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Israeli Education Minister Unexpectedly Praises Columbia University for Response to Campus Antisemitism
Israel Education Minister Yoav Kisch and Columbia University interim president Katrina Armstrong photographed together on Feb. 19, 2025. Photo: Screenshot
Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kisch met with higher education leaders in the New York City area on Tuesday and used the opportunity to comment on which universities he feels have made progress in combating campus antisemitism.
During the trip, Kisch — a Likud Party member who served in the Israeli parliament since 2015 before being appointed as education minister by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2022 — visited Columbia University for a meeting with its interim president, Katrina Armstrong.
As previously reported by The Algemeiner, Columbia University is being scrutinized by US federal lawmakers over its past policy of amnestying miscreant anti-Israel protesters and perpetrators of antisemitic discrimination. While the university has formally committed to addressing antisemitism, it was recently asked by the chairman of the US House committee on education and the workforce, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) to hand over dozens of disciplinary records as proof that it is honoring its pledge.
In a letter demanding the documents, Walberg cited as cause for doubting the university’s sincerity a damaging education committee report, published in August, which revealed that only a few students who were involved in occupying the Hamilton Hall administrative building in April 2024 were ultimately punished despite the university’s threatening to expel them.
Columbia has taken recent steps to reverse the impression that it condones anti-Jewish bigotry. It recently, for example, imposed disciplinary sanctions on several students who disrupted an active class and proceeded to utter pro-Hamas statements while distributing antisemitic literature, banning them from campus. Later, it denounced a group of students who poured concrete into toilets located inside its School of International Affairs as “deplorable,” adding that it is “acting swiftly to address this misconduct.”
But many Jewish faculty remain dissatisfied with the administration’s efforts. Earlier this month, nearly 200 Columbia University faculty signed an open letter urging administrative officials to do more, such as adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which is widely used by governments and private entities around the world, banning the wearing of face masks which conceal the identities of those who commit violence and destroy school property, and expelling students who, for the purpose of furthering an extremist political agenda, occupy buildings and invade classrooms.
Joseph Massad — an anti-Zionist professor who in 2023 cheered the Hamas-led terrorists who murdered young people attending the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7 in southern Israel as “the air force of the Palestinian resistance” — also emerged as a key area of concern of the letter, as he remains permitted to teach the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in his courses. At least one professor has resigned in protest of Massad’s good standing with the administration. In doing so, he denounced Massad’s presence on campus as “a complete abandonment of academic integrity and unbiased scholarship.”
Kisch on Tuesday praised Columbia University’s efforts to combat antisemitism.
“The fight against antisemitism on American academic campuses is essential, and I am pleased to see that Columbia University interim president Professor Armstrong is committed to this issue and is taking decisive action to eradicate this phenomenon,” Kisch said in a statement. “This is an important step, and I hope other universities will follow her and take responsibility for ensuring a safe environment for Jewish and Israeli students and faculty.”
He was not as forbearing toward New York University (NYU), a higher education institution which has, on paper, enacted robust proscriptions of both antisemitic and anti-Zionist discrimination. In August 2024, it amended its code of conduct to acknowledge the “coded” subtleties of antisemitic speech and its use in discriminatory conduct that targets Jewish students and faculty, updating its Non-Discrimination and Harassment Policy (NDAH) with language which identified “Zionist” as a racial dog whistle.
The updated NDAH listed numerous examples of the use of “Zionist” in perpetrating discriminatory behavior, including, “excluding Zionists from an open event, calling for the death of Zionists, applying a ‘no Zionist’ litmus test for participating in any NYU activity, [and] using or disseminating tropes, stereotypes, and conspiracies about Zionists.” Other examples included “demanding a person who is perceived to be Jewish or Israeli to state a position on Israel or Zionism, minimizing or denying the Holocaust, or invoking Holocaust imagery or symbols to harass or discriminate.”
NYU president Linda Mills, however, declined an invitation to meet with Kisch while he was in New York, leading him to release a statement lambasting the school.
