Anti-Israel protests at Columbia University on Sunday, April 21, 2024
A professor at Columbia University has been denied access to portions of the campus where he works – because he's Jewish.
And equally alarming is the reasoning by the school: It says it couldn't be confident he would be safe if allowed to enter.
The report is from the Washington Examiner, which said the stunning developments are because of the widespread anti-Israel protests being orchestrated by leftists on campuses across the country.
They are part of the aftermath of the Oct. 7 terror attack by Hamas on Israel civilians that left some 1,200 innocent people dead, often killed in horrific butchery.
Israel's response was to dispatch its military to wipe out that terror threat, and the result has been the portrayal of Israel as the attacker, and the protests are in defense of Palestinian "victims."
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The Columbia University situation developed when Shai Davidai, an Israel native and assistant business professor, was barred by the school from entry into the campus's "liberated zone."
"Davidai claimed his identification card had been deactivated as school officials said they could not ensure his safety. An estimated 200 pro-Palestinian protesters were on the campus at the time, with the students likely needing to have their IDs to get in," the report said.
The school sent its chief operating officer, Cas Holloway, to tell Davidai he needed to go to a different part of campus, the report said.
"I am a professor here; I have every right to be everywhere on campus; you cannot let people that support Hamas on campus, and me, a professor, not go on campus. Let me in now," Davidai responded.
He previously was interviewed on an Israeli news show to explain what the protesting students were doing was "terrorism."
Earlier, a Jewish student had filed a hate crime report charging he was hit in the head with rocks thrown by pro-Palestinian protesters.
Constitutional expert and popular legal issue commentator Jonathan Turley explained what was so alarming about the school's decision.
"What was equally concerning is that the university did so for his own protection out of concern that, as an outspoken Jewish faculty member, he could not walk around the campus safely. It was reminiscent of the recent controversy of a man in London threatened with arrest because being 'quite openly Jewish' would trigger pro-Palestinian protesters," he explained.
He said, "The most basic obligation of a university is to ensure the safety of its faculty and students from physical assaults. If there is a problem on campus, it is found in those students or faculty who would threaten a Jewish professor if he were to walk on campus.
"This is not part of the debate over what language is considered a threat or hateful rhetoric. This is barring a professor because his status alone makes his presence inflammatory or dangerous. I cannot imagine how the solution was barring the potential victim of religious-based bigotry and violence," he said.
He pointed out that "major donors like Robert Kraft" have begun pulling their financial support over the anti-Israel hate.
The school needs, he said, to supply "whatever security is needed to allow him and others to walk around campus without fear of assault."
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