The president of Columbia University in New York will testify before Congress about antisemitism on campus in the aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Israel.
According to USA TODAY, the university president, Minouche Shafik, will testify in front of the same committee whose questioning led the presidents of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania to resign.
Shafik will reportedly testify alongside David Greenwald and Claire Shipman, the two co-chairs of the university’s board of trustees (via USA TODAY)
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., the chairwoman of the House education committee, said Columbia’s campus on the Upper West Side of Manhattan has seen some of the worst instances of antisemitic assaults. A Jewish student at the university told Jewish Insider last month he was shoved and pinned against a wall by a pro-Palestinian protestor. The student said he was wearing a shirt with an Israeli flag. The incident reportedly occurred outside the school's gates.
“Due to the severe and pervasive nature of these cases, and the Columbia administration’s failure to enforce its own policies to protect Jewish students, the Committee must hear from Columbia’s leadership in person to learn how the school is addressing antisemitism on its campus,” Foxx said in a statement.
Late last year, Townhall covered how the United States Department of Education announced that Cornell University, Columbia University, Wellesley College, Lafayette College, and the University of Pennsylvania would be investigated over serious claims of antisemitic behavior.
"Hate has no place in our schools, period. When students are targeted because they are—or are perceived to be—Jewish, Muslim, Arab, Sikh, or any other ethnicity or shared ancestry, schools must act to ensure safe and inclusive educational environments where everyone is free to learn,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement.
"Hate has no place in our schools, period. When students are targeted because they are—or are perceived to be—Jewish, Muslim, Arab, Sikh, or any other ethnicity or shared ancestry, schools must act to ensure safe and inclusive educational environments...” - @SecCardona
— U.S. Department of Education (@usedgov) November 17, 2023
Columbia has been at the center of numerous protests since Oct. 7. In one instance,, Townhall reported that students at the university staged a walkout from one of former first lady Hillary Clinton’s classes to “shame” the school for how they believe it allowed its students who signed a statement against Israel to be “publicly shamed.”