“It is unacceptable for a respected academic institution to allow antisemitism to run rampant on its campus while evading responsibility for protecting its Jewish and Israeli students and faculty,” Kisch said in the blistering statement. “The administration’s silence is a tacit approval of incitement and hatred. I call on all Jewish donors and Israel supporters of NYU as well as members in the community to halt your donations to the institutions until its president condemns campus antisemitism and commits to preventing it.”
NYU disagreed with the education minister’s analysis in a statement shared with The Algemeiner. It contained many hyperlinks that the paper was asked to reproduce in this story.
“Among American universities, NYU has been at the forefront of working to reduce and eliminate antisemitism on campus,” wrote long-time NYU spokesman John Beckman. “NYU has notably earned praise from elected officials such as Congressman [Ritchie] Torres (as well as this) and Congressman Daniel Goldman, from organizations at the forefront of fighting antisemitism (such as the ADL and its leader, the Academic Engagement Network, and the Jewish Community Relations Council), for being among the first universities in the US — if not the first — to issue a Guidance and Expectations for Student Conduct Document that clarified that the use of code-words such as ‘Zionist could violate the University’s Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment policies.”
He continued, “NYU was also the first university to issue a 10-Point Plan to address safety, bigotry and antisemitism, and to announce the appointment of a Title VI Coordinator. In addition, NYU has launched a Center for the Study of Antisemitism; taken a leadership role in multi-university conferences on combating antisemitism, such as the summits convened by the American Jewish Committee, Hillel International, and the American Council on Education (here and here); and required that students undertake training on the university’s non-discrimination and anti-harassment policy, which includes training on reducing antisemitism.”
Beckman added that NYU did not intend to snub Kisch, saying, “It was not possible to accommodate the request on the president’s schedule. NYU administrators frequently meet with both consular officials and other officials.”
Kisch’s visit to the US follows the release of new polling data showing that many Jewish students feel that college professors across the US are promoting antisemitism and fostering hostile learning environments.
Roughly one-third of students, 32 percent, hold such feelings, according to the American Jewish Committee’s “State of Antisemitism in America 2024 Report,” which contains copious data on the Jewish experience in the US.
Of those who responded, 35 percent said they had personal encounters with antisemitism, 20 percent of whom did so more than once. Meanwhile, 32 percent reported feeling uncomfortable on campus, and 34 percent found ways to conceal that they are Jewish. Forty-three percent refuse to discuss Israel and the conflict with the Palestinians for fear of being identified as a Zionist.
Additionally, 22 percent of Jewish students reported feeling that groups and campus events have excluded them because of anti-Jewish animus.
“How are Jewish students supposed to show up and engage in class or have trust in their educators if they feel that their professors are creating a hostile environment for Jews on campus?” AJC chief executive officer Ted Deutch said in a statement. “If students feel that they need to just keep their head down and earn their grade, they are not fully participating in the educational experience that they have a right to and deserve.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Israeli Education Minister Unexpectedly Praises Columbia University for Response to Campus Antisemitism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Leader Calls Trump’s Gaza Plan ‘Bulls—,’ Vows Palestinians Will Not Depart ‘Homeland’
Palestinian terrorists and members of the Red Cross gather near vehicles on the day Hamas hands over deceased hostages Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas, and her two children Kfir and Ariel Bibas, seized during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack, to the Red Cross, as part of a ceasefire and hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
Members of the Hamas terrorist group lambasted US President Donald Trump’s recent proposal to remove Palestinian civilians from the Gaza strip as a “bull— plan.”
The remarks were made during what appears to be a rally in the Khan Yunis town of southern Gaza celebrating the transfer of the bodies of four hostages—Ariel Bibas, Kfir Bibas, Shiri Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz—back to Israel after they had been murdered by Hamas. In the video, a large crowd was circled around a dirt pit, attentively listening to a leader of the terrorist group both criticized Trump as an “unleashed bull” and promise that future generations of Palestinians would continue fighting against Israel.
Hamas erected a large banner depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a blood-drenched vampire superimposed on pictures of the Bibas family and Lifshitz. Thousands of Palestinian civilians assembled to partake in the event, shouting chants of victory.
