Three Columbia University deans have been indefinitely removed from their positions after sending text messages that the university president said included antisemitic tropes.
In a message sent on Monday, the Columbia president, Minouche Shafik, said that text messages “revealed behavior and sentiments that were not only unprofessional, but also, disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes”, the Columbia Spectator reported.
“Whether intended as such or not,” she wrote, “these sentiments are unacceptable and deeply upsetting, conveying a lack of seriousness about the concerns and the experiences of members of our Jewish community that is antithetical to our university’s values and the standards we must uphold in our community.”
The university put the administrators on leave after the private text messages were first published in June by the conservative outlet the Washington Free Beacon.
They have not been fired by Columbia, but it is unclear when they will return to their positions, the New York Times reported.
The text exchange happened during a university event titled Jewish Life on Campus: Past, Present, and Future, according to the Beacon, which took place after Columbia sent New York police officers to clear out student-led protests against Israel’s deadly war in Gaza.
The conversations took place between four administrators: Josef Sorett, the dean of Columbia College; Susan Chang-Kim, a former vice-dean of Columbia College; Matthew Patashnick, former associate dean for student and family support; and Cristen Kromm, former dean of undergraduate student life.
Sorett has since issued a public apology after the messages, the Hill reported.
According to transcripts of the texts, several of the deans questioned if students were being kicked out of Columbia organizations for being Jewish, an allegation of antisemitism that has not been substantiated.
“Did we really have students being kicked out of clubs for being Jewish?” questioned one administrator.
“To my knowledge no one was actively kicked out,” another person replied.
One administrator also wrote that Brian Cohen, a featured panelist and the Lavine Family executive director of Columbia/Barnard Hillel, “knows exactly what he’s doing and how to take full advantage of this moment”, the Washington Post reported.
“Huge fundraising potential,” the person added.
Later in the text exchange, one person wrote that the panel was “laying the case to expand physical space”.
“Comes from such a place of privilege … had to hear the woe is me, we need to huddle at the Kraft center. Huh??” wrote one person, referring to the center that houses the Columbia/Barnard Hillel group operation and offers services for Jewish students.
“Yup. Blind to the idea that non-Israel supporting Jews have no space to come together,” another person replied.
The transcripts were investigated and released by the US House education committee, whose chairperson is the Republican congresswoman Virginia Foxx.
“Jewish students deserve better than to have harassment and threats against them dismissed as ‘privilege’, and Jewish faculty members deserve better than to be mocked by their colleagues,” Foxx said, the Hill reported. “These text messages once again confirm the need for serious accountability across Columbia’s campus.”
