Latest news with #ShaiDavidai
Middle East Eye
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Pro-Israel professor Shai Davidai leaves Columbia University after 'mutual agreement'
An assistant professor who was accused of harassing pro-Palestinian students as well as staff at Columbia University has left the institution following a "mutual agreement" he will not return to teaching at the Ivy League school, according to a university official. Shai Davidai, a controversial pro-Israel advocate who taught at Columbia's business school, left the university on 8 July. His campus access had been restricted since October following the 'intimidation' of university employees. 'Assistant Professor of Business Shai Davidai has decided to depart Columbia, effective July 8, 2025,' a Columbia University spokesperson wrote in an email to Middle East Eye, adding: "Assistant Professor Davidai has chosen, by mutual agreement with the University, to not return to teaching at Columbia." 'The University thanks him for his service and wishes him the best in his future endeavors.' Davidai said in a post on X on Friday that he left the university because he did not trust 'the anti-Jewish, anti-Israel, and anti-American hate festering on [Columbia's] campus'. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters 'I didn't leave Columbia to 'pursue other endeavors', he said. 'I left because I no longer trust its so-called leadership to confront the anti-Jewish, anti-Israel, and anti-American hate festering on campus. During my six years there, I met plenty of well-paid bureaucrats - but not once did I meet a true leader.' Davidai has been a vocal critic of Columbia and other universities for their response to pro-Palestinian protest encampments on US campuses against the war in Gaza, while also being accused of threatening behaviour to students and faculty at the institution. Davidai had been under investigation by Columbia's Office of Institutional Equality (OIE) into allegations of harassment made against him in February 2024. Davidai shared in a post on X on Thursday that Columbia had 'tried to smear' his name and that he 'wouldn't let them', sharing a letter from Laura Kirschstein, vice-provost at OIE, saying: 'On July 8, OIE closed its investigations relating to you without issuing any findings or conclusions of wrongdoing, and without imposing any discipline or penalty on you.' A university official said that any OIE investigations normally terminate when an individual "is no longer employed at the University" and consequently the investigation into Davidai had closed 'without issuing any findings or conclusions of wrongdoing'. Katherine Franke, a former law professor who had taught at Columbia University, shared on Instagram on Thursday a video of her showing a letter from OIE sent to students who had made allegations against Davidai, which said that the 'OIE process has been terminated without any determination', meaning that Davidai had not been absolved of wrongdoing, just that a determination wasn't made before he had left. Columbia University has been criticised for capitulating to the Trump administration's demands over its allegations of antisemitism. Access denied In October, Columbia University issued a statement regarding Davidai's access to the institution being restricted, saying, 'Columbia…does not tolerate threats of intimidation, harassment, or other threatening behaviour by its employees'. The university also said it had "temporarily limited his access to campus while he [Davidai] undertakes appropriate training on our policies governing the behavior of our employees". After he was barred, he took to Instagram to criticise the decision, saying that it was 'because of October 7th [2023]. Because I was not afraid to stand up to the hateful mob. And because I was not afraid to expose Mr fucking Cas Holloway'. Holloway is the chief operating officer at Columbia. That video has since been taken down, but Davidai shared many social media posts harassing Holloway. It was the second time the non-tenured Israeli professor had been barred from the campus in a year. He had also been barred on 22 April for around a month for threatening to do a pro-Israeli sit-in on a pro-Palestinian encampment. Harassment Davidai in April 2024 called pro-Palestine students "the Hitler Youth" on X (his post has subsequently been taken down) and used his social media accounts, where he has over 108,000 followers, to repeatedly call for the US National Guard to be brought into the protest encampment at Columbia. More than 13,000 students signed a petition asking for him to be fired because he used his 'personal social media accounts to target, harass, and bully students, including Palestinian students who have lost family members in Gaza'. As well as students accusing him of harassing them both in person and on social media, critics said he also endangered staff, students and faculty. For example, he called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio on a post on X for Columbia graduate and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil to be deported from the US. This happened two days before he was picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents dressed in plain clothes. Khalil was subsequently freed on 8 March after 104 days at a detention centre in Jena, Louisiana. In another incident, he tagged former faculty member Mohamed Abdou in posts with the FBI and Homeland Security. Abdou subsequently discovered he was "terminated" from a faculty position while watching on CSPAN, Columbia's antisemitism congressional hearing in April 2024. Abdou said his 'doxxing" and 'termination' was "irreparable'.
