The Task Force on Antisemitism released a report discussing students’ personal experiences with antisemitism and recommendations for the University, including the installation of trainings and workshops.

On Friday, August 30, the Task Force on Antisemitism released its second report, titled “Columbia University Student Experiences of Antisemitism and Recommendations for Promoting Shared Values and Inclusion.” The Task Force on Antisemitism was created on November 1, 2023 and is led by Columbia Law Dean David M. Schizer, SIPA Professor Ester Fuchs, and Columbia Journalism Dean Nicholas Lemann. 

Spanning 90 pages, the report outlines reported student experiences of antisemitism on campus and provides various recommendations to combat it, including trainings and report filings. The report’s Executive Summary begins by addressing that the University “has not treated [Jewish and Israeli students] with the standards of civility, respect, and fairness it promises to all its students.” According to the report, some students who were experiencing antisemitism often did not know how to report it or had their experiences minimized by faculty and staff. 

The Task Force made a point to state their definition of antisemitism, which they previously had avoided doing so. The definition reads: 

“Antisemitism is prejudice, discrimination, hate, or violence directed at Jews, including Jewish Israelis. Antisemitism can manifest in a range of ways, including as ethnic slurs, epithets, and caricatures; stereotypes; antisemitic tropes and symbols; Holocaust denial; targeting Jews or Israelis for violence or celebrating violence against them; exclusion or discrimination based on Jewish identity or ancestry or real or perceived ties to Israel; and certain double standards applied to Israel.”

The Executive Summary clarified that this definition is intended for training and educative purposes instead of as a tool in disciplinary proceedings. 

The report presents a series of program recommendations for the University. Firstly, they proposed instituting anti-bias and inclusion trainings for faculty members and students acting in similar capacities (e.g. teaching assistants, resident assistants and advisers) and trainings on dispute resolution for administrators. The report specifically recommended workshops on antisemitism, Islamophobia, implicit bias and stereotypes, and bystander interventions, among others. The Task Force suggested that the Columbia President and Provost create a cross-school committee, including Barnard College and Teachers College, to standardize these programs. 

The Task Force also stated that procedures for reporting incidents should be reviewed. They recommended that student organization policies be revised “to ensure that student groups contribute to the University’s pluralist mission and comply with anti-discrimination law,” urging all student groups to be inclusive. 

One section of the report discussed student experiences in clubs, stating that many students expressing a positive view of Israel felt excluded. The Task Force denounced this and stated that student organizations “generally should not issue statements unrelated to their missions.” They also condemned Jewish organizations that had excluded anti-Zionist Jewish students. Overall, the Task Force stated that membership in student groups should only be limited for reasons related to their mission. 

Over the past several months, the Columbia community has experienced tension regarding whether or not the administration views anti-Zionism as a form of antisemitism. In this report, the Task Force stated that “distinguishing antisemitism and anti-Zionism, together with understanding the distinction between antisemitism and opposing policies of the current Israeli government” can “reduc[e] harmful misinformation that may lead to antisemitic behavior.” 

The report stated that as opposed to just a critique of Israel’s policies, anti-Zionism “hews far more closely to antisemitism than to a simple critique of Israel,” citing “the absence of such a position in relation to virtually any other political state.” It also laid out various examples of anti-Zionist critiques they stated “incorporated traditional antisemitic tropes about secretive power, money, global conspiracies, bloodthirstiness, and comparisons of Zionists to Nazis or rodents.” The Task Force did not explicitly define anti-Zionism as a form of antisemitism. 

Various Jewish students at Columbia have also expressed concern over conflations of Zionism with Judaism. In the report, the Task Force states that many students believe in an “inextricable connection between Zionism and Jewish identity,” while others viewed the “assumption that all Jewish students were aligned politically” as dangerous. The Task Force cited a 2021 Pew Research Center recent poll stating that around 80 percent of American Jewish people viewed Israel as “an essential or important part” of their Jewish identity. 

The end of the second report listed various resources for the Columbia community. Resources included listening session guidelines, a list of Columbia student op-eds reporting antisemitism, and examples of incidents experienced as antisemitism. Resources for trainings and workshops were also provided, ranging from books and articles to online guides. 

Columbia Interim President Katrina Armstrong released a statement on the report. She denounced antisemitism and any other forms of discrimination and harassment. She stated that the administration is already working to accomplish the report’s recommendations, citing an expansion of trainings and the creation of the Office of Institutional Equity, which will help address harassment complaints. 

Barnard President Laura Rosenbury sent an email to Barnard students regarding the report, stating that this year, students, faculty, and staff will complete anti-discrimination training. She wrote that Barnard already has a policy prohibiting student organizations from excluding individuals based on identity or political beliefs and that the College will take additional steps to ensure groups abide by it. 

The Task Force’s first report, published in March, discussed rules for on-campus demonstrations. It endorsed the Interim University Policy for Safe Demonstrations, urging it to be enforced more during active protests and calling for consequences for its violation. The report also recommended time, place, and manner restrictions for protests. 

According to Columbia News, a third Task Force report will be released in the coming months. This report is expected to discuss academic issues, such as exclusion in the classroom and curriculum bias. 

Alma Mater statue via Bwog Archives