Israeli-born Columbia professor who called out rampant antisemitism on campus being investigated in ‘clear act of retaliation’
An Israeli-born Columbia University professor who gained notoriety for ripping the schoolâs failure to address rampant antisemitism on campus revealed this week heâs under investigation by the embattled Ivy — a probe he said is a âclear act of retaliation and an attempt to silence me.â
Shai Davidai, an assistant professor at Columbia Business School, to his nearly 35,000 âXâ followers that the university opened a probe into his “advocacy for the Jewish and Israeli students, faculty, and staff at the university.”
âTo say that civilꌍ rights are being violated does not begin to capture what Jews and Israelis are forced to endure on campus right now,â he wrote.
Davidai — who considers himself âthe most vocal faculty member in the United States and maybe the worldâ against antisemitism — declined to share details of the investigation, launched last month by Columbia’s Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Office.
âđI abhor Islamophobia â and prejudice of any kind,đˇâ he told The Post, adding that he supports the rights of Palestinians.
âMyđť problem is with Hamas and support for Hamas. I guess the university somehow thinks that supporting terrorism a protected class. That could be the only explanation for this investigation.â
Aside from his livelihood, Davidai — who has worked at Columbia for five years — claimed whatâs at stake is âprofessorsâ ability to call out bad behavior by universities.â
âIf they go after me, I canât even imagine all of the ođ ther [facuꊾlty] who have done much less and are being silenced by their institution,â he said, adding that other colleagues confided that âit might not be worth it to go publicâ against their schoolâs policies.
The beleaguered Ivy ęŚis under investigation by Congress and the US Department of Education, and is facing two lawsuits, brought by close to 20 Jewish students, for violations of their civil rights.
Antisemitism controversy at Columbia University: Key events
- Columbia University President Minouche Shafik stepped down on Aug. 14 after facing backlash over the Ivy League’s anti-Israel protests.
- More than 280 anti-Israel demonstrators were cuffed at Columbia and the City of New York campuses in a âmassiveâ NYPD operation a few months ago.
- Over 100 people were nabbed at the Ivy League campus after cops responded to Columbiaâs request to help oust a destructive mob that had illegally taken over the Hamilton Hall acadđemic building in April, NYC Mayor Eric Adams and police said.
- Hizzoner blamed the on-campus chaos on insurgents who have a âhistory of escalating situations and trying to create chaosâ instead of protesting peacefully.
- More than 100 Columbia professors signed a letterđ defending students who support the “military action” by Hamas.
âColumbia is an especiđally bad example of antisemitism on campus that the administration has refused to act on for years,â said Gerard Filitti, a lawyer with The Lawfare Project, a pro-Jewish human and civil rights organization.
Filitti blasted the âdouble standardâ at the school that he said existed âlong before Oct 7, when students and faculty have complained about antisemitism on cđŹampus and feeling unsafe, intimidated, harę§ assed and bullied by pro-Hamas and pro-Palestinian protestors on campus, including professors.â
“We do not comment on personnel matters. As a general matter, if the university receives a formal complaint, it will review and consider the complaint under established processes,” a Columbia spokesman said.
Davidaiâs lawyer, Mark W. Lerner, partner at Kasowitz Benson Torres, told The Post: âDespite unrelenting pro-Hamas and anti-Semitic demonstrations placing Jewish students at risk, both prior to and since October 7, 2023, Columbiaâs baseless investigation of professor Davidai for demanding that Columbia enforce its policies to protect those students is a flagrant act of discriminatory and unlawful retaliation aimed at silencing him. It will not succeed.”