Press Releases

Today, Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) sent a letter to Columbia President Dr. Minouche Shafik, Columbia Trustees Co-Chair David Greenwald, and Columbia Trustees Co-Chair Claire Shipman demanding the administration immediately take action to crack down on the violent, antisemitic protests occurring on campus.

In the letter, Foxx writes: “I am gravely concerned by the ongoing chaos at Columbia University caused by the radical, unlawful Gaza Solidarity Encampment, which has now entered its fifth day. … Multiple Jewish students have already sought shelter off-campus. Columbia’s continued failure to restore order and safety promptly to campus constitutes a major breach of the University’s Title VI obligations, upon which federal financial assistance is contingent, and which must immediately be rectified. If you do not rectify this danger, then the Committee will not hesitate in holding you accountable.”

The letter continues: “The encampment and related activities have resulted in widespread antisemitic harassment and intimidation, assaults, frequent celebration of terrorism, and major disruptions of Columbia’s learning environment. … The Committee is aware of multiple Jewish students seeking shelter off-campus due to their well-founded fears regarding their physical safety and continuing to be subjected to what is clearly a hostile environment.”

Foxx concludes: “This situation is unacceptable, and it is imperative that Columbia’s leaders restore order and safety without further delay, in line with their commitments before the Committee at its April 17 hearing. … Columbia is failing to deliver on these commitments, as Jewish students are being harassed, assaulted, threatened, and intimidated to the point where they are departing campus for safer environments. The students, faculty, and staff responsible for this mayhem, including members of the groups Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, and Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine, repeatedly and flagrantly have violated multiple University rules, and in many cases, federal law. The University must decisively hold them accountable in a manner commensurate with the severity of their offenses, including expulsion and termination of employment.”

To read the full letter, click here.

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