Internewscast Journal
  • Home
  • US News
  • Local News
  • Health
  • People
  • Guest Post
  • Support Our Cause
Internewscast Journal
  • Home
  • US News
  • Local News
  • Health
  • People
  • Guest Post
  • Support Our Cause
Home Local news Columbia Genocide Scholar Considers Departure Due to University’s Revised Antisemitism Definition
  • Local news

Columbia Genocide Scholar Considers Departure Due to University’s Revised Antisemitism Definition

    A Columbia genocide scholar says she may leave over university's new definition of antisemitism
    Up next
    Eliotte Heinz and her dog in a car.
    22-Year-Old Eliotte Heinz Disappears During Short Walk Home; Family Shares Last Seen Photo in Urgent Search
    Published on 25 July 2025
    Author
    Internewscast
    Tags
    • antisemitism,
    • Claire Shipman,
    • Columbia,
    • definition,
    • Donald Trump,
    • Education,
    • genocide,
    • Hannah Arendt,
    • Kenneth Stern,
    • Leave,
    • Marianne Hirsch,
    • MAY,
    • New,
    • over,
    • Religion,
    • says,
    • Scholar,
    • she,
    • U.S. news,
    • university039s
    Share this @internewscast.com
    FacebookXRedditPinterest

    NEW YORK – Marianne Hirsch, a renowned expert on genocide at Columbia University, has long used Hannah Arendt’s book, “Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil,” to engage her students in discussions about the Holocaust and its enduring impacts.

    However, with Columbia recently adopting a new antisemitism definition, which labels certain criticisms of Israel as hate speech, Hirsch worries she might face penalties for referencing Arendt’s influential work, as the philosopher was critical of Israel’s establishment.

    After teaching for nearly five decades, Hirsch, whose parents survived the Holocaust, is for the first time contemplating leaving her teaching position.

    “A university that treats criticism of Israel as antisemitic and threatens sanctions for those who disobey is no longer a place of open inquiry,” she told The Associated Press. “I just don’t see how I can teach about genocide in that environment.”

    Hirsch is not alone. At universities across the country, academics have raised alarm about growing efforts to define antisemitism on terms pushed by the Trump administration, often under the threat of federal funding cuts.

    Promoted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, the definition lists 11 examples of antisemitic conduct, such as applying “double standards” to Israel, comparing the country’s policies to Nazism or describing its existence as “a racist endeavor.”

    Ahead of a $220 million settlement with the Trump administration announced Wednesday, Columbia agreed to incorporate the IHRA definition and its examples into its disciplinary process. It has been endorsed in some form by Harvard, Yale and dozens of other universities.

    While supporters say the semantic shift is necessary to combat evolving forms of Jewish hate, civil liberties groups warn it will further suppress pro-Palestinian speech already under attack by President Donald Trump.

    For Hirsch, the restrictions on drawing comparisons to the Holocaust and questioning Israel’s founding amount to “clear censorship,” which she fears will chill discussions in the classroom and open her and other faculty up to spurious lawsuits.

    “We learn by making analogies,” Hirsch said. “Now the university is saying that’s off-limits. How can you have a university course where ideas are not up for discussion or interpretation?”

    A spokesperson for Columbia didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment.

    The ‘weaponization’ of an educational framework

    When he first drafted the IHRA definition of antisemitism two decades ago, Kenneth Stern said he “never imagined it would one day serve as a hate speech code.”

    At the time, Stern was working as the lead antisemitism expert at the American Jewish Committee. The definition and its examples were meant to serve as a broad framework to help European countries track bias against Jews, he said.

    In recent years, Stern has spoken forcefully against what he sees as its “weaponization” against pro-Palestinian activists, including anti-Zionist Jews.

    “People who believe they’re combating hate are seduced by simple solutions to complicated issues,” he said. “But when used in this context, it’s really actually harming our ability to think about antisemitism.”

    Stern said he delivered that warning to Columbia’s leaders last fall after being invited to address them by Claire Shipman, then a co-chair of the board of trustees and the university’s current interim president.

    The conversation seemed productive, Stern said. But in March, shortly after the Trump administration said it would withhold $400 million in federal funding to Columbia over concerns about antisemitism, the university announced it would adopt the IHRA definition for “training and educational” purposes.

    Then last week, days before announcing a deal with the Trump administration to restore that funding, Shipman said the university would extend the IHRA definition for disciplinary purposes, deploying its examples when assessing “discriminatory intent.”

    “The formal incorporation of this definition will strengthen our response to and our community’s understanding of modern antisemitism,” Shipman wrote.

    Stern, who now serves as director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate, called the move “appalling,” predicting it would spur a new wave of litigation against the university while further curtailing pro-Palestinian speech.

    Already, the university’s disciplinary body has faced backlash for investigating students who criticized Israel in op-eds and other venues, often at the behest of pro-Israel groups.

    “With this new edict on IHRA, you’re going to have more outside groups looking at what professors are teaching, what’s in the syllabus, filing complaints and applying public pressure to get people fired,” he said. “That will undoubtedly harm the university.”

    Calls to ‘self-terminate’

    Beyond adopting the IHRA definition, Columbia has also agreed to place its Middle East studies department under new supervision, overhaul its rules for protests and coordinate antisemitism trainings with groups like the Anti-Defamation League.

    Earlier this week, the university suspended or expelled nearly 80 students who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

    Kenneth Marcus, chair of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, said Columbia’s actions were an overdue step to protect Jewish students from harassment.

