GOP Lawmakers Demand Columbia President Minouche Shafik Resign Immediately

Republican lawmakers demanded on Monday that Columbia president Minouche Shafik resign immediately for failing to crack down on “a large unauthorised antisemitic riot” that has engulfed the university’s campus.

“It is time for Columbia University to turn the page on this shameful chapter. This can only be done through the restoration of order and your prompt resignation,” House Republican conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik and the nine other Republican representatives from the Empire State wrote in a letter obtained by the New York Post.

“We, the undersigned members, urge you to step down immediately so that someone who will take action against this mob can step up to meet the moment this crisis demands.” This letter comes as Columbia University canceled in-person classes on Monday and new demonstrations broke out on other US college campuses as tensions continue to grow over Israel’s war in Gaza.

Police arrested several dozen protesters at Yale University on Monday morning after officials at the New Haven, Connecticut, school said they defied warnings over the weekend to leave. Following arrests last week at Columbia, pro-Palestinian demonstrators set up encampments on other campuses around the country, including at the University of Michigan, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of North Carolina.

Last week, police arrested more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia who had set up an encampment on the New York City campus. On Sunday, a rabbi at Columbia sent a WhatsApp message to more than 200 Jewish students, urging them to leave the New York City campus if they did not feel safe.

READ MORE: How Anti-Israel Protests Brought An Ivy College To Its Knees And Ensnared US Politician Ilhan Omar’s Daughter

Columbia President Minouche Shafik said in a note addressed to the school community Monday that she was “deeply saddened” by what was happening on campus. “To deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps, I am announcing that all classes will be held virtually on Monday,” Shafik said. She said faculty and staff should work remotely, when possible, and that students who don’t live on campus should stay away.

Shafik said the Middle East conflict is terrible and that she understands that many are experiencing deep moral distress. “Today I formally demanded @Columbia President Shafik resign following her failure to put an end to the mob of students and agitators spreading antisemitism and calling for acts of terrorism against Jewish students at Columbia,” she said in a post on X.

“But we cannot have one group dictate terms and attempt to disrupt important milestones like graduation to advance their point of view,” Shafik wrote. Over the coming days, a working group of deans, school administrators and faculty will try to find a resolution to the university crisis, noted Shafik, who didn’t say when in-person classes would resume. Several students at Columbia and Barnard College said they were suspended for taking part in last week’s protests, including Barnard student Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar.

(With agency inputs)