The National
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Outspoken pro-Israel professor at Columbia University steps down
An Israeli professor at Columbia University in New York who flagged pro-Palestine protester Mahmoud Khalil to US immigration authorities has left the institution after an investigation against him was closed. Shai Davidai, an assistant professor in the business school, became a prominent on-campus advocate for Israel and Jewish students at Columbia, following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. The Columbia Spectator quoted a university representative as saying that Mr Davidai had 'chosen, by mutual agreement with the University, to not return to teaching'. He confirmed to The Times of Israel that he left Columbia voluntarily. 'I've lost all trust in the institution and respect for my colleagues,' he said. Columbia and other universities across the US last year were the sites of protests against the war in Gaza. Demonstrators demanded an end to the war and their universities' divestment from Israel and Israeli companies. Mr Davidai was an outspoken critic of the protests, describing them as anti-Semitic and saying that participants were disseminating Hamas propaganda. In March of this year, Mr Davidai shared a post on X that identified Mr Khalil, a Palestinian former Columbia student and legal resident of the US, as one of the demonstrators who had taken over a building on campus in protest against the university's ties to Israel. He tagged US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the post and urged him to take 'strong action'. Days later, Mr Khalil was detained by immigration authorities and taken to a detention facility in Louisiana. He was told that his green card had been revoked. A judge released him on bail last month but his deportation case is still pending. Mr Davidai's departure comes after the closure of a university investigation against him into claims of harassment. He was barred from campus in October 2023 following a memorial for those killed in the Hamas attacks in Israel, after videos he posted online showed him confronting a university official. He told Jewish News that Columbia had known 'from the start' that he had not committed harassment. 'This baseless case was sparked by a co-ordinated smear campaign from Students for Justice in Palestine, and Columbia seized the opportunity to try to silence me,' he said.
Fox News
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Israeli Columbia professor leaves school over failure to address anti-Israel protests
Israeli Columbia University professor Shai Davidai left the school on Wednesday after ongoing frustration with anti-Israel protests on campus. "I can confirm that I have decided to leave Columbia and that the university's failure to take the anti-Jewish, anti-Israeli and anti-American protests seriously is the reason," Davidai told Fox News Digital. "Columbia leadership has failed, the faculty has lost its moral compass and too many of my colleagues just look the other way." He added, "I don't trust the acting president, the university's leadership or the entire board of trustees to do the right thing, and I don't see my colleagues stepping up to hold them accountable. I wouldn't advise anyone to come work here, so what's the point of staying?" A Columbia University spokesperson also confirmed the news to Fox News Digital. "Assistant Professor of Business Shai Davidai has decided to depart Columbia, effective July 8, 2025. The University thanks him for his service and wishes him the best in his future endeavors," the spokesperson said in a statement. Davidai also announced on Wednesday that the school had dropped an ongoing investigation launched against him in February 2024. "BOOM. (Please help me spread this. @Columbia tried to smear my name. I wouldn't let them. Today, they finally admitted that I hadn't done anything wrong.)," Davidai wrote on X, including a note from the university. The note said that the Office of Institutional Equity closed its investigation without "any findings or conclusions of wrongdoing, and without imposing any discipline or penalty." Davidai had been suspended by Columbia University in the past after he had allegedly "repeatedly harassed and intimidated" students during an Oct. 7 anniversary protest in 2024. He was also barred from the school's main campus in April 2024 after planning a pro-Israel demonstration against anti-Israel protesters. Davidai has been an outspoken defender of Israel and Jewish students since the Oct. 7 terror attacks and has called out his school for allowing anti-Israel protests and disruptions on campus. He went viral after giving a speech weeks after the terror attack, calling then-president Minouche Shafik a coward for failing to stand against "pro-terror" organizations.
