Columbia University has launched an antisemitism task force to address the “highly resilient” hatred that has plagued its campus in the weeks since Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel, the school said Wednesday.
The Ivy League university announced the formation of a task force the same day it activated a doxxing resource group to protect pro-Palestinian students.
The school said it was prompted to set up a task force after a sharp increase in the number of reported antisemitic attacks – both physical and ideological – on its Manhattan campus in the last three weeks.
“One hopes that by the twenty-first century, antisemitism will be relegated to the dustbin of history. But it has increased here in New York City, across the country, and around the world in recent years,” wrote Columbia University President Minouche Shafik in a message to the school community.
A five-person panel — led by campus professors — will be tasked with recommending changes that foster an inclusive environment at Columbia, as well as its affiliated schools Barnard and Teachers College.
Recommendations can also come in the form of academic changes, as well as inclusive training offered to students, faculty and staff.
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik announced a new task force saying antisemitism has increased worldwide in recent years.Mark Bader/Columbia University
The task force will “increase our ability to address this ancient, but highly resilient form of hate,” Columbia said in the announcement.
“We would like to reiterate that we will not tolerate such actions and move strongly against antisemitic threats, images and other violations as reported, and we will continue to provide additional resources to protect our campus.”
Reported incidents ranged from physical attacks — including the assault of an Israeli student outside the Morningside Campus library — to ideological rumblings that led Jewish students to lash out at the university for making them feel “unsafe.”
A pro-Israel protester reacts while chanting during last month’s protest on the NYC campus on Oct. 12. 2023.AP Pro-Palestinian demonstrators take part in a protest at Columbia University on Thursday, Oct. 12.AP
Earlier this week, more than 100 professors wrote a letter defending students who support Hamas “military action” in Israel as a breaking point following decades of oppression.
Faculty called on the administration to protect those students from “disturbing echoes” on campus, namely “doxxing trucks” that appear outside campus and plaster images of pro-Palestinian students under the banner of “prominent antisemites.”
In response, Columbia launched a “Doxing Resource Group” to provide vulnerable students with ways to report harassment and access to digital threat investigation and privacy scrubs experts.
“Intentional harassment and targeting of our community members with doxxing, a dangerous form of intimidation, is unacceptable,” Shafik wrote in a second announcement issued Tuesday.
An aerial view of the recent protests that took place at Columbia University following the Hamas attack on Israel. Palestinian Fox Business supporters participate in a march around the Columbia University campus during a protest on Oct. 12. 2023.AP
“This includes a disturbing incident in which a truck has driven around the Columbia campus displaying and publicizing the names and photographs of Arab, Muslim and Palestinian students.”
While the antisemitism task force is expected to be a regular fixture on Columbia’s campus, the doxxing resource group is slated to operate only through November unless the need proves too great.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
