Columbia University has “permanently removed” three staff members after they were caught sending text messages that pushed “ancient antisemitic tropes.”
According to local affiliate FOX 5, the messages were allegedly sent during the “Jewish Life on Campus: Past, Present and Future” reunion event on campus.
In a letter to the university community, Columbia President Minouche Shafik condemned the messages saying they were “unacceptable and deeply upsetting.”
In response, the university said it plans to launch a “vigorous program” of antisemitism and antidiscrimination training for faculty and staff in the fall.
Dean Josef Sorett, one of the staff members involved in the incident, apologized in his own letter on Monday.
“I am deeply sorry that this happened in a community that I lead and that I was part of any of the exchanges, and I pledge to spearhead the change we need to ensure this never happens again.”
The incident comes three weeks after a Columbia University task force on campus antisemitism reported a string of disturbing incidents at the Ivy League university, exposing what it characterized as the “harassment of Jewish students” and antisemitic remarks made by professors.
One professor reportedly told his class to avoid the mainstream media because “it is owned by Jews.”
Task force members who spoke with Israeli publication Haaretz described a pattern of anti-Jewish bias at the Manhattan university, which has been plagued by anti-Israel protests since the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre.
Jewish and Israeli students regularly felt “targeted and ostracized” on campus and were often singled out in the classroom, task force members told the paper.
The report also found that professors repeatedly encouraged students to take part in the anti-Israel protests or the Gaza Solidarity Encampment. Some even offered extra credit or conducted classes at the protest site.
Columbia University was also the sight of massive anti-Isreal protests in May.