House Republicans are demanding details about incidents of “pervasive antisemitism” at Columbia University — even after the departure of its president who let anti-Israel students take over campus last year.
Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) fired off a letter Thursday to the Ivy League school, demanding information about incidents ranging from Hillary Clinton being shouted down by anti-Israel protesters to letting undergrads who occupied Hamilton Hall skate on disciplinary charges.
“Columbia’s failure to address the pervasive antisemitism that persists on campus is untenable, particularly given that the university receives billions in federal funding,” Walberg (R-Mich.) wrote in the missive to interim president Katrina Armstrong.
The Republican chairman said administrators had a chance to reset in the fall semester after the 2023-2024 school year ended in “turmoil,” as the university’s former president Minouche Shafik described it when she resigned last August.
Demonstrators had descended on the Morningside Heights school and set up an anti-Israel encampment in late April, cancelling in-person classes and prompting a rabbi to caution Jewish students against returning to campus due to “extreme antisemitism.”
The mayhem culminated in students breaking into Hamilton Hall and barricading themselves inside with custodians — who later had to “courageously fight” their way out of the building, according to their lawyer.
NYPD officers broke up the occupation on April 30, arresting hundreds of demonstrators.
Columbia administrators claimed that at least 22 of them faced expulsion after being charged by authorities — but has yet to follow through.
Seven of those involved have already graduated. The rest are having their disciplinary hearings adjudicated before the University Judicial Board.
Walberg claims that none will face serious consequences because of the university having “jettisoned” code of conduct policies meant to ensure “safe demonstrations.”
Since that reversal, protesters have vandalized property on campus, chanted “long live the Intifada” inside a Jewish student center, assaulted classmates and issued statements of support for Hamas.
Masked demonstrators in keffiyehs disrupted an Israeli history class just last month by distributing flyers with symbols of the terror group that bore the message, “THE ENEMY WILL NOT SEE TOMORROW.”
“For more than a year, Columbia University leaders have made public and private promises to Jewish students, faculty and Members of Congress that the university would take the steps necessary to combat the rampant antisemitism on Columbia’s campus,” Walberg wrote.
“Unfortunately, Columbia’s Trustees, interim president, and deans have not met their promises or commitments. Their negligence has created a hostile environment for members of Columbia’s Jewish communities and resulted in severe disruptions to the university’s learning environment.”
The chairman gave Columbia until Feb. 27 to hand over disciplinary files on incidents spanning from April 30, 2024, to Jan. 29, 2025.
Last year, the House Education Committee investigated Ivy League universities like Columbia and Harvard as well as state schools like Rutgers and UCLA and concluded that Jewish students had been “harassed, assaulted, intimidated, and subjected to hostile environments.”
“Columbia has cooperated extensively with the previous congressional inquiries and will continue to do so,” a university spokesperson said in a statement. “Since assuming her role in August, Interim President Armstrong and her leadership team have taken decisive actions to address issues of antisemitism.”
“Under the University’s new leadership, we have established a centralized Office of Institutional Equity to address all reports of discrimination and harassment, appointed a new Rules Administrator, and strengthened the capabilities of our Public Safety Office.”
