Columbia’s 1,500 undergraduate Jewish students comprise 23% of the undergraduate student population, and the 3,500 Jewish graduate students comprise 16% of the graduate student body. Columbia has the Kraft Center for Jewish Life, which serves as the campus Hillel, as well as a Chabad, Jewish Greek life organizations, and the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies.

What’s Happening on Campus?

Following the October 7 massacre, Columbia's Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter led protests on campus that have supported violence against Israel, including one where the group expressed it was “in full solidarity” with Hamas’ “resistance.” Over 100 Columbia faculty members subsequently signed on to a letter supporting student groups like SJP and defending Hamas' attack as “just one salvo in an ongoing war between an occupying state and the people it occupies, or as an occupied people exercising a right to resist.”

Both SJP and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) led rallies, die-ins, and walkouts during the fall semester. While the University suspended both SJP and JVP in November 2023, students have continued to organize, call for University divestment from Israel and promote teach-ins, walk-outs, and protests.

During the fall of 2023, incidents of swastika vandalism, physical assaults, and the posting of stickers reading “Zionist Donors and Trustees Hands Off Our University,” and “Zionism is Terrorism” were reported on campus. Visibly Jewish students have reported being spat on and subjected to antisemitic rhetoric including “F*** the Jews.” In October 2023, an Israeli student was allegedly beaten on his hand with a stick outside of the University library after confronting a perpetrator for ripping down flyers of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

The University has also received calls to remove Professor Joseph Massad after he described Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel as a “resistance offensive” to “Israeli settler-colonialism and racism toward the Palestinians.”

In November 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened a Title VI investigation following allegations of antisemitism on Columbia’s campus.

In January 2024, the Columbia University Law School Student Senate denied official recognition to the Law Students Against Antisemitism student group after some student senators reportedly objected to the group’s use of the IHRA antisemitism definition. The student group was finally granted recognition in February 2024.

In February 2024, Jewish students filed a lawsuit against Columbia and Barnard alleging “severe and pervasive” antisemitism on campus.

In mid-April 2024, pro-Palestinian protestors at Columbia University established an encampment that lasted almost three weeks and set the trend for encampments nationwide. A series of incidents were recorded at the encampment and at the campus’ main entrance gates, including a protestor holding a sign saying “Al-Qasam’s [sic] next target” in front of a group of Jewish students holding Israeli flags and a visibly Jewish student being shoved and screamed at by protestors, “you’ve got blood on your hands!” when he attempted to recover an Israeli flag. Protestors were also recorded chanting “Al-Qassam you make us proud! Take another soldier out!” and “Hamas we love you. We support your rockets too!” At the end of April, protestors took over the Hamilton Hall building on campus, breaking windows and ignoring the deadline to dismantle the encampment.

University Policies and Responsive Action

Columbia suspended SJP and JVP for “repeatedly violat[ing] university policies related to holding campus events” and for holding a rally “that proceeded despite warnings and included threatening rhetoric and intimidation.” As of April 2024, the two clubs remain suspended. In April 2024, Columbia also suspended four students after an event that featured speakers who “support terrorism and promote violence” was organized in violation of campus policies.

In December 2023, Columbia announced the creation of a Task Force on Antisemitism, which has now come out with its first report. The Task Force’s recommendations on time, place and manner restrictions have already been adopted by the University. The University updated its bias incident reporting and response capacity to handle the increase in discrimination and harassment complaints, including complaints pertaining to antisemitism. Columbia has hosted events, including a webinar entitled “Unpacking Antisemitism on Campus,” and is developing non-discrimination training for students and employees which will include a section covering antisemitism.

From mid-April to the beginning of May 2024, law enforcement called in by Columbia’s administration arrested over 100 protestors, eventually dismantling the encampment. The University clarified that it would “not divest from Israel,” and that student protestors risked facing suspension and expulsion for violations of the University’s Code of Conduct.