CJAA condemns antisemitic events organized by suspended student groups; calls for immediate action to enforce University policies
January 2, 2024–
The Columbia Jewish Alumni Association (CJAA) reiterates its deep concerns about the ongoing antisemitism at Columbia University. In response to Columbia University's December 20th announcement of a review of its event policies and Rules of University Conduct, the CJAA urges immediate action to enforce existing policies and protect Jewish members of the community from ongoing antisemitic harassment and threats.
We once again ask that the University stand by its commitment to ensuring a safe environment for all members of the community, including Jewish students, faculty, and visitors. We also once again ask that the University discipline those student groups which blatantly and boastfully violate stated University policies.
On December 20, 2023, President Minouche Shafik and Interim Provost Dennis Mitchell announced that the University will be “collaborating with the University Senate, student leaders, faculty, and other members of the community on a review of University event policies and the Rules of University Conduct to which those policies relate.”
Columbia University has an obligation to ensure that all members of our community can live and learn on campus without fear for their personal security. Today, Jewish students, faculty, and visitors live and learn in fear. While we welcome a review of all University policies, we call on the University to enforce the policies that currently exist.
The December 20 statement - titled “Our Community, Our Values” - proclaimed the following: “We are enforcing our policies for campus events to ensure that debate and protest take place in a safe manner and that there are consequences for violations.”
To date, that hasn’t happened. On November 10, 2023, the University suspended two student groups. Ostensibly, that should’ve meant that these groups would be barred from organizing events on campus. However, they continue to host events, in open defiance of University policies.
On December 7, 2023, the University unequivocally stated that it “will not tolerate antisemitic actions.” And yet Jewish students continue to be subjected to calls for genocide against Jews and for the State of Israel to be wiped off the map. Jewish students continue to be physically and verbally assaulted with shocking regularity.
The CJAA has a desire to work with the administration and the newly created Task Force on Antisemitism to create an atmosphere that is safe for students to learn and live, one that is free of harassment and bullying. We support free speech and expression.
However, we must know: does the University condone use of the antisemitic, genocidal chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”? What is the University doing when suspended groups continue to host and organize events? What is the University doing about members of faculty and the administration who support these events and help to conceal the identities of student protesters?
The University must enforce its own rules for them to have any impact.
Timeline of Recent Events Violating University Policies
On December 5, 2023, the Congressional Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing titled, “Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism.” In one of the most revealing exchanges, the presidents of Harvard University, M.I.T., and the University of Pennsylvania were pressed on whether they would discipline students calling for the genocide of Jews. “It is a context-dependent decision,” said the former president of UPenn. As you know, following the Congressional hearing, neither Congress nor the general public were convinced that these universities could adequately ensure the safety of their respective Jewish students.
Two days after the hearings, on December 7, Columbia University condemned antisemitism more strongly than it ever did following the terrorist attacks two months earlier. The University stated that it “will not tolerate antisemitic actions,” that the administration is “moving forcefully against antisemitic threats, images, and other violations,” and that the University has “an obligation to assure members of its community that they can continue in their academic pursuits without fear for their personal security.”
While the University is saying all the right things, students continue to ignore school policies with impunity, and threats against the Jewish community continue to escalate. On November 10, 2023, Columbia University suspended Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) as official student groups through the end of the fall term. “Suspension means the two groups will not be eligible to hold events on campus or receive University funding,” wrote Gerald Rosberg, Chair of the Special Committee on Campus Safety.
And yet, SJP and JVP have continued to organize events without any consequences whatsoever:
- December 7, 2023: JVP hosted an event, purportedly for the Jewish holiday of Chanukah, in which they celebrated “solidarity and resilience in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds,” a reference to the Hamas massacre of October 7. JVP boasted about the event on their social media channels and disseminated pamphlets all around the campus.
- December 8, 2023: SJP co-opted a table reserved by a third-party group in order to distribute hateful materials, including pamphlets declaring, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” with an image of a slingshot.
- December 12, 2023: both suspended groups hosted a “Barnard 4 Palestine Emergency Protest,” during which students used bullhorns and chanted “from the river to the sea.” The protest went on for more than an hour. Several Barnard deans walked by and did nothing to stop it. At least one Jewish student was assaulted and filed a police report.
A University spokesperson falsely claimed that the protest “did not take place on Columbia’s campus.” Indeed, Barnard’s own website notes that Barnard is “one of four undergraduate schools within the Columbia University system.” Furthermore, the protest extended to the immediate vicinity of Low Library, incontrovertibly part of Columbia University’s campus.
There is more than enough documentation to substantiate all of these facts. In fact, some of the same student protesters appear in photos taken across the University, on the same day.
The University must back up its words with actions.
- December 6, 2023: Columbia Social Workers 4 Palestine organized a “teach-in” and discussion titled “Significance of the October 7th Palestinian Counteroffensive.”
Calling the October 7th massacre a “counteroffensive” is repugnant. The New York Times, interviewing over 150 people, established that this so-called “counteroffensive” included a “pattern of gender-based sexual violence.” The NYT identified at least seven locations where Israeli women and girls were sexually assaulted or mutilated.
In response to promotional materials for the “teach-in,” the University once again came through with words: “This is not a CSSW-sponsored event. The students who organized the event did not seek approval for the fliers and text as required by CSSW processes,” wrote Dean Melissa Begg. “CSSW supports free speech but does not condone language that promotes violence in any manner, which is antithetical to our values. This event will not go forward at CSSW.”
“This event will not go forward at CSSW.”
Despite the unequivocal statement from Dean Begg, a Columbia Social Workers 4 Palestine told the Columbia Spectator that the group “decided to go ahead with the event as planned.” And it did. On Columbia’s premises, with Columbia faculty and administrators present.
The CJAA urges the University to transform its commitment to combating antisemitism into concrete actions, beginning by enforcing its policies consistently and without compromise. Events organized by suspended student groups demand immediate attention and decisive measures. The University must not allow antisemitic, genocidal words and actions to continue unchecked. The CJAA stands ready to collaborate with the administration to create a campus environment that truly reflects the values of safety, inclusivity, and respect for all.