Columbia University has suspended one of its professors, Shai Davidai, a vocal pro-Israel advocate, from its campus amidst ongoing tensions related to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Mr Davidai, an assistant professor at Columbia Business School, has been an outspoken critic of the university’s handling of pro-Palestinian protests and its failure, in his view, to protect Jewish and Israeli students from discrimination and harassment.
The decision to restrict Davidai’s access to the campus followed months of clashes between him and the university administration.
He repeatedly condemned what he calls a “hostile environment” for Jewish students, pointing to the rise of anti-Israel rhetoric and alleged threats against Jewish students in the wake of Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Mr Davidai claims that he has been unfairly targeted by the university for his activism and accused Columbia of retaliating against him for demanding stricter actions against student groups that, in his view, promote violence and celebrate terrorism.
Columbia’s decision came after months of escalating protests on campus, where Mr Davidai has confronted university officials, led counter-protests, and spoken publicly about antisemitism.
The university maintains that it upholds respect and civility as core values, and its policies emphasize the need for all community members to disagree respectfully.
However, Mr Davidai argued that the university has failed to apply these standards fairly when it comes to pro-Palestinian activists, accusing it of creating a “two-tier system” that discriminates against Jewish and Israeli students.
Mr Davidai has leveraged his X account, which boasts over 100,000 followers, to publicly accuse several student groups at Columbia University of supporting terrorism.
His posts became increasingly controversial, including one where he shared the name and email address of a Columbia professor, insinuating that the professor condoned acts of “rape, murder, torture, and kidnapping.”
Mr Davidai has also falsely labelled Rashid Khalidi, a retiring and widely respected Palestinian scholar at Columbia, as a “spokesperson for Hamas,” further fuelling tensions between different campus factions.
The controversy has attracted attention beyond Columbia, with Jewish organisations and members of Congress calling for an investigation into the university’s handling of the situation.
Mr Davidai has pledged to continue fighting for his cause, stating that he views the university’s actions as an attempt to silence him.
