Columbia University Faces Backlash for Failing to Protect Jewish Students Amid Pro-Palestinian Protests
In a disturbing display of cowardice and moral failure, university presidents across the Ivy League, led by Columbia University’s Minouche Shafik, are turning a blind eye to the alarming rise of anti-Semitism on their campuses.
On the eve of Passover, Columbia Rabbi Elie Buechler issued a dire warning to Jewish students, urging them to stay home due to the extreme anti-Semitism and “anarchy” unfolding on campus. “The events of the last few days… have made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety,” Buechler wrote in a WhatsApp message. “It is not our job as Jews to ensure our own safety on campus. No one should have to endure this level of hatred, let alone at school.”
Student David Jonah Lederer recounted to CNN how he and his brother were attacked by the “pro-Palestinian” protesters, with one individual throwing a rock at his brother’s head, all while security was nowhere to be found. This blatant disregard for the safety of Jewish students is a stain on Columbia’s reputation and a betrayal of its moral obligations.
With a $13.64 billion endowment and approximately 300 Jewish students, Columbia has the resources to provide one-on-one security for any Jewish student or faculty member who requests it. Yet, Shafik has failed to take this basic step to ensure the well-being of her community.
The protests on Columbia’s campus have taken a disturbing turn, with students openly calling for the “elimination of Israel” and the “birth of another Holocaust.” These chants, which the New York Times euphemistically describes as “Gaza solidarity camps,” are nothing short of a call for the destruction of the Jewish state and the genocide of the Jewish people.
Disturbingly, these protests have attracted the support of various student groups, including “Trans People 4 Palestine” and “Lesbians 4 Liberation.” The irony of these groups aligning themselves with a terrorist organization like Hamas, which is known for its oppression of LGBTQ+ individuals and women, is both tragic and infuriating.
The university’s response to these events has been equally troubling. In February, fliers depicting Jews as skunks, echoing Nazi propaganda, were posted across the campus, yet Columbia did nothing. When Israeli-born professor Shai Davidai, an outspoken pro-Israel voice, had his campus ID deactivated, he was told it was for his own safety, while the pro-Hamas protesters faced no such restrictions.
This blatant double standard is a damning indictment of Columbia’s priorities. If these attacks were directed at any other marginalized group, the university would have swiftly and forcefully condemned the hatred. Yet, when it comes to the Jewish community, the silence from Columbia’s administration and the broader left-leaning establishment is deafening.
The chilling chants heard on the Columbia campus, such as “We are all Hamas, pig!” and “Go back to Poland! Get the hell out of here!” are a stark reminder of the rising tide of anti-Semitism that is sweeping across American college campuses. The fact that these protesters are allowed to set up “Gaza solidarity camps” and engage in what the left calls “peaceful student-led protests” is a betrayal of the university’s duty to protect its students.
Imagine if a group of white supremacists were to set up a camp on campus, donning KKK robes and yelling racial slurs at black students. It is unthinkable that such blatant hatred would be tolerated, yet the anti-Semitism on display at Columbia and other Ivy League institutions is met with a disturbing lack of condemnation and action.
The only Democratic voice to demand Shafik’s resignation is John Fetterman, who rightly called these “protests” “antisemitic, unconscionable and dangerous.” The fact that this stance is considered an outlier on the left is a troubling indictment of the party’s shifting priorities and its failure to stand up for the Jewish community.
The spread of this rabid anti-Semitism to at least 13 U.S. college campuses, including Yale, MIT, Berkeley, Harvard, and NYU, where over 150 protesters were arrested, is a crisis that demands immediate attention and action. Yet, the university leaders responsible for these institutions remain silent, unwilling to confront the growing threat to their Jewish students and faculty.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams stands as a lone voice of sanity and decency, condemning the “antisemitism being spewed at and around the Columbia University campus” and calling the support for the terrorist organization Hamas “sickening and despicable.” As a city with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, New York cannot afford to allow this hatred to fester and spread.
The Biden administration’s recent announcement of a “first-ever National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia in the United States,” just three weeks after the October 7 events, raises questions about the federal government’s priorities. While past presidents have taken decisive action to protect marginalized groups, Biden appears cowed by the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiment within his own party.
This crisis on college campuses is a systemic failure of academia, a direct result of generations of students being indoctrinated with a “right think” mentality that considers morality relative and America a scourge. The longer these universities tacitly endorse anti-Semitism, the more they are fomenting violence and the potential for a truly tragic and preventable outcome.
The blood of any future riots, injuries, or even the death of Jews on American soil will be on the hands of university presidents like Minouche Shafik, who have chosen to prioritize political correctness over the safety and well-being of their Jewish students and faculty. The time for action is now, before the unthinkable becomes a reality.