    He dismissed faculty concerns about the IHRA definition, which he said would “provide clarity, transparency and standardization” to the university’s effort to root out antisemitism.

    “There are undoubtedly some Columbia professors who will feel they cannot continue teaching under the new regime,” Marcus said. “To the extent that they self-terminate, it may be sad for them personally, but it may not be so bad for the students at Columbia University.”

    But Hirsch, the Columbia professor, said she was committed to continuing her long-standing study of genocides and their aftermath.

    Part of that work, she said, will involve talking to students about Israel’s “ongoing ethnic cleansing and genocide” in Gaza, where more than 58,000 Palestinians have died, over half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

    “With this capitulation to Trump, it may now be impossible to do that inside Columbia,” Hirsch said. “If that’s the case, I’ll continue my work outside the university’s gates.”

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

    Share this @internewscast.com
    FacebookXRedditPinterest
    You May Also Like
    Kansas man, 82, may be oldest person to climb to Mt. Everest base camp
    • Local news

    82-Year-Old Kansas Resident Poised to Set Record as Oldest to Reach Mt. Everest Base Camp

    In an inspiring feat, an 82-year-old man from the Kansas City area…
    • Internewscast
    • October 20, 2025
    I-Team: 4 people shot, 2 killed in Slavic Village
    • Local news

    Tragic Shooting in Slavic Village Leaves 2 Dead, 2 Injured

    [Watch Cleveland’s homicide statistics in the video above.] CLEVELAND (WJW) — Authorities…
    • Internewscast
    • October 19, 2025
    'No Kings' protests draws hundreds in Tampa
    • Local news

    Hundreds Rally in Tampa for ‘No Kings’ Protest Movement

    Across the United States, including in the Tampa Bay area, ‘No Kings’…
    • Internewscast
    • October 19, 2025

    FEMA Grant Delays and New Rules Spark Concerns Over Disaster Response Effectiveness, Warn State Officials

    State emergency management officials are sounding alarms over significant reductions in federal…
    • Internewscast
    • October 19, 2025

    ETSU Football Narrowly Defeated by Chattanooga in 42-38 Showdown

    CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WJHL) — In a thrilling showdown, the East Tennessee State…
    • Internewscast
    • October 19, 2025
    Texas National Guard to be deployed in Austin ahead of 'No Kings' protest
    • Local news

    Texas National Guard Mobilized in Austin in Anticipation of ‘No Kings’ Demonstration

    In a proactive move, Texas Governor Greg Abbott revealed on Thursday plans…
    • Internewscast
    • October 19, 2025
    Aaron Oldham.
    • Local news

    Man Allegedly Poses as Lawyer to Infiltrate Oklahoma Jail, Sparks Security Concerns

    In a curious twist of events in Oklahoma City, a man has…
    • Internewscast
    • October 19, 2025

    Vols’ Struggle Continues: Alabama Secures 11th Consecutive Victory in Tuscaloosa

    In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the Tennessee Volunteers’ aspirations for the College Football Playoff…
    • Internewscast
    • October 19, 2025
    New student loan limits could change who gets to become a professor, doctor or lawyer
    • Local news

    Revised Student Loan Caps May Reshape Future Careers in Academia, Medicine, and Law

    As millions of students return to their academic pursuits this year, many…
    • Internewscast
    • October 19, 2025
    Rain approaches with front late Sunday
    • Local news

    Weekend Weather Alert: Late Sunday Rain Front Set to Impact Regions

    The remainder of your Saturday promises to be pleasant, with mostly clear…
    • Internewscast
    • October 19, 2025
    Trial for former deputy charged with killing Sonya Massey begins Monday
    • Local news

    Justice in Focus: Former Deputy Faces Trial for Sonya Massey Murder

    PEORIA, Ill. (WCIA) — In the wake of a tragic incident that…
    • Internewscast
    • October 19, 2025
    Windshield cracks midflight, diverting United Airlines plane; officials investigating
    • Local news

    Mid-Flight Windshield Crack Forces United Airlines Emergency Diversion: Investigation Underway

    LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — Authorities have launched an investigation into the circumstances…
    • Internewscast
    • October 19, 2025
    Priest is Himmler's grandson and his granny 'had body part tables'
    • News

    Priest Uncovers Shocking Ancestry: Grandson of Heinrich Himmler Reveals Disturbing Family History

    A priest was left in utter disbelief upon uncovering that he is…
    • Internewscast
    • October 20, 2025
    Brian Daboll’s Giants lose to Broncos, 33-32, in all-time choke job
    • News

    Brian Daboll’s Giants Fall to Broncos in Historic 33-32 Defeat

    DENVER — In a stunning turn of events at Empower Field at…
    • Internewscast
    • October 20, 2025
    Alabama father and two daughters dead after plane crash in Montana
    • News

    Tragic Plane Crash in Montana Claims Lives of Alabama Father and Daughters

    Tragedy struck the Montana wilderness as an Alabama father and his two…
    • Internewscast
    • October 20, 2025
    Teen killed by stray bullet while playing video games inside St. Louis home: 'Horrible nightmare'
    • US

    Tragic Incident: Teen Fatally Struck by Stray Bullet While Gaming at Home in St. Louis

    In a tragic incident, a 14-year-old high school freshman from Missouri lost…
    • Internewscast
    • October 20, 2025
    Internewscast Journal
    • Home
    • Privacy Policy
    • DMCA Notice
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Guest Post
    • Support Our Cause
    Copyright 2023. All Right Reserverd.