(AFP) – President Donald Trump’s administration said Friday it was cutting $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University, accusing it of failing to protect Jewish students from harassment as protesters rallied against Israel’s conduct of the Gaza war.
Four government agencies announced in a statement “the immediate cancellation of approximately $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” Trump said this week that he would cut funding for schools that allow “illegal protests,” his latest threat to turn off the flow of federal money to the country’s education system.
US campuses including Columbia’s were rocked last year by student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. The demonstrations ignited accusations of anti-Semitism. Protests, some of which turned violent and saw campus buildings occupied and lectures disrupted, pitted students protesting Israel’s conduct against pro-Israel campaigners, many of whom were Jewish.
Protests continued at Columbia this week when on Tuesday more than 200 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered to demonstrate against former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett, who was at the campus for a speaking engagement. “All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests,” Trump wrote Tuesday on his platform Truth Social.
“Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on …the crime, arrested,” the post continued.
Friday’s statement, issued by the US General Services Administration, said the cuts were the “first round of action” — and that additional cancellations to the around $5 billion of federal grant commitments to Columbia are expected to follow.
“Since October 7, Jewish students have faced relentless violence, intimidation, and anti-Semitic harassment on their campuses — only to be ignored by those who are supposed to protect them,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “Universities must comply with all federal anti-discrimination laws if they are going to receive federal funding,” she said.
“For too long, Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students studying on its campus. Today, we demonstrate to Columbia and other universities that we will not tolerate their appalling inaction any longer.” The university did not respond to a request for comment.
Last month, the Department of Justice announced the formation of a multi-agency task force to combat anti-Semitism. “The Task Force’s first priority will be to root out anti-Semitic harassment in schools and on college campuses,” the DoJ said in a statement.
– Gregory WALTON
© 2024 AFP
