Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is under fire, with critics labeling him a traitor, following explosive allegations that he urged Columbia University administrators to downplay any criticism of their response to violent acts and antisemitism on campus after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel.
A report from the GOP-led House Education and Workforce Committee, spanning 325 pages, claims that Schumer, a Democrat from New York, advised then-president Minouche Shafik that Democratic officials would not scrutinize the university, explaining that its “political issues are primarily among Republicans.”
According to the report, Schumer’s staff also suggested that Columbia’s administrators adopt a “keep heads down” approach.
“The self-proclaimed protector of the Jewish people. Chuckey Schumer is nothing but a kapo traitor. He should be ashamed of himself,” stated former Brooklyn state Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a Democrat-turned-Republican and the leader of Americans Against Antisemitism.
“He is a traitor to America. He is a traitor to the Jewish people. Shame on him! This is what the Democratic Party has become,” Hikind added.
The findings follow a months-long investigation by the committee into how anti-Israel protests were handled on 11 college campuses, including Columbia, Harvard, Yale, and Northwestern.
The committee reviewed private communications, including emails and text messages of university leaders like Shafik, who stepped down from her role in August.
Schumer’s spokesperson, Angelo Roefaro, refuted the report’s claims, calling it “flat-out false.”
“Sen. Schumer regularly and forcefully condemned antisemitic acts at Columbia and elsewhere saying ‘when protests shift to antisemitism, verbal abuse, intimidation, or glorification of Oct. 7 violence against Jewish people, that crosses the line.’ He conveyed this point publicly and to administrators privately,” Roefaro told The Post on Thursday evening.
Roefaro added, “It’s worthy to note here that Republicans are citing words from someone who is not Chuck Schumer. That is called hearsay.”
The report states that Columbia trustees mocked the committee’s scrutiny of their oversight regarding violence and discrimination on campus and discussed in text messages their hopes for a Democratic takeover of Congress following Shafik’s conversation with Schumer.
In January, Shafik messaged Board of Trustees co-chairs David Greenwald and Claire Shipman, describing Schumer as “very positive and supportive (and quite the storyteller).”
After communications with Schumer and his staff, university leaders reportedly felt emboldened to avoid engaging with Republican representatives, with the report noting Schumer’s team suggested such meetings were unnecessary.
Following Schumer’s guidance, Greenwald reiterated this stance, writing, “If we are keeping our head down, maybe we shouldn’t meet with Republicans.”
Since Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel, Jewish students at Columbia have faced threats, been spat on, followed, and cornered, as the prestigious university has been marked by escalating antisemitic incidents, according to an unsettling report from the university in August.
Jewish students have had their jewelry ripped off, faced harassment for supporting Zionist causes, endured ethnic slurs, and witnessed the burning of Israeli flags.
In April, anti-Israel demonstrators barricaded themselves in Hamilton Hall on campus and attempted to rename it Hind’s Hall in memory of a Palestinian child killed in the conflict.
More than 100 individuals were arrested after law enforcement was called by Columbia to disperse the disruptive crowd that had illegally occupied the building.
“The report is more evidence of what we already knew: Columbia did not do their job to prevent antisemitism on campus,” said Ari Shrage, the head of the Columbia Jewish Alumni Association.
“Unfortunately, the report also shows that many of its insiders are part of the deep institutional rot. Their statement today is another ‘word salad’ and the awful events on campus in recent weeks shows that they continue to talk but take no action,” Shrage added.
As the new school year began last month, Columbia was once again the scene of anti-Israel protests, with demonstrators defacing an Alma Mater statue on campus grounds with red paint.
“The recent report from the House Committee on Education and the Workforce demonstrates how the Democrats speak out of both sides of their mouths,” said Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Sapraicone to The Post.
“The reports of Sen. Schumer dismissing blatant violence and antisemitism are exactly why I’m running to replace his counterpart, who is just a rubber stamp. Election Day will prove that Americans won’t tolerate any longer,” Sapraicone continued.
The House Education panel, led by Republicans, also discovered that Ivy League universities made a “deliberate decision” to exclude language condemning Hamas’ slaughter of over 1,200 civilians as “violence” and omitted mentions of Israeli hostages from official statements in the wake of the attack.
“We denounce this act of terror,” stated an earlier draft of the official statement, which was ultimately removed, as detailed in the report. The investigation also noted that multiple schools failed to provide adequate support to Jewish students.
{Matzav.com}
