Columbia University and one of its longtime law professors, Katherine Franke, severed ties following an investigation stemming from her advocacy of pro-Palestinian students.
It was the latest result of student and faculty activism related to the Gaza war on a major university campus.
Ms. Franke, a tenured professor best known for her work as the founder and director of Columbia’s Center on Gender and Sexuality, was an advocate for pro-Palestinian students as protests erupted on campus last school year.
He was also one of several faculty members investigated by the university for allegations of anti-Semitism after the school received complaints about comments he made about Israelis on a radio program.
Describing her departure as “a complaint dressed up in nicer terms,” ​​Ms. Franke said in a statement Friday that he reached an agreement with the university to leave because Columbia had become a “toxic and hostile environment.”
A spokeswoman for Columbia University, Samantha Slater, said in a statement that the university is “committed to being a community that is welcoming to all, and our policies prohibit discrimination and harassment.”
It added that a complaint had been filed “alleging discriminatory harassment in violation of our policies. An investigation was conducted and the conclusion came out.”
In a statement Friday, the Center for Constitutional Rights, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization, called the end of Ms. Franke’s career at Columbia “a blatant attack on both academic freedom and the defense of Palestinian rights.”
The research on Ms. Franke included comments he made on the left-wing media platform Democracy Now! following an incident in January 2024 on the steps of Columbia’s Low Library.
A foul-smelling substance was released on pro-Palestinian students during a rally demanding the university’s withdrawal from Israel. A student who was suspended in connection with the incident – and who subsequently sued the university – has been identified as a former member of the Israel Defense Forces.
In the Republic now! interview several days later, Ms. Franke said that she and other Columbia professors were concerned about Israeli students coming to Columbia “right after their military service” because they were known to harass Palestinians and other students on campus.
Two Columbia colleagues filed a complaint against Ms. Franke, saying her comments amounted to harassment of Israeli members of the Columbia community. An outside law firm hired by the university to investigate the complaint found last November that the remarks violated Equal Employment Opportunity policies, which Ms. Franke said he has appealed.
The investigator also concluded that Ms. Franke had violated the policy by revealing the name of one of the whistleblowers against her and reposting a social media post that made disparaging comments about him.
During a congressional hearing in April, Dr. Minouche Shafik, then Columbia’s president, was asked by Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-New York, what disciplinary action had been taken against Ms. Franke. Ms. Stefanik misquoted Ms. Franke as saying that “all Israeli students who served in the IDF are dangerous and should not be on campus.”
During the hearing, Dr Shafik replied: “I agree with you that these comments are completely unacceptable and discriminatory.”
The comments of Dr. Shafik during the hearing, regarding Ms. Franke and others, drew sharp rebukes from faculty members as inappropriate and damaging to her relationship with the faculty.
Dr. Shafik resigned several months later, becoming the third university president to appear before a congressional committee to quit her job.
In her statement on Friday, Ms. Franke called Dr. Shafik’s remarks during the hearing libelous. “President Shafik knew at the time that Congresswoman Stefanik’s summary of my comments was grossly inaccurate and misleading,” Ms. Franke.
She said the hearing led to death threats against her, as well as other forms of harassment.
After Dr. Shafik testified, she wrote, her colleagues had videotaped her without her consent and leaked the videos to right-wing organizations. Students, she said, had gone so far as to register in her class to provoke discussions that they could record and post online and then press charges against her.
“I have also come to believe that Columbia University has lost its commitment to its unique and important mission,” said Ms. Franke in her statement.
Instead of encouraging critical debate, research and learning, he said, the university had “demonstrated a willingness to collaborate with the very enemies of our academic mission.”
