Latest news with #ShaiDavidai
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
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Columbia professor slams university leadership as anti-Israel agitators wreak havoc at Barnard
Anti-Israel protests broke out at Barnard College last week, and Columbia associate professor Shai Davidai is calling out students and faculty members. "These protests that we saw two days ago, the violent taking over of a hall at Barnard, it's one of the same protests that started on Oct. 12, 2023," Davidai told Fox News Digital. "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." The most recent protests were in response to the expulsion of two students who allegedly barged into a Columbia University classroom in January and threw flyers filled with hateful and antisemitic rhetoric. Barnard Student Demands Action After Pro-hamas Protest Turns Violent, Calls Out School's 'Pathetic' Response The professor teaching the course, Avi Shilon, told the Times of Israel that he invited the protesters to join the class, but they refused and continued shouting instead. Following the Barnard students' expulsion, more than 50 anti-Israel agitators took over a building on Barnard's campus, echoing last year's takeover of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University. Read On The Fox News App When speaking to Fox News Digital, Davidai alleged that while the protests were physically taking place at Barnard, they were organized by a Columbia-sanctioned and funded organization. However, Columbia University disputes this claim and says the group was not university-sanctioned. "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." However, Davidai says he has heard from Jewish and non-Jewish students alike that they are fed up with the protests. "They see no accountability, and they're just sick of it," Davidai said. "I got emails from parents saying, 'What are we paying $90,000 for? So, then Barnard can go and clean up the mess of the students who got to walk scot-free?' It doesn't make any sense." Anti-israel Protesters Allegedly Assault Employee During Building Takeover At Barnard College In New York City Davidai says he has tried to engage with other faculty on the issues, but that in one case, a student intervened and pulled the other faculty member out of the conversation. He says there are "radical students" who are telling faculty "what to do and what to say." In addition to the faculty, Davidai sees a problem with Columbia's leadership. He says that former Columbia University President Minouche Shafik "did not know what she was going into" and "was a coward." He places heavier blame on Interim President Katrina Armstrong, who he says is "incompetent." Davidai does not think all hope is lost for Columbia and believes there is a way for the university to turn things around. "You kick out the indoctrinaters, you kick out the professors [who] openly support Hamas and other U.S.-designated terror organizations. You kick out the students that blatantly support massacres of Jews and Israelis, and you make room for professors who want to teach and for students who want to learn." Barnard College did not immediately responded to Fox News Digital's requests for comment. Barnard College and Columbia University have a storied history. Initially, Columbia was an all-male university and Barnard, an all-female school, became part of the Columbia system in 1900. The two still share academic resources and both institutions have classes that are available to Columbia and Barnard students. On Feb. 26, Columbia tweeted out a statement saying that "the disruption of academic activities is not acceptable conduct." Immediately following the class disruption in January, interim President Armstrong condemned the incident in a statement, saying that the agitators' actions went against the university's rules. Additionally, Columbia suspended an alleged participant with ties to the university and launched an investigation. Barnard President Laura Ann Rosenbury published an op-ed on the situation on Monday in the Chronicle of Higher Education entitled, "When Student Protest Goes Too Far." "This disruption was not designed to expand thinking or advance civil discourse. Instead, it was a calculated act of intimidation, with the disruptors taunting and loudly speaking over the professor, distributing antisemitic flyers, and refusing to join the discussion even when the professor graciously invited them to sit in on the class," Rosenbury writes. She went on to say the protesters actions were "utterly at odds with our mission."Original article source: Columbia professor slams university leadership as anti-Israel agitators wreak havoc at Barnard
Fox News
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Columbia professor slams university leadership as anti-Israel agitators wreak havoc at Barnard
Anti-Israel protests broke out at Barnard College last week, and Columbia associate professor Shai Davidai is calling out students and faculty members. "These protests that we saw two days ago, the violent taking over of a hall at Barnard, it's one of the same protests that started on Oct. 12, 2023," Davidai told Fox News Digital. "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." The most recent protests were in response to the expulsion of two students who allegedly barged into a Columbia University classroom in January and threw flyers filled with hateful and antisemitic rhetoric. The professor teaching the course, Avi Shilon, told the Times of Israel that he invited the protesters to join the class, but they refused and continued shouting instead. Following the Barnard students' expulsion, more than 50 anti-Israel agitators took over a building on Barnard's campus, echoing last year's takeover of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University. When speaking to Fox News Digital, Davidai pointed out that while the protests were physically taking place at Barnard, they were organized by a Columbia-sanctioned and funded organization. "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." However, Davidai says he has heard from Jewish and non-Jewish students alike that they are fed up with the protests. "They see no accountability, and they're just sick of it," Davidai said. "I got emails from parents saying, 'What are we paying $90,000 for? So, then Barnard can go and clean up the mess of the students who got to walk scot-free?' It doesn't make any sense." Davidai says he has tried to engage with other faculty on the issues, but that in one case, a student intervened and pulled the other faculty member out of the conversation. He says there are "radical students" who are telling faculty "what to do and what to say." In addition to the faculty, Davidai sees a problem with Columbia's leadership. He says that former Columbia University President Minouche Shafik "did not know what she was going into" and "was a coward." He places heavier blame on Interim President Katrina Armstrong, who he says is "incompetent." Davidai does not think all hope is lost for Columbia and believes there is a way for the university to turn things around. "You kick out the indoctrinaters, you kick out the professors [who] openly support Hamas and other U.S.-designated terror organizations. You kick out the students that blatantly support massacres of Jews and Israelis, and you make room for professors who want to teach and for students who want to learn." Neither Barnard College nor Columbia University immediately responded to Fox News Digital's requests for comment. Barnard College and Columbia University have a storied history. Initially, Columbia was an all-male university and Barnard, an all-female school, became part of the Columbia system in 1900. The two still share academic resources and both institutions have classes that are available to Columbia and Barnard students. On Feb. 26, Columbia tweeted out a statement saying that "the disruption of academic activities is not acceptable conduct." Immediately following the class disruption in January, interim President Armstrong condemned the incident in a statement, saying that the agitators' actions went against the university's rules. Additionally, Columbia suspended an alleged participant with ties to the university and launched an investigation. Barnard President Laura Ann Rosenbury published an op-ed on the situation on Monday in the Chronicle of Higher Education entitled, "When Student Protest Goes Too Far." "This disruption was not designed to expand thinking or advance civil discourse. Instead, it was a calculated act of intimidation, with the disruptors taunting and loudly speaking over the professor, distributing antisemitic flyers, and refusing to join the discussion even when the professor graciously invited them to sit in on the class," Rosenbury writes. She went on to say the protesters actions were "utterly at odds with our mission."
