Nine days after a Jewish student endured antisemitic harassment and after it was criticized for its silence on the matter, Columbia University issued a two-paragraph statement last week.
The private Manhattan academic institution stated that a “non-affiliate” targeted a Columbia student with “antisemitic slurs” as the student left a Jewish Theological Seminary building near campus. (Columbia and JTS have joint programs.)
The school said that its public safety office was investigating with JTS and that it “moved swiftly to ensure the student was supported and facilitated the notification of local law enforcement.”
Columbia called the recent “harassment” of its community members “deeply disturbing, unacceptable and antithetical to our values.” It added that when incidents “occur outside our gates, it does not lessen how troubling these acts are, or the impact on our students or community members at a time of nationwide tension.”
The Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey stated it was “appalled to hear that a student was subjected to antisemitic slurs.”
