Columbia University Deans Caught Sending Shocking Text Messages During Anti-Semitism Panel

Three Columbia University deans have been placed on leave after they were caught exchanging offensive text messages during a debate on anti-Semitism.

Footage captured by a participant showed Susan Chang-Kim, Matthew Patashnick and Cristen Kromm sending dismissive texts about the May 31 anti-Jewish hostility conference on campus.

As the speakers discussed the rise in anti-Jewish sentiment following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, the elders sent each other vomiting emojis and deduced that the speakers were only there for the “raising potential.” funds” of the event.

In his apology to Columbia’s Board of Visitors, the dean of the university’s Columbia College, Josef Sorett – who was also part of the texts but was not sanctioned – said the texts “do not indicate the opinions of ‘an individual or a team’.

Sorett’s apology also criticized alumni in the audience who grabbed the texts over Chang-Kim’s shoulder, who he said was guilty of an “invasion of privacy.”

The publication of these texts sparked outrage on campus, which was rocked by months-long anti-Israel protests following the war against Hamas.

To address the crisis, Columbia organized the event to bring together a number of voices on Jewish life within the institution, including Brian Cohen, executive director of Columbia’s Kraft Center for Jewish Life and the former dean from Columbia Law School, David Schizer, co-chair of an elite school’s anti-Semitism task force.

Speakers also included a Jewish alumna who broke down in tears when describing her sophomore daughter’s experience on campus.

But as they spoke, the three deans disparaged their efforts, in text messages first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.

In a series of texts, Kromm showed his disgust for a 2023 Spectator editorial titled “Sounding the Alarm,” written by Columbia campus rabbi Yonah Hain, by referring to the article with vomiting emojis.

As the mother broke down in tears, he joked: “And we thought Yonah had raised the alarm.”

“This panel really makes the administration look like jokers,” another text reads.

The deans were also caught suggesting that the speakers had other motivations than raising awareness of anti-Semitism on campus and that they were exploiting the situation for their own gain.

“He knows exactly what he’s doing and how to take full advantage of this moment. Huge fundraising potential,” texted Chang-Kim Pataschnick, associate dean for student and family support.

“Double urgh,” Chang-Kim replied.

Administrators also questioned Jewish speakers’ accounts of experiences of anti-Semitism among the student population.

Schizer told the audience he was appalled at how “you could be an undergraduate who (wants to join a club)… and all of a sudden you find out that actually, because you’re a Zionist and that you are proud of your connections. » with Israel, you are either explicitly expelled or simply not welcome.

“And in my opinion, that’s totally unacceptable.”

“Did we really have students kicked out of clubs because they were Jewish? ” Chang-Kim questioned, to which Pataschnick replied: “To my knowledge, no one has been actively deported.”

After the text messages sparked backlash on campus, Sorett apologized in an email to the Board of Visitors for the “harm” caused by the exchanges.

He insisted that the comments “do not indicate the views of any individual or team” and “reiterated his commitment to learning from this situation and other incidents over the past year to build a community of respect and healthy dialogue.

A Columbia spokesperson added to the New York Post: “We are committed to combating anti-Semitism and taking lasting, concrete steps to ensure that Columbia is a campus where Jewish students and all members of our community feel safe, valued and able to thrive. »

Following the revelation of the texts, Columbia University placed the three deans on leave.

“The dean of Columbia College informed his staff today that three administrators have been placed on leave pending a university investigation into the incident that occurred at the College’s alumni reunion several weeks ago” , the college told the Washington Free Beacon.

Sorett added to the outlet that after his own participation in the texts, he “reiterated his commitment to learning from this situation and other incidents over the past year to build a community of respect and healthy dialogue.”