Columbia university president pushes back over allegations of anti-Semitism

Four months after a contentious congressional hearing led to the resignations of two Ivy League presidents, Columbia University's president has appeared before the same committee and unequivocally denounced anti-Semitism on her campus, rebutting claims that she has allowed Columbia to become a hotbed of hatred.

"Anti-Semitism has no place on our campus, and I am personally committed to doing everything I can to confront it directly," Columbia President Nemat Shafik said in an opening statement on Wednesday.

Shafik was originally asked to testify at the House Education and Workforce Committee's hearing in December, but she declined citing scheduling conflicts.

The Columbia university president said the school has suspended 15 students and taken disciplinary action against several faculty members.

"We have 37,000 students and I think the numbers that we are talking about who are crossing these lines are, you know, a very, very small number," she said.

The hearing came after the University of Southern California cancelled plans this week for a May 10 graduation speech by a Muslim student over what it said were safety concerns.

Pro-Israel groups had criticised the selection of Asna Tabassum as the class valedictorian, accusing her of being pro-Palestine.

'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'

During the testimony, Representative Lisa McClain, a Republican from Michigan, asked the Columbia president if phrases such as "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" or "long live intifada" are anti-Semitic.

Shafik won't say if it was a "hurtful" slogan, simply stating, "I hear them as such, some people don't."

The Columbia leader did acknowledge cases of anti-Semitism but said it's far from pervasive, describing instead a campus split mostly over political differences. The "vast majority" of demonstrations have been peaceful, she said, and officials have worked to unite students.

"I have spent most of my time since becoming president on these issues, holding over 200 meetings with groups of students, faculty, alumni, donors, parents, some of whom are here, and 20 meetings with other university presidents to learn from each other."

Code of conduct

Hours before the hearing, students supporting Palestinians protested on Columbia's campus.

The protest could become fresh fodder for Republicans. It fell outside the hours designated under new rules Columbia adopted in February.

The December hearing featured the presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose lawyerly responses drew fierce backlash and fueled weeks of controversy.

The presidents of Penn and Harvard have since resigned.

During a heated line of questioning at the December hearing, Stefanik asked the university leaders to answer whether "calling for the genocide of Jews" would violate each university's code of conduct.

Since the October 7 Hamas blitz on Israel, tensions have run high on university campuses in America.

Jewish students have said that their schools are not doing enough to address instances of anti-Semitism. Muslims students say they have seen a spike in ant-Muslim hate on the campuses.

Those who have organised in support of Palestinian rights say they have been disproportionately targeted and censored by campus administrations.

Columbia, along with many other colleges and school districts, is the subject of a series of Department of Education investigations into anti-Semitism and Islamophobia on campuses.

It has also been targeted by lawsuits from both sides. The New York Civil Liberties Union sued over whether the university singled out two pro-Palestinian student organisations when it suspended them from campus over protests in the fall. Groups of Jewish students have also filed suit, saying anti-Semitism on campus violates their civil rights.