Not a significant milestone in the fight against anti-Semitism?
July 23, 2025
"Columbia Agrees to $200 Million Fine to Settle Fight With Trump/The White House had canceled more than $400 million in research funding to the university, saying it had failed to protect Jewish students from harassment."
The New York Times report. That's a free-access link.
We're told: "The deal is a significant milestone in the Trump administration’s quest to bring elite universities to heel."
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61 comments:
Not a significant milestone in the fight against anti-Semitism?
Trump is worse than Hitler. Duh.
Not only is Trump an virulent anti-semite, but Trump is also Israel's bitch doing everything they want.
Please try to keep up. =D
Hostess - We all know NYT cannot view DJT actions in a positive light.
The left are Hamasian tools.
I know Achilles is being sarcastic.
I am not.
This has nothing to do with antisemitism. Trump's "antisemitism" is driven by his fascist desire to destroy independent thought. It is cynical beyond belief, and the end will backfire against the Jewish community.
That you continue to spread such bullshit is getting very disturbing.
We can’t know for certain what any person is thinking. Best not to try. Ignore the editorializing. By its actions, though, Columbia is acknowledging that it allowed antisemitism to run unchecked on campus and that that hurt Jewish students. This is not hard. It knew it had no good defense to the charge, so it settled.
I support any and all policies to harm higher education. Confiscate the monasteries, throw these idiot monks out of work and get these religious institutions out of the business of education and research.
his fascist desire to destroy independent thought.
I'm not aiming this at you, Freder, but rather at Columbia, which agrees with you about Trump's "fascist desire to destroy independent thought": who smelt it dealt it.
I imagine the money will be going to the library at Trump U
Do you continue to cite the NYT on any topic remotely political for the same reason, were you in Moscow in 1951, you'd cite Pravda? What's amusing is that today's Times is actually less believable in this arena than Pravda was during Stalin's reign of terror.
It’s been a while since I read anything in NYT because of paywalls, but is that supposed to be a straight news story, not opinion? For example “lending legitimacy to the Trump administration’s strategy of weaponizing research funding to accomplish an unrelated aim of reining in campus unrest” is supposed to be neutral, unbiased reporting?
Otherwise, I suppose agreeing to pay a $200 million fine says about all one needs to know.
Freder - you are a ridiculous lying hack. Grow up and grow a real brain. You live in a fantasy world of hate created by evil horrible people.
Freder Frederson said...
I know Achilles is being sarcastic.
I am not.
This has nothing to do with antisemitism. Trump's "antisemitism" is driven by his fascist desire to destroy independent thought. It is cynical beyond belief, and the end will backfire against the Jewish community.
That you continue to spread such bullshit is getting very disturbing.
Just remember that Freder supported our government when it colluded with the largest companies in the world to kick Trump off social media and censor him from the public square.
Freder is the definition of a National Socialist. He supports the State and State Allied Corporations censoring his political opponents.
Freder does not believe in freedom or independent thought. He wanted Trump thrown in jail for things everyone in his industry does.
He is a fascist in every sense and definition of the word.
We all watched the Pro-Hamas nutjobs threaten Jewish students. We heard their stories.
Leftists behave like assholes - then deny it and make excuses for Nazi behavior.
jim5301 said...
I imagine the money will be going to the library at Trump U
That is because you are stupid.
Trump helped right a horrible wrong - and the left lose what is left of their fragile single brain-cell.
Columbia settled because it was good risk management. You cut your losses while you still can. Expect the Columbia Faculty to issue a vote of no confidence and call for the firing of Shipman and the resignation of the entire Board of Trustees. Since the fall semester won’t start until 8/26, Columbia’s student Team Hamas won’t be able to kick into high gear for another month.
