Academics, lawyers and activists have expressed support for a law professor who says she was pressured to leave Columbia University because of her advocacy for pro-Palestinian students.
“Effective today, I have entered into an agreement with Columbia University that releases me from my obligations to teach or participate in faculty governance after serving 25 years on the law school of Columbia,” said Katherine Franke, a tenured law professor at Ivy League University in Washington. the United States said in a statement Thursday.
“While the university may refer to this change in status as “retirement,” it should be more accurately understood as a termination dressed up in more palatable terms.
“I have come to the view that the Columbia University administration has created such a toxic and hostile environment for legitimate debate about the war in Israel and Palestine that I can no longer teach or conduct research ” said Franke.
Protests against Israel’s war on Gaza erupted on Columbia’s New York campus last April and inspired similar encampments at other institutions across the United States and beyond. Students demanded that the university divest from Israel, accused of war crimes and genocide in Gaza. They also called for a ceasefire to end the war that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians and turned Gaza into rubble.
The prestigious Ivy League school, however, attempted to suppress student protests – a crackdown that drew criticism from rights organizations.
Some critics have argued that the crackdown on students and pro-Palestinian groups has put a damper on free speech on the university campus, while others say the university administration has allowed a hostile atmosphere to grow.
Commenting on Franke’s resignation on Saturday, Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, said Franke had become “another victim of pro-Israelism that is transforming universities and other spaces of public life into places of obscurantism.” discrimination and oppression”.
On Sunday, Noura Erakat, a Rutgers University professor and human rights lawyer, called the university’s mistreatment of Professor Franke “egregious.”
“She resigned after 25 years of an illustrious academic career and commitment to her students because she decided there was nothing left to return to – it’s far too hostile,” said Erakat on the social media platform
Todd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), called Columbia’s actions “truly shameful” and said Saturday that the AAUP stood with “Professor Franke and against this crackdown on pro-Palestinian speech.
The Center for Constitutional Rights, an advocacy organization, said Thursday that Franke’s resignation represents “a blatant attack on academic freedom and the defense of Palestinian rights.”
Columbia “collaborates” with “enemies” of its academic mission
According to a New York Times article, Columbia University spokesperson Samantha Slater said a complaint had been filed (against Franke) “alleging discriminatory harassment in violation of our policies.” An investigation was carried out and a report was made.
In her resignation statement, Franke noted that last February, two of her colleagues filed a complaint against her with the university’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, accusing one of her comments to the American media Democracy Now! amounted to harassment against Israeli members of the Colombian community, in violation of university policies.
In a January 2024 interview, Franke spoke about the university’s graduate program relationships with countries including Israel and said, “It’s something that a lot of us are concerned about, because Many of these Israeli students, who then come to the Columbia campus, are just coming out of their military service. And they are known to harass Palestinians and other students on our campus.
As the investigation into complaints against the comment progressed, Franke said that in April 2024, during a U.S. Congressional hearing, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik asked Columbia’s then-president Minouche Shafik what disciplinary measures had been taken. were taken against Franke, who had commented on Israeli students on campus.
Stefanik wrongly attributed to Franke the remark that “all Israeli students who have served in (the Israeli army) are dangerous and should not be on campus.”
“President Shafik responded: ‘I agree with you that these comments are completely unacceptable and discriminatory.’ Speaker Shafik knew at that time that Congresswoman Stefanik’s summary of my comments was grossly inaccurate and misleading, but she made no effort to correct the Congresswoman’s deliberate misinterpretation of my comments,” Franke said in his statement.
Professor Franke claims to have been the victim of harassment, including death threats, following the congressional hearing.
Shafik, who was criticized for his handling of student protests, resigned as university president in August.
Meanwhile, an outside law firm was later hired to investigate Franke’s comments last November and concluded that his remarks violated the university’s equal opportunity and affirmative action policies. Franke said she appealed.
“Upon reflection, it became clear to me that Columbia had become such a hostile environment that I could no longer serve as an active faculty member,” Franke said in his statement.
“Rather than defending the role of a university in a democracy, fostering critical debate, research, and learning on issues of vital public concern…Columbia University leaders have demonstrated a willingness to collaborate with the very enemies of our university mission.
