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Columbia University President Denies Deceiving Trump Administration Over Antisemitism Policies
Pro-Hamas demonstrators at Columbia University in New York City, US, April 29, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs
Columbia University interim president Katrina Armstrong on Tuesday strongly denied a Wall Street Journal report which said that she privately told faculty that school officials misled the Trump administration to believe that they had accepted its conditions for restoring $400 million in federal funding canceled by Education Secretary Linda McMahon earlier this month to punish the school’s alleged failure to quell “antisemitic violence and harassment” on its campus.
On Friday, the university issued a memo announcing that it acceded to key demands put forth by the Trump administration as a precondition for releasing the funds — including a review of undergraduate admissions practices that allegedly discriminate against qualified Jewish applicants, the enforcement of an “anti-mask” policy that protesters have violated to avoid being identified by law enforcement, and enhancements to the university’s security protocols that would facilitate the restoration of order when the campus is disturbed by unauthorized demonstrations.
The news prompted high praise from Trump administration officials, including McMahon and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy. However, according to a report published by the Journal on Monday, Armstrong told faculty behind closed doors over the weekend that the memo was issued to buy the university time in which to explore other, potentially legal, options that could result in the school’s reclaiming the canceled grants.
During a mutinous meeting with angry faculty, Armstrong said, among other things, that the anti-mask ban — a policy that is widely supported by the Jewish community for achieving the same end as federal anti-Ku-Klux-Klan laws — will not be enacted, according to the Journal. In response, the paper added, some professors denounced what they perceive as a duplicitous public relations strategy in which Columbia makes commitments it does not intend to honor.
On Tuesday, Armstrong disputed the WSJ‘s account of her conversation with faculty, maintaining in a statement published on the university’s website that she will proceed with the policies enumerated in Friday’s memo.
“Implementation of these measures is fundamental to sustaining our academic mission without disruption and ensuring the safety of Columbia’s students and campuses. Let there be no confusion: I commit to seeing these changes implemented, with the full support of Columbia’s senior leadership team and the Board of Trustees,” Armstrong said. “We need to continue to restore the public’s faith of the fundamental value of higher education for the nation and the longstanding partnership between ground-breaking universities like Columbia and the federal government.”
She continued, “Any suggestion that these measures are illusory, or lack my personal support is unequivocally false. These changes are real, and they are right for Columbia.”
The statement came one day after anti-Israel students staged an unauthorized protest replete with keffiyehs, face masks, and demands that Columbia become a sanctuary campus for illegal immigrants. Demonstrators also hung a large “Free Palestine” sign from a building and reportedly chanted so loudly that they could be heard inside nearby buildings in which active classes were being held. Armstrong took no action against them.
The Trump administration has not yet commented on the Wall Street Journal‘s report or the latest unauthorized protest, which came after Columbia’s Hillel International chapter told The Algemeiner on Friday that Columbia’s agreement to combat antisemitism in higher education is “promising” and expressed hope that it “further moves us in the right direction.”
McMahon similarly praised the university.
“Columbia is demonstrating appropriate cooperation with the Trump administration’s requirements, and we look forward to a lasting resolution,” she said in a statement as part of a press release issued on Monday by an inter-agency task force on antisemitism. “I have been in communication with Columbia University interim president Katrina Armstrong over the last few weeks and appreciate her leadership and commitment to advance truly meaningful reforms on campus.”
Monday’s release also contained a statement by Kennedy, who said the institution is beginning to “restore itself as a garden of tolerance, reason, compassion, and respect.”
Josh Gruenbaum, commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), an office which assists the federal government’s purchasing of goods and services, said, “Columbia’s early steps are a positive sign.” He added, however, that school officials in the Armstrong administration “must continue to show that they are serious in their resolve to end antisemitism.”
Columbia University has produced some of the most indelible examples of campus antisemitism since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel — among them a student who proclaimed that Zionist Jews deserve to be murdered and are lucky he is not doing so himself, brutal gang-assaults on Jewish students, and administrative officials who, outraged at the notion that Jews organized to resist anti-Zionism, participated in a group chat in which each member took turns sharing antisemitic tropes that described Jews as privileged and grafting. However, it is not the first Ivy League institution to allegedly pantomime a commitment to addressing antisemitism to repel public scrutiny and government action.
According to a May 2024 report by the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Harvard University allegedly conspired to achieve similar aims during a tumultuous 2023-2024 academic year which saw its students quote terrorists during an “Apartheid Week” event and its professors share an antisemitic cartoon. The report claimed that Harvard formed an Antisemitism Advisory Group (AAG) largely for show, refusing to consult it at key moments during an explosion of antisemitic incidents on campus. It also said that Harvard never took meaningful action to address antisemitic hatred and the flouting of school rules against harassment and discrimination, a policy failure that allegedly contributed to the eruption of a nearly three-week-long demonstration in which a group calling itself Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine (HOOP) commandeered Harvard Yard and refused to leave unless the administration agreed to divest from and boycott Israel
Writing to The Algemeiner on Tuesday, Middle East expert and executive director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East Asaf Romirowsky said that Columbia’s apparent playing both ends against the middle is a cause of eroding trust in the higher education system, which he says tramples on the true purpose of a liberal arts education in order to promote a far-left political agenda.