"Backfire against the Jewish community" - backfire by whom and how? Wouldn't that be antisemitism, and wouldn't that be grounds for such accusations vs the backfirers? I doubt many of those with anything to lose are going to be tempted to participate in a "backfire". Indeed, I think that a lot of those who think they have nothing to lose will, in time, discover that they did indeed have a great deal to lose.
they got off really easy, no one had tried to hold them accountable, what was that colson line?
Columbia is of a piece with the Times, with the State Department and Langley since the 70s at least
Angleton was perhaps the last major figure that was pro Israel in the last example
is it surprising the school that hosted Edward Said and Rashid Khalidi, would produce the likes of Mahmoud Khalil, a baby gauletier
Frederson, I generally feel sorry for idiots, but not for idiots like you.
Antisemitism is legal, and with the arguments being made against it, it's as reasonable as any. That's why it's popular on campus.
The war is authorized by the right to self defense, not the mini-Holocaust card.
The right argument would be saying something nice about Jews where there is no corresponding nice to Palestinians. Nobody does that, so Jews will never win the rhetorical argument.
So Trump is taking an unconstitutional side if it's to suppress antisemitism.
Intimidation and assaults are illegal, if he wants to suppress that. In that case don't say antisemitism.
The agreement is correctly described by the Times. Columbia is the Paul Weiss of universities. It has agrees to completely revamp its admissions process to make it a strictly numbers based system to basically eliminate any effort at a diverse student body. It also requires an intrusive vetting of the views of foreign students applying from abroad and an overall reduction of students from abroad. I assume the Trump lawyers will now seek to apply this template to other private universities. Within a few years it will change the character of the Columbia student body. Not about anti-semitism.
Columbia now gets $1.3 billion in research grants annually. $400 million of that was frozen. They've agreed to pay $66 million (back) annually for the next three years, and the $400 million will be restored.
Does anyone want to come to the blackboard and do the math ?
Freder wants more “independent thought” like Colbert and less Civil Rights enforcement like this fine.
Got it loud and clear, hater.
“It also requires an intrusive vetting of the views of foreign students applying from abroad and an overall reduction of students from abroad.”
What would they be looking for in this intrusive vetting exercise?
22 page agreement on Coumbia web site.
It's not a victory against antisemitism since there was not significant antisemitism at an institution where 20-30% of the faculty are Jewish.
If you follow this story closely, there's another angle on this too. Conservative members of the board of trustees used the government as a means of seizing control and instituting their own preferred policies. (There's a tabloid angle too, as one of the trustees was on the verge of being removed for ethical violations involving insider trading, but accusations of antisemitism protected her). This was not only a "antisemitism" issue, but part of an internal political struggle.
We're told: "The deal is a significant milestone in the Trump administration’s quest to bring elite universities to heel."
Not a significant milestone in the fight against anti-Semitism?
Like the little girl in the commercial: "Why not both?" (Yeeeeaaaa....!!!)
The note from Shipman mentions things they’re doing or planning on doing to deal with the antisemitism on campus, all due to the current and future threat of loss of Fed funding. It’s not accurate to say antisemitism was not a factor in the deal.
The Left put these policies in place. Trump is going Alinsky on them, forcing them to adhere to the principles and values they publicly espouse, even if it's inconvenient or uncomfortable for them.
Columbia, the petard is in place. Start hoisting.
How is the federal government extracting a $200 million protection racket payment from Columbia helping Jews exactly?
It's not a victory against antisemitism
It's a victory for Civil Rights, which were being systematically denied to Jewish students, just like the SCOTUS ruling for the Asian students rejected by Harvard. These are pure simple Civil Rights cases and ALL OF YOU would be 100% on board with this settlement if they were protecting a black student's access to classes and the library and commons, making certain that black student could attend school without fear of assault by a raging mob.
Don't overthink it. You aren't equipped for that.
..."How is the federal government extracting a $200 million protection racket payment from Columbia helping Jews exactly?"
