Columbia’s Antisemitism Task Force Grapples With Divisions and Debate
In the wake of escalating tensions at Columbia University following the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023, the institution established a Task Force on Antisemitism to address the growing concerns of Jewish students and faculty. Task force co-chair Nicholas Lemann, dean emeritus of Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, has been at the forefront of these efforts. He recently shared his thoughts on the state of the campus, the challenges of defining antisemitism, and the broader issues surrounding protest and academic freedom.
Heightened Security and Lingering Tensions
Lemann described the campus atmosphere as relatively calm compared to the upheaval of the previous year. However, the presence of locked gates and a heavy private security detail suggests an ongoing undercurrent of tension. While visible protests have diminished, the debate over university policies on free speech and protest remains intense behind closed doors.
The Complex Landscape of Campus Protest
Reflecting on the intense pro-Palestinian protests and counterprotests, Lemann highlighted the divergent views among Columbia’s stakeholders—students, faculty, alumni, donors, and government officials. These groups often have conflicting visions of the university’s mission, with the Israel-Palestine issue exposing these fractures more than previous causes.
“Protest is constant at Columbia,” Lemann noted, “but this was by far the highest level of protest I’ve seen in my 21 years here. Significant stakeholders or subgroups within those groups 100% passionately disagree about this issue.”
A Shifting Focus in Higher Education
Lemann also touched on broader trends in elite universities, noting the decline in students majoring in the humanities and the rise of fields like economics and computer science. He suggested that this shift has left humanities faculty feeling marginalized, which may contribute to their ideological alignment with campus protest movements.
“At the Ivies, the percent of students majoring in the humanities is the smallest it’s ever been,” Lemann explained. “The humanities feel beleaguered and marginalized, and that tends to push faculty further to the left.”
A Campus Divided
Lemann acknowledged the discomfort of many Jewish students and parents, some of whom question whether elite universities like Columbia remain welcoming to the Jewish community. He stressed the importance of fostering understanding among both university insiders and outsiders about the values of academic freedom and its limits.
The Bigger Picture
Looking beyond the incidents that dominate headlines, Lemann called for greater context in reporting on university controversies. He noted that the broader role of universities as institutions often gets lost amid the focus on specific events.
“What I see missing the most is context,” he observed. “Incidents are disconnected from each other, and it’s hard to see how this fits into the larger picture of what a university is.”
As Columbia prepares for the release of two more reports from the task force, the university remains at the epicenter of debates over antisemitism, free speech, and the role of higher education in addressing societal divisions.
