‘Impossible To Teach Honestly': Historian Rashid Khalidi Quits Columbia University Over Trump Deal
Prominent Palestinian-American historian Rashid Khalidi withdrew from teaching at Columbia University this fall, citing the university's recent $200 million settlement with the Trump administration over its handling of alleged antisemitism on campus.
In an open letter published in The Guardian, Rashid Khalidi- who holds the title of Edward Said Professor Emeritus of Modern Arab Studies- announced his decision not to return as a 'special lecturer" this autumn, accusing the university of compromising academic freedom and capitulating to political pressure.
What Rashid Khalidi Said On Quitting Columbia?
Rashid Khalidi wrote, 'Although I have retired, I was scheduled to teach a large lecture course on this topic in the fall but I cannot do so under the conditions Columbia has accepted by capitulating to the Trump administration."
Rashid Khalidi, who taught at Columbia for more than two decades before retiring in 2023, said the settlement would have profound consequences for academic integrity.
'Columbia chose to adopt a definition of antisemitism that conflates Jewishness with Israel, so that any criticism of Israel, or indeed description of Israeli policies, becomes a criticism of Jews. This makes it impossible to teach honestly about the creation of Israel or the genocide in Gaza perpetrated by Israel," he wrote.
He warned that the measures agreed to by the university would suppress legitimate academic discourse and chill pro-Palestinian speech, saying, 'Faculty members, teaching assistants and students will be forced to constrain their speech to evade the fearsome apparatus that Columbia has erected to punish speech critical of Israel."
Rashid Khalidi also condemned the decision to subject syllabi and scholarly work to external review, writing, 'Agreeing to submit the syllabuses and scholarship of prominent academics for review by outside actors is abhorrent."
He concluded his letter with a stark indictment, asserting, 'Columbia's capitulation has turned a university that was once a site of free inquiry and learning into a shadow of its former self, an anti-university, a place of fear and loathing, where faculty and students are told from on high what they can say and teach, under penalty of severe sanctions."
What Is Donald Trump's Deal With Columbia?
The settlement includes sweeping measures: expansion of Columbia's Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, a review of its Middle East curriculum and the appointment of an independent monitor who will report to the federal government. In addition to the $200 million payment, Columbia will pay $21 million to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to resolve civil rights complaints filed by Jewish faculty and staff.
The agreement follows months of intense scrutiny by the Donald Trump administration, which accused several universities of allowing antisemitism to proliferate under the guise of pro-Palestinian protest, particularly in the wake of Israel's war in Gaza. Columbia, which saw some of the most visible student demonstrations in the US, has been widely viewed as a focal point in the administration's campaign to exert greater control over higher education.
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