How is a University, allowing for the organized, violent and confrontational intimidation of its Jewish students, to the point where hostages are taken and Jews are barricading themselves inside of buildings, pursuant to the development of higher education and its principles of unfettered free speech and the exploration of ideas? Maybe Columbia needed an education, too - in upholding public order and safety, in accordance with their own charter. Do you think it will happen again, soon? I don't.
How is the federal government extracting a $200 million protection racket payment from Columbia helping Jews exactly?
First, remove your obsession with JEWS from the equation. This was fine for violating civil rights, full stop. That HELPS (to use your verb) EVERYONE associated with Columbia, because next time it might be Asians or Pentecostals or Tibetans who are assaulted and driven from campus.
The point, which you lefties studiously ignore, is that EVERYONE suffers when our rights are violated and everyone benefits from the equal application of the law. Regardless of your personal ax to grind. Now you see why Republicans had so difficult a time passing Civil Rights legislation over the objections of Democrats and their filibustery ways.
They don't care Aggie. They WANT to punish Jews. Once you realize that it all makes sense. The faculty angle is a dodge. University Jews are notoriously anti-traditional Jew, anti-Israel, anti-Zionist, and pro-Hitler.
The students who took over the library were suspended too. Perhaps the two events are linked.
This is a trend, if you haven't noticed. Where will this trend lead, and how will those who oppose this trend react to its progress?
I would suggest that history would indicate a long hot summer (cliche alert!) in 2026. Perhaps the future boy mayor of NYC will lead the charge.
Do we see an increase in the majorities held by Trump's allies in government if Trump continues to succeed? If we see prosperity and happy citizens over the next couple of years, this could lock in a slice of independents and current D voters to the Trump strategies that will rebalance the politics of this nation into the mid-century. This logical progression leads to the D establishment forced to find a way to make America (and therefore Trump) fail in some major way over the next three and a half years. Let's watch them attempt to polish that turd for the length of this admin and two big election cycles and see how this works out. I'm amused by seasoned political pros looking into cameras when confronted with the evidence Gabbard is rolling out and saying "I don't get what the big deal is here..."
Stay tuned. Drip, drip, drip.
Readering said...
“The agreement is correctly described by the Times. Columbia is the Paul Weiss of universities. It has agrees to completely revamp its admissions process to make it a strictly numbers based system to basically eliminate any effort at a diverse student body.”
Hey, if we’re going to allow group X on campus, we should allow an equal proportion of X-haters, too.
Steven said...
“It's not a victory against antisemitism since there was not significant antisemitism at an institution where 20-30% of the faculty are Jewish.”
The “I have a black friend” argument. Or Jewish friend in this case.
In the 1930s, 30% of the faculty in German universities were Jewish. And yet Naziism was as strong or stronger on the campuses than among the general population.
If there's one thing I've learned about these behaviors, it's that they are always a leverage exercise by small, motivated, highly vocal minorities. You know what they hate? The sudden, in-person appearance of majorities. If $200 million isn't persuasive, then an appearance is in order.
completely revamp its admissions process to make it a strictly numbers based system to basically eliminate any effort at a diverse student body
What exactly are you saying, there, Freder?
intrusive vetting of the views of foreign students applying from abroad and an overall reduction of students from abroad
... which they could avoid by shrugging and kissing that federal funding goodbye, if they were so inclined. Could it be that this arrangement provides some cover for them to do what they have realized might not be such a bad idea?
Not long after college, my husband and I moved to a new city. In short order, his best friend asked if he could stay with us while looking for a job, as his girlfriend wanted them to move there too and would be starting grad school in the fall. Sure! we said in unison. It'll be fun!
Only it wasn't fun. He was a slob, he was sleeping on the sofa and would just chuck his gross laundry over the back of it - which was the dining area, he contributed in no way, financially or otherwise, to daily life, I would come home from a day freezing in the field and he'd be on the sofa watching TV and would say through a mouthful of chips, "So, what's for dinner?" Oh, and he sent out one resume a day or fewer. He'd been fired from his last job and was down about that, but he was also damn sure that he deserved a lot better than any of these lame places was offering, and all he could talk about was his grievances...
