The Trump administration is threatening to cut over $50 million in federal funding to Columbia University, citing failure to address antisemitic harassment. A federal review of Columbia's funding, led by multiple agencies, could impact over $5 billion in grants, particularly research funding. Columbia is under three federal investigations for antisemitism, making it a key target in Trump's broader crackdown on campus protests. Critics argue the funding cuts could harm Jewish researchers and academic institutions, while Trump insists on strict penalties for pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
BY SHARON OTTERMAN • MARCH 4, 2025
Historian Avi Shilon's class at Columbia was disrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters, exposing differences between Israeli and American Jewish perspectives. Shilon saw the protest as harassment, while his students felt it created a hostile environment. He argues that the protests reflect a one-sided narrative that ignores Israeli suffering and that true understanding of the conflict requires acknowledging both perspectives.
BY AVI SHILON • FEBURARY 24, 2025
Concerns have grown over violent rhetoric at Columbia University, particularly from the anti-Israel group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which has supported armed resistance and shared violent imagery online. Some of their statements have called for the murder of Zionists, raising fears for student safety. Despite these issues, the university has faced criticism for not taking stronger action, while law enforcement monitors the situation. The debate revolves around balancing free speech with preventing violence and incitement.​
BY HALEY COHEN • DECEMBER 17, 2024
A student group at Columbia University, Students for Justice in Palestine, distributed a newspaper called The Columbia Intifada, which contained anti-Israel rhetoric and articles promoting controversial views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Columbia University condemned the publication, stating it violated school policies and used the university's name without permission. Some students and faculty criticized the paper for spreading hate and glorifying violence, while others defended it as free speech. The controversy follows previous anti-Israel protests at Columbia, with critics calling for stronger action against such activities.
BY MATTHEW SEDACCA • DECEMBER 6, 2024
Professor Ran Kivetz from Columbia University emphasizes the need for Israel to counter rising global antisemitism, which fuels terrorism. He calls for stronger advocacy efforts, combating misinformation, and holding accountable institutions and countries that allow antisemitic actions.​​
BY MICHAL BAKSHI • NOVEMBER 13, 2024
The Fall 2024 Columbia Magazine is criticized for ignoring the rise of antisemitism on campus after the October 2023 Hamas attacks. Despite the growing crisis, the magazine focuses on unrelated topics, neglecting the concerns of Jewish students and alumni. The writer calls for future issues to prioritize addressing antisemitism.
BY MENACHEM ROSENSAFT • OCTOBER 15, 2024
A Columbia University memorial for the victims of the October 7 Hamas attacks was disrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters who celebrated the violence. Many critics, including Jewish students, expressed frustration over the university's response, accusing the administration of not protecting Jewish students or enforcing the university's rules. The article calls for stronger leadership from Columbia to address these tensions and hold protesters accountable, emphasizing the need for consequences to prevent further disruptions.
BY TREVOR NOROWITZ • OCTOBER 23, 2024
Columbia University must set clearer boundaries around disruptive speech, especially with recent violent rhetoric on campus. While free debate is vital, speech that incites violence or creates an unsafe environment harms the university's educational mission. As a private institution, Columbia has the flexibility to regulate such speech, ensuring a safe space for academic inquiry and discourse.​
Pro-Israel protesters gathered at Columbia University's Low Plaza in a demonstration organized by Columbia Faculty and Staff Supporting Israel. They chanted in support of Israel and displayed posters calling for the release of Hamas hostages. A separate pro-Palestinian vigil took place nearby, while another pro-Israel group set up an art installation honoring victims of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.​
Concerns have grown over violent rhetoric at Columbia University, particularly from the anti-Israel group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which has supported armed resistance and shared violent imagery online. Some of their statements have called for the murder of Zionists, raising fears for student safety. Despite these issues, the university has faced criticism for not taking stronger action, while law enforcement monitors the situation. The debate revolves around balancing free speech with preventing violence and incitement.​
BY YUKI IWAMURA • SEPTEMBER 3, 2024
Columbia has a moral crisis on its hands that is only getting worse. Since October 7, Columbia’s campus has come to be known not for its hallowed Core Curriculum, but for the scenes of masked mobs setting off flares, referencing and supporting Hamas, and quite literally boxing Jews out of parts of campus.​
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The recent protests on campuses across the country have polarized faculty and students, as well as the public at large. Politicians from the right and the left have inflamed the campus community. While many politicians and outlets condemn the protests as profoundly antisemitic, there are also others who endorse them as legitimate criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza. Police have cleared dozens of protest encampments nationwide.​
In the furor over America’s campuses, it was easy to miss the letter that 500 of Columbia University’s Jews penned and signed to present their position in their own voice. Yet it was this letter, quietly distributed and far less aggressive than some of the other events that overshadowed it, that may prove to be the turning point in the struggle for American Jewry’s future. This is why.​
BY NATAN SHARANSKY • MAY 27, 2024
On November 1, 2023, when the presidents of Columbia, Barnard, and Teachers College announced the establishment of the Task Force on Antisemitism, they said our immediate charge was to “identify practical ways for our safety and inclusion work to enhance support for all members of the Columbia, Barnard, and Teachers College communities, particularly our Jewish students.” Our first work product was a report on protests, demonstrations, and free speech, published in early March, that directly addressed our charge. We will issue further reports, addressing other aspects of university life, in the coming months.​
A Columbia professor was quickly shut down after warning her colleagues that the Morningside Heights campus had been infiltrated by outsiders with “known ties to terrorist organizations.”
Professor Carol Ewing Garber immediately had her mic muted after speaking out about campus security at the May 3 Zoom meeting of the university’s faculty senate — which was held hours after the school’s Hamilton Hall was overrun by a mob of Hamas-supporting students.
BY JON LEVINE • MAY 11, 2024
Russian-born Prof. Larisa Geskin won't remain silent in the face of antisemitism threatening her and Jewish students on campus; 'People here shout 'death to the Jews' and no one cares,' she tells Ynet​