonstrators also joined in the protests, chanting “Go back to Poland!” and “Go back to Belarus!”
Another viral video from a protest on a Manhattan campus shows a woman waving a Palestinian flag and shouting “Go Hamas!” …Long live Hamas and the rebellion. ”
Mayor Adams condemned the protests and said any crimes or anti-Semitic incidents that occur on or around campus will be investigated.
“I am horrified and disgusted by the anti-Semitism spewing out on and around Columbia University’s campus, including the example of the young woman holding a sign with an arrow pointing to Jewish students, and the Examples include a woman holding up a sign that says, “We are Hamas,” or a group of students shouting, “We don’t want Zionists here.” I condemn this hate speech in the strongest terms,” Adams said in a statement.
He added: “Supporting a terrorist organization whose goal is to kill Jews is disgusting and despicable.”