“There is a collapsing of public faith in the politics and costs of universities like Columbia, all necessitating immediate reform,” Romirowsky said. “Armstrong needs to understand that successfully rehabilitating its image requires a sincere, top-down driven approach that can serve as a model of reform for all university leaders. A conception of the liberal arts and sciences should be promoted in which the primary goal of learning is individual growth and exploration and the goal of research is the conservation and expansion of knowledge and thought.”
He continued, “Scholar-activism in the sense of politically aligned teaching and research or social justice in the sense of remaking society through undemocratic means cannot be goals, nor should they be publicly funded.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Minneapolis Mayoral Candidate Omer Fatah Criticized Israel After Oct. 7, Accused Jewish State of ‘Genocide’ in Gaza
State Senator Omar Fateh announces his candidacy for Minneapolis mayor during a press conference at City Hall, surrounded by supporters holding campaign signs.
Minneapolis mayoral candidate and Democratic Socialist Omar Fateh, who recently secured the Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) Party’s endorsement for mayor of Minneapolis, is drawing scrutiny over his statements regarding Israel amid a heated mayoral campaign.
Fateh’s victory at the DFL convention shattered expectations when he amassed a majority of delegate votes, surpassing incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey, who is Jewish. Moreover, Fateh’s unexpected victory has also drawn fresh attention towards his views on Israel-Palestine.
Following the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel, Fateh published a letter that was broadly critical of the Jewish state and called for an “immediate ceasefire.” Fateh drew an equivalency between Israel’s defensive military operations and the Hamas slaughter of 1200 people and abduction of 250 others.
“ I am overwhelmed with sorrow for the victims of this violence as well as anger towards both the Israeli Government and Hamas who have senselessly injured and killed thousands of people in a matter of days,” Fateh wrote.
“In the aftermath of the most deadly Hamas attack in Israeli history, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Israeli civilians, we have seen Israel respond with horrifying acts of violence and deprivation against the Palestinians of Gaza as well as an uptick in settler violence in the West Bank. Since the Hamas attacks, Israel has cut off water, power, fuel, food, and medicine to over two million people,” Fateh continued.
Critics also point to a protest vote Fateh cast in the March 2024 Minnesota presidential primary. He chose “uncommitted” rather than supporting President Joe Biden, citing dissatisfaction with the administration’s position on Israel’s conflict with Hamas. He warned the Democratic party that unless policy shifts dramatically on Israel, progressive ballots wouldn’t be guaranteed.
“With deep remorse for the actions of our country’s federal government, which shows no signs of wavering in its commitment to unconditional military and political support for Israel’s genocide in Palestine, announcing that I will be voting uncommitted on Super Tuesday,” Fateh wrote on X/Twitter.
Fateh and his supporters rebut these allegations, arguing his positions stem from advocacy for equitable policy and human rights, rather than animus toward Jewish people or Israel as a state.
Jewish and moderate voters have expressed concern that Fateh’s positions might undermine communal trust or openness to diverse city constituencies. At the same time, progressive activists and Somali-American communities, a key component of his support base, see his positions as principled and grounded in solidarity with marginalized groups.
Fateh’s growing influence in Minneapolis politics comes amidst Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s political ascent in New York City. Recent polls suggest that the success of the two Democratic Socialists point to a possible generational shift within the Democratic party which is increasingly shaped by left-wing views on economics and Israel.
The Minneapolis general election is set for November 4, 2025.
The post Minneapolis Mayoral Candidate Omer Fatah Criticized Israel After Oct. 7, Accused Jewish State of ‘Genocide’ in Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Cruz Introduces Bill to Counter Violent Antisemitic and Anti-ICE Protest Groups
US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaking at a press conference about the United States restricting weapons for Israel, at the US Capitol, Washington, DC. Photo: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Legislation introduced in the Senate on Tuesday by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) would empower Department of Justice prosecutors to use rioting as part of RICO (racketeering) charges to disrupt organizations fueling violence at college protests and demonstrations against President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies.
Cruz described how the Stop Financial Underwriting of Nefarious Demonstrations and Extremist Riots (Stop FUNDERs) Act intended to target international threats.
“Every American has the right to freedom of speech and peaceful protest, but not to commit violence. Domestic NGOs and foreign adversaries fund and use riots in the United States to undermine the security and prosperity of Americans,” Cruz said. “My legislation will give the Department of Justice the tools it needs to hold them accountable, and I urge colleagues to pass it expeditiously.”
Elevating the organization of violent protest riots to a RICO offense will enable joint liability and group prosecution, conspiracy charges, asset forfeiture, and enhanced criminal penalties, according to its proponents.
