Antisemitism at Columbia University Is a Disgrace
Imagine if in the wake of 9/11, pro-al-Qaeda
protesters chased New Yorkers out of the city.
By
Andrew
M. Cuomo
April
25, 2024 4:16 pm ET
New York
What is happening at Columbia
University is a disgrace. That it is happening in New York, home to more Jews
than any other city in the world, and at a supposed institution of higher
learning, makes it incomprehensible.
I understand the right to free speech,
the guarantees of the First Amendment, the value of robust debate at academic
institutions. But freedoms aren’t without limits, and much of what is going on
at Columbia isn’t speech at all. Threats, terror tactics and menacing conduct
don’t warrant protection.
Protesters have every right to make
their voices heard. The war in Gaza, the politics of Benjamin Netanyahu’s
government and the elusiveness of Middle East peace are frustrating. These
complicated issues should be discussed and debated. That isn’t the issue at
Columbia. Many of the protesters aren’t pro-Palestinian. They are pro-Hamas and
brazenly support a terrorist organization. The protesters are entitled to their
opinions, even if they embrace undemocratic, bigoted, sadistic, warmongering
thugs. They aren’t entitled to threaten, harass and menace. That isn’t
protected speech; it’s criminal conduct.
Most infuriating is the response of
Columbia’s administration. Jews are at risk on campus and are told not to come
to class—remote learning will be available. Meantime supporters of jihad take
over university property and nosh on pizza.
Seriously? The answer is for the Jews
to flee campus? Imagine, in the wake of 9/11, if New Yorkers had been told to
vacate the city because pro-al-Qaeda protesters were disrupting daily
activities, threatening violence and posing a danger. That is Columbia’s
approach: See you next fall, Jews.
It is the university’s responsibility
to ensure its students are safe. Use campus security. If that is inadequate,
use the New York City Police Department. And if protesters break the law,
arrest, prosecute and expel them.
History can’t be allowed to repeat
itself. The war on the Jews that led to the Holocaust started subtly. Telling
Jews to stay away is shockingly reminiscent of what took place in the 1920s and
1930s in Germany. Jews were excluded from businesses, social activities and,
yes, universities. At the same time, frightened politicians are already
abandoning support of Israel for fear of political reprisal.
This must stop. The Jewish community
needs support in its efforts to mobilize. This is no time for hand wringing.
Regardless of one’s views on Gaza, reasonable people need to open their eyes
and understand this isn’t about the Middle East; it is about America and our
democracy. It is time for full-throated public support for education about the
history of Jews, antisemitism, Israel and the origins of the Palestinian
conflict. It is time for New Yorkers to speak with a single voice in support of
our Jewish brothers and sisters and to demand that Columbia and others, by
their words and actions, reject antisemitism and discrimination against Jews.
The greatest threat on campus is an
ignorant mob, and the greatest threat to the country more broadly is cowardly
indifferent leaders.
Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, served as
governor of New York, 2011-21.