Columbia University professor advised students to avoid mainstream media outlets because 'it is owned by Jews': Report
A professor at Columbia University allegedly told students to avoid reading from mainstream media outlets because "it is owned by Jews."
A professor at Columbia University allegedly told students to avoid reading from mainstream media outlets because “it is owned by Jews.”
The brazenly anti-Semitic remark was outlined by the Columbia University task force on anti-Semitism, which exposed “harassment of Jewish students” as well as anti-Semitic statements made by various professors, according to Haaretz.
Members of the task force told Haaretz that Israeli and Jewish students felt “targeted and ostracized” at Columbia.
In one instance, a professor asked an individual with a Jewish-sounding surname to explain their views on the Israeli government’s action in the Gaza Strip.
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”One professor encountering a Jewish-sounding surname while reading names before an exam asked the student to explain their views on the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza,” task force members said.
Another professor allegedly “revealed a student’s complaint about an offensive comment regarding Jews by publicly displaying their email to fellow students.”
On multiple occasions, professors encouraged their students to take part in the Gaza Solidarity Encampment or anti-Israel protests and some offered extra credit, the outlet reported.
”Other incidents included students wearing Jewish symbols having them torn from their person. Some were pushed out of student clubs they had been part of because they did not want to participate in group actions and statements against Israel’s right to exist,” Haaretz reported.
Columbia Professor Gil Zussman told The New York Post that the campus environment is hostile to Israeli and Jewish students.
“There’s clear discrimination against Israeli students and Jews,” Zussman said. “They’ve been targeted from the beginning by demonstrators.”
Zussman said that he’s aware of at least two professors who held classes inside the anti-Israel encampments.
“That’s like saying, `We don’t want Zionists here,’” he said. “I believe it’s a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights law to move classes into the encampment.”
A Columbia spokesperson told Haaretz: “We are committed to combatting antisemitism and taking sustained, concrete action to ensure Columbia is a campus where Jewish students and everyone in our community feels safe, valued and able to thrive.”
