Latest News from Campus

Hillel of Staten Island has opened dedicated spaces at both the College of Staten Island and Wagner College to enrich the Jewish student experience. These areas provide students with opportunities for social, educational, and cultural engagement within their academic environments, and have already led to increased student engagement and community experiences.

Columbia University revoked degrees and issued suspensions for students involved in an anti-Israel protest at Hamilton Hall last spring. During the protest, participants stormed and occupied Hamilton Hall, while vandalizing the building and refusing to allow university staff members to leave, leading to police intervention. Brian Cohen, executive director of Columbia Barnard Hillel, called the decision “An important first step in righting the wrongs of the past year and a half,” expressing gratitude to the university’s administration for taking action.

In a rare public statement, the University of Chicago (UChicago) recently condemned an incident of anti-Israel vandalism on campus, in which an installation created by student group Maroons for Israel honoring Kfir Bibas was defaced. The statement and police investigation into the incident comes amid increased scrutiny from the Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism which is evaluating UChicago’s handling of antisemitism on its campus.

The U.S. Task Force to Combat Antisemitism canceled $400 million in federal grants and contracts with Columbia University, citing the institution’s lack of response to persistent harassment of Jewish students. Columbia responded in a statement, saying: “We take Columbia’s legal obligations seriously…and are committed to combatting antisemitism and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff.”

Faculty at Emerson College hosted a screening of the documentary October 8 following anti-Israel protests and increased antisemitic incidents on campus. The screening provided insight into the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and its aftermath, sparking a campus-wide discussion about the connections between politics, activism, and antisemitism.

Anti-Israel demonstrators gathered outside Columbia University to protest a talk by former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. The protesters chanted anti-Israel slogans and condemned Bennett’s visit, with some attempting to disrupt the event inside. Despite the protests, Bennett’s speech proceeded as scheduled, with heightened security in place.