Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah). In a fitting tribute, a group of federal judges have announced they will no longer hire law clerks who choose to attend Columbia University (not just the law school) starting with the Fall of 2024. The leaders of the letter, as you might expect, are Judge James Ho of the Fifth Circuit and Judge Lisa Branch of the Eleventh Circuit, along with Judge Matthew Solomson of the Court of Federal Claims.
The letter begins:
Since the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas, Columbia University has become ground zero for the explosion of student disruptions, anti-semitism, and hatred for diverse viewpoints on campuses across the Nation. Disruptors have threatened violence, committed assaults, and destroyed property. As judges who hire law clerks every year to serve in the federal judiciary, we have lost confidence in Columbia as an institution of higher education. Columbia has instead become an incubator of bigotry. As a result, Columbia has disqualified itself from educating the future leaders of our country.
