Following a tense night of negotiations and ultimatums, Columbia University announced Thursday it won’t forcibly remove the pro-Palestinian student protests on its campus in New York for at least the next 48 hours, following an interim compromise agreed upon by protest representatives and the institution.
"We have made significant progress and, in light of constructive dialogue, the university will continue discussions with the students for the next 48 hours," the university said in a statement.
The U.S. Jewish community is dismayed by the events at Columbia University, describing the current outbreak as a peak of antisemitism. Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), issued a letter to the university’s president Minouche Shafik, and called on her to immediately ban antisemitic protests and enforce laws on campus.
"The atmosphere on campus has already spiraled past any reasonable measure of allowable political protest and risks devolving into the kind of violence that makes good on these activists’ terrifying promises. These protests have turned Columbia into a place where Jewish students have reason to fear for their safety and from which many are fleeing, actually fleeing, in fear,” according to Deutch.
Rabbi Richard Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism in the United States, told Ynet that the protesters are tragic figures. "When at their best, universities are greenhouses for ideas and spaces for strong debates. It’s tragic that at Columbia and in too many other schools, protesters are more interested in stifling ideas and discussions.”
“Some of the anti-Israel protesters uttered despicable antisemitic hate speech that made Jewish students feel physically threatened. Administrators have a vital responsibility to protect their community, including its Jewish members. Unfortunately, Columbia University has failed in this basic responsibility,” he added.
Sheila Katz, president of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), a progressive and pro-Israel organization, wrote on her X account: "Jews are being attacked on the streets, campuses, in airports, in our homes, and in synagogues. Nowhere feels safe. We need those who claim to be our friends to passionately and unequivocally condemn antisemitism. Silence is not neutrality; it's complicity. Please stand with us.”
UJA-Federation of New York CEO Eric Goldstein told Ynet: "The scenes on U.S. campuses are ugly and very disturbing, but it should be noted that there are hundreds of thousands of American Jews who are now happily celebrating their holiday without any disturbance."
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt also addressed the situation. "Jewish students don’t feel safe on campus. What do you think they mean when they say, ‘revolution is the only way’? We, as Jews, know what happens when people aren’t taken at their word. We owe it to the 1,200 Jews massacred on October 7, to the 133 hostages held in cages underground in Gaza, and to all Jewish students to take action before it's too late," he said.
"What’s happening on university campuses around the world is abhorrent, and the fact that it’s allowed to go on for so long is unacceptable. To Jewish students everywhere - we stand united together," the World Jewish Congress said in a statement.
The U.S. Jewish Student Union called on Columbia to protect its students. "We don’t believe Jewish students should leave Columbia. We believe the university and the municipality need to do more to ensure the security of our students."