Calls for the resignation of Columbia University president Minouche Shafik are mounting after days of chaos on campus during which anti-Israel protesters chanted slogans supporting Hamas and harassed and even assaulted Jewish students.
The entirety of the House Republican delegation from New York signed a letter on Monday urging Shafik to step down, arguing that “the situation unfolding on campus right now is a direct product of your policies and misguided decisions.”
Last week, while you testified in front of Congress claiming you were successfully working to address antisemitism and committed to enforcing protest policies, a large unauthorized antisemitic riot unfolded on campus as the ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment.’ Despite implementing new rules to stop such unauthorized events and this illegal, antisemitic encampment clearly violating these rules, it was nearly two days before the New York Police Department (NYPD) was authorized to clear the encampment. Since then, the encampment has shockingly been allowed to reconvene, order has not been restored, and NYPD has not been allowed to return. The words in your testimony ring hollow and you have clearly failed to live up to any commitment of enforcement.
“It is time for Columbia University to turn the page on this shameful chapter,” the members of Congress wrote. “This can only be done through the restoration of order and your prompt resignation. We, the undersigned members, urge you to step down immediately so that someone who will take action against this mob can step up to meet the moment this crisis demands.”
Other lawmakers also called for Shafik’s resignation on Monday. Senator Tim Scott (R., S.C.) posted on X that Shafik “needs to resign immediately for allowing students to turn their campus into a breeding ground for hatred.” Senator John Fetterman (D., Pa.) wrote the following: “To @Columbia President Minouche Shafik: do your job or resign so Columbia can find someone who will.”
Representative Jim Banks (R., Ind.) said that “if President Shafik can’t keep Columbia’s campus safe for Jewish students, she needs to resign.”
In an exclusive statement to National Review, Paul Teller, the executive director of the Mike Pence-founded organization Advancing American Freedom, called on Shafik to step down.
“Columbia University President Minouche Shafik should resign in disgrace. The scenes at Columbia are eerily reminiscent of Nazi Germany. Jewish students are being assaulted and told to stay home for their own safety. Columbia moved its classes online today because they cannot ensure student well-being,” Teller wrote. “President Shafik has clearly lost control of her institution. There can be no room for militant, violent antisemitism here in the United States. President Shafik: resign.”
The most recent statement from Shafik begins with her assertion that she is “deeply saddened by what is happening on campus.”
“We are a caring, mature, thoughtful and engaged community,” she wrote. “Let’s remind ourselves of our common values of honoring learning, mutual respect, and kindness that have been the bedrock of Columbia. I hope everyone can take a deep breath, show compassion, and work together to rebuild the ties that bind us together.”