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Barnard College Settles Antisemitism Lawsuit
Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) members occupying an administrative building at Barnard College on Feb. 26, 2025. Photo: Screenshot
Barnard College in New York City has settled a lawsuit brought by 36 Jewish students who accused the administrations of Barnard and the affiliated Columbia University of failing to address a toxic outbreak of antisemitism that roiled their campuses following Hamas’ homicidal rampage across southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
In a joint press release issued on Monday, Barnard and the students’ legal representatives — StandWithUs Center for Legal Justice (SCLJ) and Kasowtiz LLP — said the terms of the settlement benefit all parties, providing for new education initiatives on antisemitism, updates to the college’s antidiscrimination policies, and new rules to block students from holding unauthorized, surprise protests that disrupt academic life.
“Antisemitism, discrimination, and harassment in any form are antithetical to values Barnard College champions,” Barnard President Laura Ann Rosenbury said in a statement. “Today’s settlement reflects our ongoing commitment to maintaining a campus that is safe, welcoming, and inclusive for all members of our community. These new measures, including enhanced training and a dedicated Title VI coordinator, build on Barnard’s existing policies and make our standards and expectations for treating one another, both on and off campus, crystal clear. We look forward to continued partnership and collaboration in support of all members of the Barnard community.”
Barnard administrators themselves effectively facilitated anti-Zionist activity on campus, according to the students’ complaint, citing an incident in which school officials invited anti-Israel activist Hatem Bazian, best known for saying “It’s about time we had an intifada in [the US],” to speak at a “Day of Dialogue” event in January, 2024. While Jewish community advocates criticized the invitation for platforming ideologies which openly call for the destruction of Israel, the college defended Bazian as a “renowned scholar.”
Meanwhile, pro-Hamas students allegedly responded to dog whistles they heard emanating from the administration.
“Why are you here?” a pro-Hamas activist asked a Jewish student identified in court documents as John Doe, during a period of campus unrest, several days after Bazian spoke on campus. “Are you here as a Jew? … Well, we’re fighting against you.”
In a major victory for Jewish students, the college also agreed never to engage with Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which emerged after the Oct. 7 attacks as one of the most militant anti-Israel groups in American higher education for its role in building takeovers and physical assaults on Jewish students.
“Antisemitism should never be normalized or accepted,” SCLJ executive director Carly Gammill said in Monday’s press release. “Jewish students have every right to expect — and demand — that their campus environments are free from hostility toward their protected identities, and we understand this settlement as a demonstration of Barnard’s commitment to ensuring equal treatment for its Jewish students.
The students’ suit also names Columbia University, which is independently litigating the matter, as a defendant.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Barnard College Settles Antisemitism Lawsuit first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.
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Trump Urges NATO Countries to Halt Russian Oil Purchases
US President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Aug. 26, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Ernst via Reuters Connect
i24 News – US President Donald Trump issued a letter to NATO nations on Saturday, impressing upon them to stop purchasing Russian oil and impose major sanctions on the regime of Vladimir Putin to end its war in Ukraine.
“I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA. As you know, NATO’S commitment to WIN has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian Oil, by some, has been shocking! It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia,” the message read.
“Anyway, I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when? I believe that this, plus NATO, as a group, placing 50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR. China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip.”
Trump’s post comes after the recent flight of multiple Russian drones into Poland, widely perceived an escalatory move by Russia as it was entering the airspace of a NATO ally. Poland intercepted the drones, yet Trump played down the severity of the incident and Russia’s motives by saying it “could have been a mistake.”
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Netanyahu Says Getting Rid of Hamas Chiefs in Qatar Would Remove Main Obstacle to Gaza Deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the US Independence Day reception, known as the annual “Fourth of July” celebration, hosted by Newsmax, in Jerusalem, Aug. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that getting rid of Hamas chiefs living in Qatar would remove the main obstacle to releasing all hostages and ending the war in Gaza.
Israel on Tuesday targeted the Hamas leadership in Doha.