Columbia University has launched a task force on anti-Semitism to address the “terribly resilient” hatred that has spread across 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 the task force on the same day it activated a doxxing resource group to protect pro-Palestinian students.
The school said it was pressured to establish the task force after a notable increase in the number of reported anti-Semitic attacks, both physical and ideological, on its Manhattan campus in the past three weeks.
“One would hope that in the 21st century anti-Semitism would have been relegated to the dustbin of history. But it has been increasing here in New York City, across the country, and around the world in recent years,” Columbia University President Minouche Shafik wrote in a message to the school community.
The five-person panel, led by campus faculty, will be tasked with recommending changes that foster an inclusive environment at Columbia, as well as its affiliated schools Barnard and Teachers College.
Recommendations could also come in the form of academic changes, as well as inclusive training offered to its students, faculty and staff.
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik announced the new task force, saying anti-Semitism has increased around the world in recent years. Mark Bader/Columbia University
The task force “will enhance our ability to address this ancient but terrifyingly resilient form of hate,” Columbia said in the announcement.
“We want to reiterate that we will not tolerate such actions and are acting aggressively against anti-Semitic threats, images and other violations as they are reported, and we will continue to provide additional resources to protect our campuses.”
Reported incidents ranged from physical assaults (including an attack by an Israeli student outside the Morningside campus library) to ideological rumors that led Jewish students to criticize the university for making them feel “unsafe.”
Pro-Israel protesters react as they sing a song during a protest last month on the New York City campus on Oct. 12, 2023.AP Pro-Palestinian protesters participate in a protest at Columbia University on Thursday, Oct. 12. .AP
Earlier this week, more than 100 professors wrote a letter defending students who supported Hamas’ “military action” in Israel as a breaking point after decades of oppression.
The faculty asked the administration to protect those students from “disruptive reverberations” on campus, namely “doxxing trucks” that appeared off campus and posted images of pro-Palestinian students under the banner “anti-Semitic leaders.”
In response, Columbia launched a “Doxing Resource Group” to provide exposed students with avenues to report harassment and access to experts in digital threat investigation and privacy cleanup.
“Deliberate harassment and targeting of members of our community through doxxing, a dangerous form of intimidation, is unacceptable,” Shafik wrote in the second ad posted Tuesday.
An aerial view of a recent protest that took place at Columbia University following the Hamas attack on Israel. Palestinian supporters of Fox Business participate in a march around the Columbia University campus during a protest on October 12, 2023.AP
“This includes disturbing incidents in which trucks drove around the Columbia campus displaying and advertising the names and photographs of Arab, Muslim and Palestinian students.”
While the anti-Semitism task force is expected to be a permanent fixture on the Columbia campus, the doxxing resource group is scheduled to operate only through November, unless the need proves too great.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn