Columbia University announced a series of sweeping reforms Tuesday designed to combat antisemitism as it tries to convince the Trump administration to return $400 million in federal funding that was canceled following claims it failed to protect Jewish students from harassment in the wake of pro-Palestinian protests.
In a letter to the Columbia community, University acting President Claire Shipman wrote that among the changes, the university will adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism; partner with the Anti-Defamation League to create trainings on antisemitism; and appoint a coordinator to ensure compliance with Title VI and Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Columbia also will refuse to recognize or meet with Columbia University Apartheid Divest, its representatives, or any of its affiliated organizations.
In the spring of 2024, CUAD took credit for an encampment that commandeered the main campus lawns as protests erupted nationwide on college campuses in the wake of Israel’s military response in the Gaza Strip following Iranian-backed Hamas’ terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023. CUAD and its representatives met with university administrators over demands to take down the tents. When the talks failed, the private Ivy League university called the New York police department to clear the demonstration.
“Organizations that promote violence or encourage disruptions of our academic mission are not welcome on our campuses and the university will not engage with them,” Shipman wrote.
Barnard College, a private women’s school affiliated with Columbia, announced similar commitments, such as hiring a Title VI coordinator and refusing to negotiate with CUAD, earlier this month to settle its half of an ongoing lawsuit brought against Columbia and Barnard by several Jewish students, the Columbia Spectator student newspaper reported.
Marc Kasowitz, a partner at a law firm representing the students, declined to comment to the Spectator on whether his firm had settled with Columbia. But he said the university’s commitments resemble his firm’s settlements with Harvard, New York University, and Barnard.
“We’re pleased that Columbia has chosen to follow almost verbatim some of the key provisions of our agreement as publicly reported, but obviously, there’s more for the University to do,” Kasowitz said. “There needs to be assurance that these commitments are going to be enforced.”
Colleges have increasingly used the IHRA definition of antisemitism to respond to campus protests — a development welcomed by many supporters of Israel but criticized by protesters who said it infringes on free speech, the Daily News of New York reported.
The IHRA definition on its website states, “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
The IHRA stated that some critiques of Israel as a Jewish state might cross a line into antisemitism, such as denying the Jewish people’s right to self-determination or claiming that the existence of Israel is a racist endeavor. Comparing contemporary Israeli policy and that of Nazis would also be considered antisemitic under its terms.
Adopting the IHRA definition had been one of the Trump administration’s prerequisites for resuming negotiations over the flow of federal funding, the Daily News reported. But Columbia had stopped short of fully embracing the approach in its disciplinary cases.
“The formal incorporation of this definition will strengthen our response to and our community’s understanding of modern antisemitism,” Shipman wrote.
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