“Do you really think that boy that attacked a tank barefooted with his bayonet and IED will leave his homeland because of fear?” the terrorist member said, “What do you think might frighten us? We’ve made very good friends with death lately.”
The Hamas member warned Trump to “think twice” about his proposal to vacate Gaza civilians from the war-torn strip, arguing that the terrorist group is capable of “delivering” death to its opponents.
“The war criminal Netanyahu & his Nazi Army killed them with missiles from Zionist warplanes,” the banner read.
Earlier this month, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was visiting the White House, held a press conference following their private meeting in the Oval Office. Trump asserted that the US would assume control of Gaza and develop it economically into “the Riviera of the Middle East” after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump told reporters. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.”
Trump has also referred to Gaza as a “demolition site” and said its residents have “no alternative” but to leave, suggesting Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab states as possible relocation sites.
Trump has called for Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab states in the region to take in Palestinians from Gaza. Thus far, every state in the region has refused to absorb Palestinian migrants from Gaza.
The post Hamas Leader Calls Trump’s Gaza Plan ‘Bulls—,’ Vows Palestinians Will Not Depart ‘Homeland’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Chaos’: Students for Justice in Palestine Forced to Abandon Building Occupation at Swarthmore College
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) members during its illegal occupation of Parrish Hall on February 19, 2025. Photo: Screenshot/X
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania led a failed takeover of an administrative building that it was forced to abandon after just 11 hours, according to a recent report by The Phoenix, the school’s campus daily.
“Chaos and uncertainty ruled campus yesterday,” wrote staff writers Daniel Perrin and Ella Walker on Thursday, describing the welter of events which saw SJP occupy the Parrish Hall administrative building and security officials launch a frenetic operation to boot them out.
While SJP had announced an “emergency rally” scheduled for noon that day, there was little indication that it planned on commandeering the building and remaining inside of it indefinitely, according to the report in The Phoenix.
“Swarthmore students hold sit-in to demand accountability for political repression and complicity in genocide,” SJP said in a statement after revealing its intentions. “We will not rest until Swarthmore College divests from the genocidal Zionist entity and drops all charges against our peers. Free Palestine and long live the student intifada.”
Inside, the students dressed like Hamas fighters, wrapping their faces with keffiyeh in a style coined by the group’s members to avoid being identified as terrorists.
SJP members left the building before the 11pm deadline set by the College. Administrators told The Phoenix that they “do not expect to issue interim suspensions.”
Occupying campus property to protest Israel and Zionism is now an old phenomenon. Thousands of students did so during the conclusion of the 2023-2024 academic year, precipitating an epidemic of antisemitic hate crime assaults, property destruction, and hate speech which cost several university presidents their jobs. So-called “Gaza Solidarity Encampments” which sprung in campuses across the United States last year caught university administrators off guard, and they hesitated to discipline protesters who openly violated school rules, creating an impression that rule-breaking was acceptable so long as the students doing it were promoting left-wing viewpoints.
Swarthmore resolved on Wednesday not to make a similar mistake, The Phoenix reported. No sooner had the students captured the building than security officials moved to lock it down to prevent both SJP’s being joined by more students and receiving supplies such as food and water that would sustain and ultimately prolong the demonstration. But it was many hours before Swarthmore’s vice president of student affairs Stephanie Ives sent SJP a letter warning the group that its members were risking being placed on interim suspensions that would carry a ban from campus, as well as their losing “all academic privileges.”
By that time, the students had unleashed a barrage of misconduct, shouting slogans through bullhorns, attempting to break into offices that had been locked to keep them out, and pounding the doors of others that refused to admit them access. Meanwhile, SJP collaborators circumvented security’s lockdown of the building to smuggle food inside. Several students then grew impatient and attempted to end the lockdown themselves by raiding the building, and in doing so caused a physical altercation with security, whom they proceeded to pelt with expletives and other imprecations spoken in the style of inner-city vernacular.
