Top Republican ‘gravely concerned’ by ‘ongoing chaos’ at Columbia University

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chair of the Education Committee, said Sunday that she’s “gravely concerned” over protests against the Israel-Hamas war at Columbia University that have led to arrests.

Hundreds of students have occupied Columbia’s campus center for days, protesting the school’s financial holdings that stand to profit from the war, protesting the Biden administration’s response to the war, backing a cease-fire in the conflict and urging Congress to stop sending military aid to Israel.

Foxx warned in a letter to university President Minouche Shafik and the school’s board of trustees that she “will not hesitate in holding you accountable” over the “unacceptable” demonstrations.

The letter comes after a contentious Education Committee hearing last week, where House members grilled Shafik over concerns of rising antisemitism on campus. 

“Columbia’s continued failure to restore order and safety promptly to campus constitutes a major breach of the University’s Title VI obligations, upon which federal financial assistance is contingent, and which must immediately be rectified,” Foxx wrote in the letter. “If you do not rectify this danger, then the Committee will not hesitate in holding you accountable.”

Shafik and university leaders have opposed the protests, including calling on New York police to arrest students. The demonstrations have only grown since 113 students were arrested Friday.

Foxx called the student’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment “radical” and “unlawful,” claiming it creates a “severe and pervasive hostile environment” for Jewish students on campus. Similar protests have begun at New York University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in recent days.

“There can be no doubt that the unrest poses an ongoing ‘clear and present danger’ that demands immediate law enforcement and disciplinary action,” she wrote.

The criticism comes after the Biden administration also denounced the protests as “blatantly antisemitic” and encouraging “calls for violence.”

A significant portion of the protesting students are Jewish, and protest groups have fought back against characterizations of their demonstrations as antisemitic.

“We are frustrated by media distractions focusing on inflammatory individuals who do not represent us,” protest leaders wrote in a statement Sunday. “Our members have been misidentified by a politically motivated mob.” 

“We firmly reject any form of hate or bigotry and stand vigilant against non-students attempting to disrupt the solidarity being forged among students,” they continued. “Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, Black and pro-Palestinian classmates and colleagues who represent the full diversity of our country.”

Columbia moved classes online beginning Monday following concerns over the safety of Jewish students, sparked by a warning from a campus rabbi for students to leave campus.