Columbia Leaves Three Deans After Texts Contain ‘Anti-Semitic Terms’

“Whether intentional or not,” she wrote, “these sentiments are unacceptable and deeply disturbing, reflecting a lack of seriousness about the concerns and experiences of members of our Jewish community that is contrary to the values ​​of our university and the standards we are expected to uphold in our community.”

This year, Columbia University has come under scrutiny from lawmakers, the Department of Education, alumni and others over anti-Semitism on its campus, as the campus has been rocked by protests against the war between Israel and Gaza, which sparked similar demonstrations at other universities across the country this spring and disrupted normal activities on the Ivy League campus. In April, a Columbia rabbi told Jewish students they should go home for their own safety.

Last month, the Free Beacon published photos of texts exchanged during a roundtable discussion on Jewish life between university administrators Josef Sorett, dean of Columbia College; Susan Chang-Kim, then associate dean of Columbia College; Cristen Kromm, then dean of undergraduate student life; and Matthew Patashnick, then associate dean for student and family support, with messages dismissive of the speakers’ remarks about anti-Semitism on campus. In one instance, one of the deans sent a vomit emoji in reference to a campus rabbi’s op-ed on anti-Semitism, according to the Free Beacon.

Sorett remains dean of Columbia College, but the other three have been removed. The three former deans did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce demanded copies of the texts and released them last week, saying they showed high-ranking Columbia College administrators “mocking and denigrating” the university’s Jewish community, “and using anti-Semitic stereotypes about Jews and money.”

According to the committee, in a paper written for the panel discussion, “Jewish Life on Campus: Past, Present and Future,” one of the trustees wrote of one of the panelists, Brian Cohen, executive director of Columbia/Barnard Hillel for the Lavine Family: “He knows exactly what he’s doing and how to take full advantage of this moment. Huge fundraising potential.”

“I’m going to throw up,” another wrote in another exchange.

Three speakers at the roundtable did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

Sorett sent three text messages, apparently in response to messages from Chang-Kim, according to text message transcripts released by the committee. The other three administrators sent numerous messages in a chat group among themselves.

Elisha Baker, a junior at Columbia College, said he attended school-sponsored listening sessions over the past school year in hopes of educating university leaders about anti-Semitism on campus. “What we found when these texts were leaked and then released by Congress was that they never really cared. We never had an ally. And the listening sessions were clearly for nothing because not only did they not get it, but they perpetuated the exact same anti-Semitic tropes and contempt for Jewish students on campus that we’ve been expressing to them for the last nine months.”

“It’s a real kick in the gut from the people who are supposed to support us,” Baker said.

He stressed that the university had not announced that the deans had been fired, but that they had been removed from their positions and placed on leave. “I don’t know what that means,” he said. “But I don’t believe that any of these three deans are fit to serve in a leadership role at a university. Period.”

Monday, Shafik wrote that the university would launch “robust” training on anti-Semitism and anti-discrimination for faculty and staff in the fall, with related training for students.

Angela V. Olinto, the university’s dean, also wrote to the campus community Monday, sharing Shafik’s dismay at conduct she called inconsistent with the institution’s values. She said she would work with Sorett to “repair relationships, restore trust and restore accountability.”

In a letter to Columbia College students Monday, Sorett wrote that he was responsible for setting the culture and tone of the college staff, and that “any language that demeans members of our community or divides us from one another is simply unacceptable. I am deeply sorry that this happened…” He said he would lead changes to ensure it does not happen again and that he had apologized to the roundtable members.

“The loss of trust and pain that this incident has caused, particularly to Jewish members of our community,” he wrote, “must be fully repaired.”

Aaron Schaffer contributed to this report.