Senate Republicans Call on Democratic Committee Chairs to Demand Answers From Columbia University President

Yesterday, Senator Bill Weber joined  Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt, Senator Tom O’Mara, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Investigations and Government Operations, Senator Joseph Griffo, ranking member of the Senate Higher Education Committee, and Senator Jack Martins, Chair of the Senate Republican Working Group on Antisemitism, along with Republican members of the committees, called for Columbia University President Minouche Shafik to appear before a joint meeting of the Higher Education and Investigations and Government Operations committees to present her plan of action to defuse pro-Hamas protests and ensure the safety of all students on campus. 

In a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Higher Education Committee Chair Toby Stavisky, and Investigations and Government Operations Chair James Skoufis, the Senators request that the University President be called to appear pursuant to Senate Rule VII, Section 2.

"The situation at Columbia University and its handling by the University’s leadership is a disgrace. That Jewish students are not safe to be on campus and attend classes at a university or college in the City of New York, which has the largest Jewish population of any city in the world, and in the state of New York, which has the largest Jewish population in the United States, must be immediately dealt with,” says Senator Bill Weber, member of the Senate Republican Antisemitism Working Group. 

“There is no moral equivalency on this. Our student’s safety must remain the #1 priority. “Negotiating” on issues such as these are wrong. At a time when antisemitism is spiking, we need to combat this issue head-on. It is time for our higher education administrators to protect all our students. This level of hate and discrimination has no place in New York State. We must put an end to this now,” said Senator Jack Martins, Chair of the Senate Republican Antisemitism Working Group.

“As protests at Columbia University were occurring, Ms. Shafik was testifying in front of Congress to address questions of antisemitism and how the University has responded to conflicts on the campus regarding the Israel-Hamas war. In her testimony, she claimed that she is committed to doing everything she can on her campus to confront this issue directly. Despite her recent statements, up until this point and in the midst of the current chaos on the campus, Ms. Shafik and her Administration continue to take few to no active steps on putting an end to this ongoing situation…We need clear, definitive answers on what Ms. Shakif is doing to diffuse this situation and ensure the safety of Columbia University’s students,” the letter reads.