3 Columbia University administrators put on leave over alleged text exchange at antisemitism panel
NEW YORK — Columbia University said it has placed three administrators on leave while it investigates allegations that they exchanged unprofessional text messages while attending a panel discussion on anti-Semitism on campus.
The university said the administrators work for undergraduate Columbia College, which hosted the panel discussion “Jewish Life on Campus: Past, Present and Future” during an alumni reunion on May 31.
The university’s dean, Josef Sorett, informed his team on Thursday that the three administrators have been placed on leave.
“Columbia College is treating this situation with the utmost seriousness,” a university spokesperson said. “We are committed to confronting anti-Semitism, discrimination and hatred and taking concrete action to ensure that we form a community of respect and healthy dialogue where everyone feels valued and safe.”
Columbia did not name the administrators and declined to discuss the matter further while the investigation is ongoing.
The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news outlet, published images of what it said were the administrators’ text messages on June 12 and 21. One suggested that a panelist could have used the campus protests for fundraising, and another criticized a campus rabbi’s essay on anti-Semitism.
The panel on anti-Semitism was held a month after university leaders called in police to clear pro-Palestinian protesters from an occupied administration building and dismantle a tent camp that threatened to disrupt graduation ceremonies.
The police action came amid deep divisions on campus over whether some protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza were anti-Semitic.
Some text messages allegedly sent by Sorett were among those published by the news station, but he was not among those placed on leave. He will remain dean and cooperate in the investigation, the university said.
“I deeply regret my role in these text exchanges and the impact they have had on our community,” Sorett said in a message to the Columbia College Board of Visitors on Friday.
Sorett said he is “committed to learning from this situation and working to combat anti-Semitism, discrimination and hate in Columbia.”