Columbia Jewish alumni demand firing of president Shafik for failing to protect students on campus
Columbia University’s Jewish Alumni Association has joined calls for embattled school President Minouche Shafik to resign over her handling of the ongoing anti-Israeli protests on campus.
The Columbia Jewish Alumni Association (CJJA) slammed the demonstrations at the Manhattan campus, claiming the protest has made the university “the center of worldwide hatred and bigotry.”
“President Shafik’s silence has been deafening. Appeasing antisemitism never works,” the group wrote in a statement Monday.
“It is well past time to have asked the NYPD to clear campus and enforce university rules. President Shafik must immediately resign,” the group added.
The CJJA ultimately demanded that the university’s Board of Trustees appoint a new president capable of restoring “order and the reputation of the institution we so deeply love, and protect the safety of all members of the community.”
The group maintains that Shafik is not capable of regaining control of campus and is allegedly ignoring calls from federal and state leaders to curb the protests, which have seen tents spring up at Columbia University with protests shouting anti-Israeli slogans and pro-Hamas chants.
Both President Biden and Mayor Eric Adams have condemned the recent spike in antisemitic demonstrations taking place in the Big Apple and across the nation.
“Silence is complicity,” Biden said in a statement Sunday. “Even in recent days, we’ve seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous, and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country.”
Follow The Post’s coverage of the anti-Israel protests at Columbia University:
Columbia cancels in-person classes to ‘reset’ as anti-Israel protests raise tensions
Columbia Jewish alumni demand firing of president Shafik for failing to protect students on campus
Adams said he was “horrified and disgusted” over the protest in Columbia, and said he instructed the NYPD to investigate any crime taking place at the campus during the protest.
“I condemn this hate speech in the strongest of terms.” Adams said in a statement. “Supporting a terrorist organization that aims to kill Jews is sickening and despicable.”
The CJAA is the latest group seeking to oust Shafik, with House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik demanding the embattled university president resign on Sunday.
Stefanik also accused Shafik of providing “hollow” testimony during a congressional hearing over the rise of antisemitic incidents on college campuses.
By Monday, the entire New York’s Republican delegation penned a letter demanding Shafik’s resignation.
In a new statement Monday, Shafik pleaded with the undergrads to go home, saying Columbia had to “reset” and “address security concerns” from students “across an array of communities.”
“I am deeply saddened by what is happening on our campus. Our bonds as a community have been severely tested in ways that will take a great deal of time and effort to reaffirm,” Shafik added.
