- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., asked Columbia President Nemat Shafik if chanting ‘intifada’ violates Columbia’s rules
- Shafik said she is looking to ‘actually clarify where language crosses the line from protected speech to discriminatory or harassing speech’
Columbia University President Nemat Shafik is in the hot seat as Republicans accuse her of running one of the worst ‘hotbeds of anti-Semitism and hate’ on campus.
Shafik is testifying before the House Education and Workforce Committee Wednesday, months after a similar hearing led to the ouster of Harvard President Claudine Gay over her anti-Semitic remarks.
House GOP conference chair Rep. Elise Stefanik accused Columbia’s leadership of refusing to ‘enforce their own policies and condemn Jewish hatred on campus, creating a breeding ground for antisemitism and a hotbed of support for terrorism from radicalized faculty and students.’
Chairwoman Virginia Foxx played a clip of students rallying at Columbia and shouting ‘Intifada!’ and ‘We will honor all the martyrs!’ in reference the Hamas attackers on Oct. 7.
‘While antisemitism has been festering on numerous college campuses, Columbia University stands out as one of the worst offenders,’ Foxx insisted.
Shafik insisted she has aggressively worked to combat antisemitism on campus, including holding over 200 meetings on the topic, holding daily meetings of the campus security team and working with the NYPD and FBI when hate crimes occur on campus.
She said the ‘vast majority’ of protests on campus have been ‘peaceful’ and said the college is focused on upholding free speech, but ‘cannot and shouldn’t tolerate abuses this pledge to harass and discriminate.’
Columbia students insist their university has done nothing about a ‘tsunami of antisemitism’ on campus after the Hamas attack – just as President Nemat Shafik testifies before the House Education and Workforce Committee
Pro-Palestinian students take part in a protest in support of the Palestinians amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, at Columbia University in New York City, U.S.,
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., asked Shafik if chanting ‘intifada’ violates Columbia’s rules.
‘I find incredibly distressing, and I wish profoundly people would not use them on our campus,’ said Shafik. ‘It’s abhorrent and has and has no place in our community.’
She went on: ‘I think one of the issues that we are actively debating now … is to actually clarify where language crosses the line from protected speech to discriminatory or harassing speech.’
Current Columbia students also say the school has done nothing about a ‘tsunami of antisemitism’ on campus after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2022.
Jewish students told stories of Star of David necklaces being ripped off necks while the walk to class, having antisemitic slogans shouted in their faces as they said Columbia offers ‘no transparency about what they’re doing, if anything to the people violating the university rules.’
‘In the five months following October 7, the Columbia administration sat idly by as a tsunami of anti semitism in the forms of harassment, bullying, exclusion, intimidation, and physical violence flooded every aspect of campus life,’ one Jewish student said at a news conference ahead of the hearing.
President Shafik said one of the suggestions from the school’s antisemitism task force was to limit the places where students could protest.
‘If you are going to chant it should only be in a certain place so people don’t want to hear it, or protected from having to hear it.’
‘While anti semitism has been festering on numerous college campuses, Columbia University stands out as one of the worst offenders,’ Foxx insisted
NYPD officers stand guard as people gather to protest the banning of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) at Columbia University
‘The ultimate answer to anti-Semitism and all its forms is education,’ said Shafik.
An earlier antisemitism hearing in January had devastating consequences for other university presidents who Republicans criticized for excusing antisemitism: Harvard President Claudine Gay and Penn President Liz Magill resigned after their appearance before the Education and Workforce Commitee.
Ranking Democrat Bobby Scott played a clip of the Charlottesville ‘Unite the Right’ rally in 2017.
‘While I appreciate my colleagues’ newfound concerns for some students of all rights on campus, I would note that it is at odds with House Republicans’ budget proposals,’ he said.
