Columbia launches investigation into Jewish prof who criticized school’s response to anti-Semitism
Columbia University is investigating Shai Davidai, a Jewish Israeli professor who has been outspoken about campus anti-Semitism and the school’s response to it ever since Oct. 7.
Davidai called the investigation a ‘clear act of retaliation and an attempt to silence me.’
Columbia University has opened an investigation against a Jewish Israeli-born professor following his criticism of the university’s response to anti-Semitism on campus.
On March 8, Shai Davidai, who is Assistant Professor of Business at Columbia University, announced on X that the Ivy League school has begun investigating him, calling this a “clear act of retaliation and an attempt to silence me,” and provided a statement detailing his experience with anti-Semitism on Columbia’s campus.
“Speaking up has ruined my life,” Davidai wrote in his statement. “I receive death threats on a daily basis. I have been targeted on social media, including by Columbia students and faculty. To the best of my ability, I avoid spending time on campus, out of fear of being verbally or physically assaulted.”
In the statement, Davidai described the growing atmosphere of anti-Israeli sentiment at Columbia: “Over the past months, Jewish students at Columbia have been locking themselves in their dorm rooms to avoid being assaulted. They have been spat on, attacked, bullied, and vilified. Columbia has done nothing to stop pro-terror organizations that justify, excuse, and celebrate the massacre of my people, and chant for their eradication ‘by any means necessary.’”
📢📢 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT📢📢@Columbia has opened an investigation into my advocacy for the Jewish and Israeli students, faculty, and staff at the university.
This is a clear act of retaliation and an attempt to silence me.
If you want to know more, read my statement below pic.twitter.com/vouAtf1nHq— Shai Davidai (@ShaiDavidai) March 8, 2024
The investigation is being conducted by Columbia’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action and Davidai expressed his desire to be cooperative, as seen on the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Davidai has openly criticized the university’s president, Minouche Shafik, on several occasions regarding what he saw as her lack of response to anti-Semitism at Columbia.
On Feb. 20, Davidai condemned Shafik on X, saying that “after October 7th, she never reached out to us, her Israeli employees. Not even a ‘hey, I am sorry for your loss,’” and spoke out against her silence regarding repeated anti-Semitic incidents on campus: “I want to believe that the President of @Columbia is still searching for the right words to say. But right now, her silence speaks louder than words.”
On Feb. 23, Davidai posted on X about Shafik again, writing: “The President of @Columbia University doesn’t seem to care about Jews and Israelis. Let’s *make* her care. Click this link to send an email to @Columbia’s President.”
Davidai has also been vocal about the New York City school as an institution regarding anti-Semitism on campus.
Davidai found fault with two suspended Columbia organizations, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JFP), condemning both groups on X on Feb. 23: “The two suspended organizations at @Columbia - SJP and JVP - co-signed a letter in support of Hamas *while they were still slaughtering Israeli civilians*. They published the letter on October 9th.”
On March 5, Davidai again took to X to condemn Columbia for hosting an event featuring an anti-Israeli professor and a controversial activist who previously threatened a journalist with a machete, stating: “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but antisemitism has hit a new low at @Columbia. . . . A professor who signs a letter in support of a terror organization whose stated mission is to kill all Jews in Israel hosting an antisemite who compares Jews to cockroaches. . . . If you donated even $1 to @Columbia this year, a portion of your donation is helping these antisemites organize such events.”
Campus Reform previously reported on a House Committee of Education and the Workforce hearing in which a Jewish Columbia student testified regarding anti-Semitic behavior on campus, saying: “We have been attacked with sticks outside of our library. We have been surrounded by angry mobs. And we have been threatened to ‘Keep f***ing running.’”
A Columbia spokesperson told Campus Reform: “We do not comment on personnel matters.”
Campus Reform has also reached out to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action. This article will be updated accordingly.
