Columbia students criticize university authorities for expressing support for “Hamas terrorist sympathizers”

Minouche Shafik, the president of Columbia University, and Laura Ann Rosenbury, the president of Barnard College, signed a statement announcing the creation of a resource group that is causing discomfort among some students at the college.

In an announcement sent to all students via email and also published on the university's website, Columbia and Barnard authorities said they were concerned about cases of doxing of students of Arab or Muslim origin.

“The deliberate harassment and targeting of members of our community by doxing, a dangerous form of intimidation, is unacceptable,” officials wrote. “Many individuals, including students across several schools, have been subject to these attacks by third parties. This includes disturbing incidents in which trucks have circled the Columbia campus displaying and publicizing the names and photos of Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian students.”

“To streamline support for the members of our community who are the targets of doxing, Columbia and Barnard together are establishing a Doxing Resource Group composed of key offices across both campuses that are focused on the issue,” officials announced.

However, for some students at the university, such as Daniel Di Martino, who has a doctorate in economics, the authorities expressed “support for the Hamas terrorist sympathizers because they were exposed.”

“She says that 'we are grateful for [your] persistence... in the face of this harrassment'. Unbelievable. Antisemitism runs deep,” Di Martino wrote on X (formerly Twitter) referring to Minouche Shafik.

“These students who are defacing and tearing down Jewish kidnapped victim posters and signing statements against Israel are receiving University help to deal with the backlash,” he stated.

Some users also criticized the university in responses to Di Martino's post.

“Sadly, Columbia has a history of antisemitism,” wrote one user. “Long serving Pres Nicholas Murray Butler in 1919 was one of the first to establish admissions quotas limiting the number of Jewish students.”