Columbia University’s Task Force on Antisemitism has warned that students have limited access to Middle East scholarship that is not explicitly anti-Zionist, urging the university to add faculty who can teach Jewish and Israeli topics from a broader range of perspectives. The report says that many Jewish students feel sidelined in classrooms where anti-Israel views dominate, even in subjects unrelated to the Middle East, reports The Jerusalem Post.
This is the task force’s fourth report since it was formed in response to pro-Palestinian protests on campus in 2024. Previous reports highlighted problems with demonstrations, campus climate, and antisemitic experiences among students. The newest report focuses on academic life, concluding that anti-Israel sentiment has appeared not only in political activism but also inside classrooms and in interactions with professors, including those whose subjects are not connected to the region.
The report cites multiple examples where lecturers introduced strong condemnations of Israel in courses with no Middle Eastern content. One student reported that in a class on feminism, the professor opened the first session by noting it had been 100 days since Israel began military operations in Gaza. According to the task force, similar incidents occurred in photography, architecture, nonprofit management, film, music humanities, and even Spanish classes. Jewish and Israeli students described feeling surprised and uncomfortable when political messages unrelated to the course appeared without warning.
This report is also the first to be published after Columbia agreed to pay $221 million to settle US government investigations into antisemitism connected to its 2024 encampment protests. Some faculty members had joined or defended the encampment, with a few reportedly using it as a location for their office hours.
While the task force stresses that academic freedom must be protected and that professors have the right to teach challenging material, it also says that courses should present a range of views. It argues that students should feel free to express their own opinions without fearing hostility or exclusion. The report also recommends that instructors warn students in advance if their course will present a particular political or ideological stance on sensitive issues, so they are not taken by surprise.
The most significant recommendation is that Columbia should create new high-level faculty positions in Middle East history, politics, political economy, and policy. The task force says this is necessary to balance what it describes as the dominance of anti-Zionist approaches within the department. According to the report, many students feel that perspectives treating Zionism as a legitimate political movement are underrepresented compared with those treating it as illegitimate. The report states that the university “should work quickly to add more intellectual diversity to these offerings.”
Columbia has not yet committed to these changes, but Acting President Claire Shipman thanked the task force for its work and said the university would continue to follow its broader recommendations. She expressed appreciation for the committee’s efforts to help ensure that Columbia remains a place where free expression is protected and where all community members “feel safe, heard, and welcome.”
Photo credit: REUTERS/RYAN MURPHY
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