The Intercept
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Intercept
Pro-Israel Professor Shai Davidai Is Leaving Columbia
Shai Davidai is leaving Columbia University. Per an email sent to Columbia Business School faculty on Wednesday morning from Dean Costis Maglaras and obtained by The Intercept, the vocal pro-Israel business school assistant professor made the decision to leave the school. Davidai soon followed the internal announcement with a social media post declaring that Columbia's Office of Institutional Equity had cleared him of allegations filed against him in February of last year. He was temporarily suspended last year after Columbia said he 'repeatedly harassed and intimidated University employees in violation of University policy.' 'BOOM,' Davidai wrote, alongside a screenshot of a note on Columbia letterhead from the Vice Provost for the Office of Institutional Equity. Davidai and a Columbia University spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Davidai, who joined the business school in 2019, received viral attention for his pro-Israel tirades and self-filmed videos of his confrontations with pro-Palestine protesters. Several students, including Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi, have also alleged that Davidai targeted them and called for them to be deported in the lead-up to their arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Davidai was also a member of a prominent WhatsApp group of Columbia alumni, parents and professors that strategized about how to deport pro-Palestine students, The Intercept reported. He has noted that he does not have tenure at the school.
Fox News
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Fox News ‘Antisemitism Exposed' Newsletter: A professor stands up to Columbia's tolerance of hate
Fox News' "Antisemitism Exposed" newsletter brings you stories on the rising anti-Jewish prejudice across the U.S. and the world. IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER: - Columbia professor slams university leadership as anti-Israel agitators wreak havoc- 13 American universities slapped with 'F' grade on campus antisemitism- NY gov demands state university take down 'Palestinian Studies' job posting TOP STORY: One brave Columbia University professor has had enough of the anti-Jewish hatred that he says the school's leadership has allowed to go unchecked. After recent protests at the school's Barnard College, Shai Davidai told Fox News Digital the faculty has created a monster. "This is the consequence of 20 years of indoctrination," Davidai told Fox News Digital, "We have indoctrinated students and they are not the problem. The problem has always been the professors who have been indoctrinating them." VIDEO: Anti-Israel protesters who wave flags of terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah could face jail time in New York should lawmakers pass a proposed bill. The office of New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who is a Democrat, confirmed to Fox News that he is introducing the Stand Against Flags of Enemy Terrorists Act. WATCH HERE: WORST OF THE WORST: Thirteen universities across the United States received "F" grades in the 2025 Campus Antisemitism Report Card released Monday by the Anti-Defamation League. The survey of 135 schools – which is meant to provide information "about the current state of antisemitism on campus and how universities and colleges are responding," according to the ADL – grades them from A to F based on 30 different criteria. Click here to find out if you're sending one tuition money. PROBLEMATIC POSTING: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered City University of New York (CUNY) to spike a "Palestinian Studies" professorship posting that would have allegedly peddled antisemitic and anti-Israel discourse with topics like "apartheid," "settler colonialism," "genocide" and more. The governor ordered the school to conduct a thorough review of the position to ensure that antisemitic theories are not promoted. DEAL WITH DEVILS: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended U.S. efforts to negotiate with Hamas to release American hostages during a briefing on Wednesday. There are currently five hostages with U.S. citizenship in Gaza, though most are feared dead. Leavitt said Israel was "consulted on this matter," and that President Donald Trump believes in putting forth "good faith effort[s] to do what's right for the American people." GUEST EDITORIAL: Retired FBI agent David Zimmerman reminds readers that 45 Americans were kidnapped and 12 murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Zimmerman, an active-duty FBI agent stationed in Israel from 2020 to 2024, writes that he is "shocked that most Americans do not realize the extent of the suffering our own citizens endured and continue to endure at the hands of Hamas." QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "Hate doesn't go away on its own. Extremism doesn't go away on its own. If you don't deal with it, it stays around." Columbia associate professor Shai Davidai. - Looking for more on this topic? Find more antisemitism coverage from Fox News here. - Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe to additional newsletters from Fox News here. - Want live updates? Get the Fox News app here
