A group of House Democrats are putting pressure to Columbia University's board to "act decisively" in ending an "anti-Israel, anti-Jewish" encampment on the Ivy League's New York City campus — or resign.
Until now, calls for Columbia officials to resign have been heard only from GOP lawmakers, including House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who earlier this month released a statement calling for Columbia President Minouche Shafik to "immediately resign."
In a letter to the university's board of trustees posted by Axios on Monday, 21 House Democrats wrote of their "disappointment that, despite promises to do so, Columbia University has not yet disbanded the unauthorized and impermissible encampment of anti-Israel, anti-Jewish activists on campus."
The group, led by Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., urged Columbia to "disband the encampment and ensure the safety and security of all of its students."
"If any Trustees are unwilling to do this, they should resign so that they can be replaced by individuals who will uphold the University's legal obligations under Title VI," the lawmakers added.
Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.
The letter was mostly signed by moderate and swing-district members, including 10 Jewish lawmakers, Axios noted; among them was Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the former House majority leader.
The encampment, which ballooned amid a protest of Israel's war effort in Gaza, went up April 17 as Columbia president Minouche Shafik was testifying to Congress about campus antisemitism.
The demonstrations have led to allegations of antisemitism and safety concerns among Jewish students — charges that drew a number of congressional delegations to visit the college and scold protesters.
But the protests have inspired similar demonstrations across the country.
Axios reported Columbia officials are currently attempting to negotiate a resolution with the encampment organizers — talks the university said were "ongoing" as of Saturday but activists described as making little progress.
"After nearly a week of negotiations, it is now abundantly clear that the students and activists entrenched on campus are unwilling to enter into a reasonable agreement to disband," the Democrats wrote in the letter.
Several progressive lawmakers are visiting encampments to support demonstrators, Axios noted — including "Squad" stalwarts Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., who showed up at Columbia on Friday.
The House is scheduled to vote this week on at least one antisemitism measure dividing House Democrats, Axios reported.
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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