Co-sponsors of the bill include Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Josh Hawley (R- Mo.).
“Radical, left-wing groups who fund acts of violence, coordinate attacks against law enforcement, and spearhead the destruction of property must be stopped.” Cornyn said. “This legislation would add rioting to the list of racketeering offenses to crack down on this lawless behavior while ensuring the First Amendment rights of free speech and peaceful protest are protected.”
Last year, schools saw anti-Israel campus protests that in some cases devolved into riots, including at University of Texas at Austin, University of Florida, Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania and California State University, Los Angeles.
On Thursday, Cruz put forward another bill intended to counter domestic subversion by radical organizations. He reintroduced the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2025 which would designate as a terrorist group the Islamist fountainhead founded by Hassan al-Banna in 1928, triggering the ability for the government to freeze assets, ban visas, and make support for the organization illegal.
Domestic groups associated with the Muslim Brotherhood such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim American Society (MAS) may also face increased government investigations. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Austria have already criminalized the Muslim Brotherhood.
In 2014, the UAE designated CAIR and MAS as terrorist organizations due to their roots in the Muslim Brotherhood.
On Friday, Cruz wrote on X, “The Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist organization. American allies in the Middle East and Europe have already labeled the Brotherhood a terrorist organization, and the United States should do the same. Let’s get this done.”
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Europe Sees Sharp Rise in Attacks Targeting Israelis Amid Growing Antisemitism
Anti-Israel protesters march in Germany, March 26, 2025. Photo: Sebastian Willnow/dpa via Reuters Connect
Across Europe, Israelis are facing a disturbing surge of targeted attacks and hostility, as a wave of antisemitic incidents — from violent assaults and vandalism to protests and legal actions — spreads amid rising tensions following recent conflicts in the Middle East.
On Wednesday, a group of Israeli teenagers was physically assaulted by dozens of pro-Palestinian assailants — some reportedly armed with knives — on the Greek island of Rhodes.
This latest antisemitic incident took place after the Israeli teens left a nightclub, when a group of pro-Palestinian individuals followed them to their hotel and violently attacked them, leaving several with minor injuries.
According to police reports, the group of 20 Israeli tourists were seen shouting pro-Israel slogans at a bar, which provoked a response from around 10 pro-Palestinian supporters who began calling them “murderers.”
This latest attack came less than a day after pro-Palestinian protests at the port of another Greek island, Syros, forced an Israeli cruise ship to cancel its stop, leaving around 1,600 Israeli passengers stranded and raising safety concerns.
Around 300 protesters gathered at the dock, waving Palestinian flags and holding banners reading “Stop the Genocide” and “No AC [Air Conditioning] in Hell,” while chanting antisemitic slogans.
Last week in Athens, a group of pro-Palestinian activists vandalized an Israeli restaurant, shouting antisemitic slurs and spray-painting graffiti with slogans such as “No Zionist is safe here.”
The attackers also posted a sign on one of the restaurant’s windows that read, “All IDF soldiers are war criminals — we don’t want you here,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces.
Since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, antisemitic incidents have surged to alarming levels across Europe. This recent attack is just one of the latest in a wave of anti-Jewish hate crimes that Greece and other countries have witnessed in recent months.
In Switzerland, a series of antisemitic attacks in Davos, a town located in the eastern Swiss Alps, has caused significant concern and outrage within the local Jewish community.
Jonathan Kreutner, secretary general of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG), informed the newspaper Jüdische Allgemeine of three incidents believed to have been carried out by the same individual.
Local law enforcement is now investigating an unidentified assailant who verbally harassed a Jewish couple at a local store in Davos, spat on them, and physically attacked them in an attempt to force them out.
This same individual is alleged to have later spat on another elderly Jewish couple and insulted a Jewish person on a bus while making threatening hand gestures.
In Germany, four masked individuals vandalized a Jewish restaurant in Freiburg, southwest of the country, on Monday by throwing eggs at its windows and inside the premises.
In Berlin, the planned launch event for a new restaurant by Israeli chef Eyal Shani and entrepreneur Shahar Segal was canceled over the weekend amid an anti-Israel protest.
The restaurant Gila and Nancy, originally set to open this week, will now launch in about three weeks following a surge of online campaigns and boycott calls targeting Israeli-owned businesses.
In Belgium, two IDF soldiers were arrested and interrogated by local authorities following a complaint filed by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), an anti-Israel legal organization dedicated to pursuing legal action against IDF personnel.
According to HRF, the soldiers attending the Tomorrowland music festival were accused of involvement in war crimes.
The organization said they were seen waving the flags of the IDF’s Givati Brigade, which has been “involved in the systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza and in carrying out mass atrocities against the Palestinian population.”
In France, airport authorities acknowledged a breach of protocol earlier this month after a staff member was filmed chanting “free Palestine” while inspecting passports, reportedly of passengers from Israel.
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