US campus life explodes with threats and resignations – and not just among students

Faculty members at Ivy League colleges Columbia and Cornell engage in war of words, police called in over threats.

An open letter signed by some 130 faculty members at Columbia University describing the deadly Hamas assault on Israeli civilians on October 7 as a “military action” sparked public uproar and accusations of complicity in Jew hatred.

The letter, initiated by Katherine Franke, a professor of law, expressed solidarity with students at the university who have been accused of antisemitism, arising from a student statement which was initiated by pro-Palestinian campus group.

The statement read: “The weight of responsibility for the war and casualties undeniably lies with the Israeli extremist government and other Western governments, including the U.S. government, which fund and staunchly support Israeli aggression, apartheid and settler-colonization.”

In response, more than 220 faculty members from Columbia University have already signed an open letter lambasting their colleagues for appearing to condone Hamas’s bloody assault on innocent civilians.

“We are horrified that anyone would celebrate these monstrous attacks or, as some members of the Columbia faculty have done in a recent letter, try to ‘recontextualize’ them as a ‘salvo,’ as the ‘exercise of a right to resist’ occupation, or as ‘military action,’” the response letter said.

At another university in Philadelphia, an Israeli professor has taken unpaid leave of absence to avoid what she describes as the “hostile environment” on her campus since the October 7 massacre perpetrated by Hamas in southern Israel.

Tali Reiner Brodetzki, an assistant professor in the biology department at LaSalle University, said she had little choice given the refusal of the administration to issue a public retraction after it accused both Israel and Hamas of “acts of terrorism” in an invitation to an interfaith prayer service sent out about two weeks ago to students and faculty.

The 42-year-old says she is also considering legal action.

Meanwhile, a Cornell University student is facing federal charges after he was arrested Tuesday for allegedly threatening to kill Jewish students at the school in posts online, law enforcement officials said.

The online messages surfaced Sunday and included threats to shoot Jewish students at the 104 West building, which houses their kosher dining hall, and messaging encouraging others to harm Jews, according to the school’s student newspaper, The Cornell Daily Sun.

The climate movement has become embroiled in controversy. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg posted an anti-Israel, anti-Semitic and pro-Palestinian photo, “spreading the worst kind of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories”, according to a German parliamentarian.

So has the art world. After editor-in-chief of leading art magazine Artforum was fired following the publication of a letter that was sharply critical of Israel, several staff members at a resigned in protest over the weekend.

Pro-Israel figures in the art world had condemned Artforum and its editor in chief, David Velasco, since the magazine’s publication of a letter expressing support for “Palestinian liberation” without mentioning the 1,400 people murdered when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

READ MORE

Columbia Faculty Statement Terming Hamas Massacre ‘Military Action’ Draws Fury (Haaretz)

'No Justification for Rape and Murder': Columbia Faculty Respond to Peers Condoning Hamas (Haaretz)

Outraged by Her U.S. College’s Response to Hamas Atrocity, This Israeli Professor Has Had Enough (Haaretz)

Student hit with federal charges for online death threats aimed at Cornell Jews (Times of Israel)

Authorities investigating online threats of violence against Jewish students at Cornell University, school’s president says (CNN)

Greta Thunberg's anti-Israel stance divides climate movement (Ynet)

Artforum staff resign in protest after editor fired over publication of anti-Israel open letter (JTA) 

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Photo: Pro-Palestinian students in a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University in New York City, US, October 12 (Jeenah Moon/ Reuters)