Columbia Committee Finds "No Evidence" of In-Class Anti-Semitism

Columbia Committee Finds "No Evidence" of In-Class Anti-Semitism

The Columbia Spectator and the New York Times obtained an advance copy of the report last night. However, in a sign of Columbia's continued deference to students making the anti-MEALAC allegations, three pro-Israeli students unaffiliated with any media organization were also allowed to view an advance copy. "The students, all members of Columbians for Academic Freedom (CAF), were angry after hearing rumors that the report had been released to some press outlets."

There has yet to be any official response to the report from CAF.

The report noted that there were three allegations of intimidation that especially concerned the ad hoc committee. Two of the three were dismissed; the third, an incident in which Prof. Joseph Massad allegedly yelled at a student for "denying Israeli atrocities" was deedmed "credible." The report went on to note however, that "three participants in the class who were interviewed by the committee -- two graduate student teaching assistants and an undergraduate -- do not recall such an episode." Massad told the New York Times that he could not understand why an incident with contradictory testimony was eventually deemed "credible" by the committee.

The report also notes that "outside the classroom, there can be little doubt of Professor Massad's dedication to, and respectful attitude towards, his students whatever their confessional or ethnic background or their political outlook. He made himself available to them in office hours and afterwards. One student, critical of other aspects of his pedagogy, praised his "warmth, dynamism and candor" and his unusual accessibility and friendliness."

All five reccomendations from the ad hoc committee dealt with improving Columbia's student grievance procedure. The committe argued that a poorly designed school grievance policy opened it up to outside intervention on the part of political forces with their own agenda.

It is uncertain whether the final committee report will silence anti-MEALAC forces at Columbia. Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz has already publicly pledged to "create a second, independent committee with no ties to Columbia if the school’s own committee reaches what he considers a biased conclusion." It remains to be seen whether Dershowitz and pro-Israeli students on campus will follow through with these threats.

Chris Anderson is a Doctoral Student in Communications at Columbia University. He can be contacted at cwa2103 (nospam) columbia.edu