Former Special Envoy Deborah Lipstadt Withdraws from Consideration for Columbia Position Over University’s Handling of Antisemitism
Deborah Lipstadt, the former special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, announced in a March 2 article in The Free Press that she is withdrawing her name from consideration for a visiting professor position at Columbia University over the university’s handling of antisemitism on campus.
Lipstadt explained that she withdrew after seeing Barnard College refuse to take any disciplinary action against anti-Israel protesters who took over a building on the campus in response to the college expelling two students who were involved in disrupting an Israeli professor’s history class on Jan. 21. “There have been too many humiliating dramas like these to count over the past year and a half,” Lipstadt wrote, adding that “watching Barnard capitulate to mob violence and fail to enforce its own rules and regulations led me to conclude that I could not go to Columbia University, even for a single semester.” Lipstadt acknowledged that while Barnard and Columbia are separate, though affiliated institutions, she contended that Columbia’s statement on the matter was “anodyne” and didn’t feature any sort of condemnation. Lipstadt wrote that she does not think she would be safe teaching at Columbia, nor does she think that the university is “serious” about taking the requisite action needed to improve the climate on campus. “I will not be used to provide cover for a completely unacceptable situation,” she stated.
The university said in a statement that President Katrina Armstrong called Lipstadt “to personally engage her and share her personal commitment to combating antisemitism” — which Lipstadt acknowledged in her Free Press piece — and that “Ambassador Lipstadt’s invitation was part of these efforts to invite experts in antisemitism to teach on campus as part of Columbia’s ongoing effort to interrogate antisemitism and expand and deepen students’ understanding of this hatred.”
NY Gov Orders CUNY School to Remove Palestinian Studies Position
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) ordered Hunter College, a school in the City University of New York (CUNY), to remove its open position for a “Palestinian Studies Cluster Hire” position.
The position, reported Fox News, purportedly sought an academic “who takes a critical lens to issues pertaining to Palestine including but not limited to: settler colonialism, genocide, human rights, apartheid, migration, climate and infrastructure devastation, health, race, gender, and sexuality.” According to the Associated Press, Hochul’s office said in a statement that she told the school to take down the posting “and conduct a thorough review of the position to ensure that antisemitic theories are not promoted in the classroom.” CUNY Board of Trustees Chairperson William Thompson, Jr. and Chancellor Félix Matos Rodriguez said in a statement that they “find this language divisive, polarizing and inappropriate and strongly agree with Governor Hochul’s direction to remove this posting.” Hunter College said in a statement that it “took down the job listings following the concerns raised about the language used in the online posting. We will be reviewing the posting process and look forward to adding scholars with expertise in this subject matter to our distinguished faculty.”
Anti-Israel Activists Vandalize GW Prof’s Office
Anti-Israel activists vandalized George Washington University (GWU) Economics Professor Joseph Pelzman’s office on Feb. 25 with signs calling him an “architect of genocide” as well as a mock eviction notice calling him a “pernicious symptom of the bloodthirsty Zionism permeating this campus,” Jewish Insider (JI) reported.
Pelzman had submitted a plan to the Trump team in July 2024 proposing to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and invest $1-2 trillion toward economic development in the area. One of the signs called Pezlman’s “disgusting” and would result in “ethnic cleansing” and “the complete destruction and foreign occupation of Gaza.” “I don’t know what about the plan worries [the demonstrators],” he told JI. “Other than that they didn’t read it.” A spokesperson for the university told JI that it “condemns and takes very seriously any acts that deface university property or threaten any members of our community” and it is investigating the matter.
Trump Antisemitism Task Force to Visit 10 Universities
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Feb. 28 that the Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism will be visiting 10 universities that have allegedly failed to adequately address antisemitic incidents on campus since the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre.
The 10 universities include UCLA, USC, UC Berkeley, Columbia University and Harvard University. The task force will be meeting with university leadership, students and community members to determine if it needs to take action.
“The President, Attorney General Pamela Bondi and the entire Administration are committed to ensuring that no one should feel unsafe or unwelcome on campus because of their religion,” Leo Terrell, leading member of the task force and senior counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, said in a statement. “The Task Force’s mandate is to bring the full force of the federal government to bear in our effort to eradicate Anti-Semitism, particularly in schools. These visits are just one of many steps this Administration is taking to deliver on that commitment.”
