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COLUMBIA CONCERNS

House Education committee’s antisemitism investigation expands to Columbia

Columbia joins Harvard, Penn, MIT as targets of Rep. Virginia Foxx’s investigation into antisemitism on college and university campuses

Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Rep. Virginia Foxx, (R-NC)

Columbia University on Monday became the latest target of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce’s investigation into antisemitism on U.S. college and university campuses.

Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC) sent a letter to Columbia’s leadership requesting documents relating to the school’s handling of antisemitism, following similar requests sent to Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania.

Foxx, in her letter, traces Columbia’s “environment of pervasive antisemitism” back to 2004, in addition to numerous alleged incidents — detailed over more than eight pages — of antisemitic and anti-Israel comments and assault, harassment and vandalism targeting Jewish students on Columbia’s campus since Oct. 7. 

The chairwoman also noted that events by Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace have continued “with apparent impunity” on Columbia’s campus even though both groups have been officially suspended.

“Columbia’s failure to enforce its policies and uphold its commitments on antisemitism is a clear abdication of the university’s obligation to protect its Jewish students,” Foxx wrote.

She requested a slew of documents including those relating to reports of and responses to antisemitism on Columbia’s campus, funding from Qatari and other foreign donors to Columbia and funding for pro-Palestine and anti-Israel groups on campus.

Foxx gave the school until Feb. 26 to respond to the document request.

Columbia’s president, Minouche Shafik, had been invited to participate in a disastrous December hearing on campus antisemitism — which has led, in part, to the resignations of two of the three presidents who testified — but declined to attend due to a scheduling conflict.

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