(RepublicanDaily.org) – The president of Columbia University is facing mounting calls to resign over continued pro-Palestinian protests on campus that many have blasted for including pro-Hamas slogans and antisemitic language.
Nemat Shafik, who is more commonly known by her nickname, Minouche, is facing scrutiny from New York Republican representatives and Columbia Jewish Alumni Association (CJAA) over the protests. Protesters have created a large encampment on campus as part of their demonstration, and as of press time is comprised of roughly 200 people.
The New York Republican delegation and the CJAA have each sent letters to the Egypt-born Shafik, calling on her to resign over her mismanagement and inaction over the protests, which have continued without interference from the prestigious New York university. The CJAA have also called on Shafik to allow the NYPD inside the campus and take “and take immediate and decisive action.”
Although in testimony given to Congress’ education committee around a week ago, Shafik said that multiple university students have been suspended or placed on probation for violating the school’s rules on protest action. She also told representatives at the hearing that calls for genocide against Jews would definitely constitute a violation of the university’s rules. While she appeared before Congress, more than 100 students were also arrested for refusing to leave the protest encampment.
Even Democrats have started to express concern over the growing protest action on Columbia’s campus but have largely stopped short of demanding a resignation. Democratic New York Representative Dan Goldman has urged the Columbia president to do something about what he said was the “dramatic rise of antisemitism and a feeling of insecurity from Jews on campus.” Democratic Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, however, took a stronger tack, likening the pro-Palestinian rally to the infamous White supremacist “Unite the Right” protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
“It’s Charlottesville for these Jewish students,” Fetterman said on a post on Twitter/X. “Do your job,” he tweeted to Shafik, “or resign so Columbia can find someone who will.”
In a statement, Shafik placed the blame on “individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia”, whom she said “exploited and amplified” the protests for their own agendas.
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