“What the f— is your problem!?” a female student, captured in video shared by The Phoenix, can be heard screaming at an official who used his body to block a protester from forcing his way inside. “B—ch! F—ck you! Stop f—ing touching people bruh!”
In a letter to Swarthmore SJP, Ives said that the group’s activities, which it heavily promoted on social media, had drawn the attention of the local Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) office.
“Your actions, and the promotion of them on social media, have triggered a range of responses from within and beyond the community, including local and federal law enforcement agencies,” she wrote. “We have already identified several individuals involved in today’s actions. Those individuals, along with others we identify moving forward, will face interim suspension if the occupation does not end by 11 p.m. tonight.”
In a statement later issued to The Phoenix, Swarthmore College said, “The FBI contacted us based on the nature and volume of social media posts by Swarthmore SJP, along with other regional and national SJP and other accounts, calling for people from outside the campus community to come to Swarthmore and participate in the occupation.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post ‘Chaos’: Students for Justice in Palestine Forced to Abandon Building Occupation at Swarthmore College first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jewish Man Violently Attacked in England, Assailant Reportedly Said He Was ‘Responsible for Gaza War’
A pro-Hamas march in London, United Kingdom, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo: Chrissa Giannakoudi via Reuters Connect
A visibly Jewish man in England was brutally attacked after attending a prayer service, leaving him fearing for his eyesight, in what local police are investigating as a hate crime.
The attack took place on Feb. 3 in Manchester City Center around 1:30 om. As the victim was walking home, he was approached from behind and struck in the face with a hard glass object, shattering his glasses and leaving him covered in blood.
“I thought I could have been blinded in my right eye,” the victim told the Manchester Evening News.
“In the split second before, I gripped my phone tightly in case someone tried to grab it and did not have a chance to protect myself,” he recalled. “I was then hit extremely forcefully with what felt like a bottle around the right side of my face, instantly shattering my glasses and knocking me off balance.”
After being examined by paramedics, the victim said he suffered bruising around his eye and cuts to his upper cheek and side of his face, adding that he still experiences black dots in his vision.
A bystander who witnessed the attack said he heard the attacker shout “murderer” at the victim and accuse him of being “responsible for the war in Gaza.”
“I’m apprehensive walking around and now get nervous anyone could attack me at any time,” the victim said. “I remain very traumatized by what happened.”
Greater Manchester Police confirmed that an investigation was ongoing, but two weeks after the attack, no arrests had been made. Meanwhile, the British charity Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has offered a £5,000 (around $6,300 US dollars) reward for information about the suspect leading to a conviction.
“This victim’s testimony is horrific. At a time of surging antisemitism, incidents like these are becoming far too common, and those responsible must be held to account,” a spokesperson for CAA said in a statement.
The incident came amid an ongoing surge in antisemitic crimes across the United Kingdom since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.
Last week, the Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, released data showing the UK experienced its second worst year for antisemitism in 2024, despite recording an 18 percent drop in antisemitic incidents from the previous year’s all-time high
Specifically, CST 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, a drop from the 4,296 in 2023. These numbers compare to 1,662 antisemitic incidents in 2022, 2,261 in 2021, and 1,684 in 2020.
In Greater Manchester, home to the largest Jewish community outside London, 480 cases were reported last year.
In a joint statement addressing the rise in antisemitic incidents, a spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police and CST said, “Everyone should feel safe and welcome when visiting our city-region.”
“Hate crimes in Greater Manchester will not be tolerated, and we will always endeavor to take action against those responsible for this type of offence to keep our communities safe,” they added.
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists started the war in Gaza when they murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages during their invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
Last month, both sides reached a ceasefire and hostage-release deal brokered by the US, Egypt, and Qatar. Under phase one, Hamas agreed to release 33 Israeli hostages, eight of whom are deceased, in exchange for Israel freeing over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom are serving multiple life sentences for terrorism-related offenses.
Talks for a second phase are set to begin in the coming days, focusing on the release of around 60 remaining hostages, about half of whom are believed to be dead, and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
The post Jewish Man Violently Attacked in England, Assailant Reportedly Said He Was ‘Responsible for Gaza War’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.