Activists back US professor ‘forced’ from Columbia over Palestine advocacy

A law professor who claims she was pressured to leave Columbia University for her advocacy for pro-Palestinian students has received the support of academics, lawyers, and activists.

After serving on the Columbia law faculty for 25 years, I have come to an agreement with Columbia University that relieves me of my duties to teach or take part in faculty governance, according to Katherine Franke, a tenured law professor at the Ivy League institution, in a statement on Thursday.

Although the university might refer to this change in my status as “retirement,” it should be understood more as a termination presented in more palatable language.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I can no longer teach or conduct research because the Columbia University administration has created such a toxic and hostile environment for legitimate debate about the Israeli-Palestine war.

Last April, protests against Israel’s occupation of Gaza erupted on Columbia’s New York City campus, which spawned similar camps at other universities in the US and beyond. Students demanded that the university stop funding Israel, which has been accused of genocide and war crimes in Gaza. They also demanded a ceasefire to end the conflict, which has resulted in the destruction of Gaza and the deaths of more than 46,000 Palestinians.

The prestigious Ivy League school, however, attempted to push back against the students’ protests – a crackdown that brought criticisms from rights organisations.

Some critics claimed that the university’s administration has hampered free speech on the campus, while others claimed that the crackdown on pro-Palestinian students and organizations has hampered the institution’s reputation.

Commenting on Franke’s resignation on Saturday, Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, said Franke has become “another victim of the pro-Israelism that is turning universities, and other spaces of public life, into places of obscurantism, discrimination and oppression”.

On Sunday, Noura Erakat, a professor at Rutgers University and human rights lawyer, called the university’s mistreatment of Professor Franke “egregious”.

After 25 years of a distinguished academic career and a commitment to her students, Erakat decided there is nothing to do and that is far too hostile, she wrote on the social media platform X.

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) president Todd Wolfson referred to Columbia’s actions as being “truly shameful” and said that the organization supports Professor Franke and opposes this repression of pro-Palestinian speech on Saturday.

The Center for Constitutional Rights, an advocacy organisation, said on Thursday that Franke’s resignation represents “an egregious attack on both academic freedom and Palestinian rights advocacy”.

Columbia ‘collaborates’ with ‘enemies’ of its academic mission

A complaint against Franke [against him] was reported in a New York Times article, alleging discriminatory harassment in violation of our policies, according to Columbia University spokesman Samantha Slater. An investigation was conducted, and a finding was issued. ”

According to Franke’s resignation statement, she noted that one of her comments to US news outlet Democracy Now! was the subject of a complaint that two of her coworkers filed with the university’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action in February, February. in violation of university policies, constituted harassment of Israeli Columbia residents.

In a January 2024 interview, Franke had spoken about the university’s graduate-programme relationship with countries including Israel and said: “It’s something that many of us were concerned about, because so many of those Israeli students, who then come to the Columbia campus, are coming right out of their military service. Additionally, they have a reputation for intimidating Palestinian and other students on our campus. ”

In addition to the investigation into complaints made against this comment, Franke claimed that Congresswoman Elise Stefanik inquired from then-Columbia President Minouche Shafik in April of this year about the disciplinary actions taken against Franke for commenting on Israeli students on campus.

Stefanik wrongly attributed the remark “all Israeli students who served in the [Israeli army] are dangerous and shouldn’t be on campus” to Franke.

President Shafik responded, “I completely agree with you that those remarks are discriminatory and unacceptable. ’ President Shafik was aware at that time that Congresswoman Stefanik’s summary of my comments was grossly inaccurate and misleading, yet she made no effort to correct the Congresswoman’s deliberate mischaracterisation of my comments,” Franke said in her statement.

Professor Franke says she faced harassment, including death threats, following the Congressional hearing.

Shafik, who was criticised for the handling of the students’ protests, stepped down as the university president in August.

In addition, an external law firm was hired to look into Franke’s comments in November and come to the conclusion that her statements were infringing on university policies on equal opportunity and affirmative action. She has stated that she has 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 member of the faculty,” Franke said in her statement.

Source: Aljazeera