Basically what we thought would be some good company and a person to explore our new city with was revealed to be a freeloading irritating dependent.
Oops, it was Readering, not Freder, making the case that in a purely numbers-based admissions system, there will be no diversity because "diverse" people can't compete with "non-diverse" people.
"rhhardin said...
Antisemitism is legal, and with the arguments being made against it, it's as reasonable as any. That's why it's popular on campus."
Yes, rhhardin, as an individual you can continue to be an antisemite as you have demonstrated you are on this and other blogs. You can continue to goose-step around with your neo-Nazi buddies to your heart’s content. However, antisemitism is only popular on campus with the Left-Wing and Muslim Jew haters. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes antisemitism illegal. Columbia University cannot legally discriminate against Jewish students. That is why they settled with the Trump administration for $200M. If they had not, the cost would have been far greater.
of course not
There is something lost in all of this discussion, and that is how refreshing it is to see a President doing something because it is the right — dare I say “honorable”? — thing to do. After the politically-driven identity politics of the Obama and Biden administrations this is amazingly refreshing.
I don’t see Trump winning any Jewish votes that he doesn’t already have, and in fact these actions against Columbia and Harvard may very well cost him some of (much of?) the Muslim support he enjoyed last November. It could put the Senste seat in Michigan — a probable GOP pick up before now — into to jeopardy, not to mention Michigan’s electoral votes when his successor runs in 2028. But anti-semitism has no place in this country.
Big Mike said...
I don’t see Trump winning any Jewish votes that he doesn’t already have, and in fact these actions against Columbia and Harvard may very well cost him some of (much of?) the Muslim support he enjoyed last November. It could put the Senste seat in Michigan — a probable GOP pick up before now — into to jeopardy, not to mention Michigan’s electoral votes when his successor runs in 2028.
***************************************************************
Could it be more likely that those Muslim American citizens who voted for Trump do so with full knowledge of his views towards anti-Semitism and Israel? They were no secret, and I'm sure the Democrat Party made sure his views were disseminated among that community.
Like many Americans, they voted for him in spite of their possible disagreement with him on a certain issue or issues. I also don't think those voters are in the Ilhan Omar camp by any means. They're not stupid. They can see things for themselves.
Big Mile-
I agree that it is refreshing, and good, to see a politician do something because it is the right thing to do.
I disagree with your implication that t will not be beneficial politically.
I see Jews being peeled away from the D camp at the margin, votes and money, both essential to political success.
Also, we are not in a static situation. As these things go on, the radical leftists will go crazier, and drive more marginal voters to the sane side. More votes there.
A win-win.
Readering said...
The agreement is correctly described by the Times. Columbia is the Paul Weiss of universities. It has agrees to completely revamp its admissions process to make it a strictly numbers based system to basically eliminate any effort at a diverse student body.
So you oppose judging people on their merits rather than skin color.
We get it. You are a racist. Thanks for clarifying:
rhhardin said...
Antisemitism is legal, and with the arguments being made against it, it's as reasonable as any. That's why it's popular on campus.
It is not legal.
“ nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Not sure why Jews cause people to lose their ability to read.
MJB Wolf hits back-to-back home runs.
Trump's "antisemitism" is driven by his fascist desire to destroy independent thought. It is cynical beyond belief, and the end will backfire against the Jewish community.
Even for Frederson, this is laughable horse shit.
Essentially all attempts to destroy independent thought and free speech come from the Left.
Columbia is of a piece with the Times, with the State Department and Langley since the 70s at least
The striped-pants Arabists of Foggy Bottom have a very long institutional history.
Within a few years it will change the character of the Columbia student body.
That's excellent news. The purple hair and keffiyah crowd are more suited to work as baristas and bicycle mechanics than to be leaders of our nation.
Antisemitism is legal, and with the arguments being made against it, it's as reasonable as any. That's why it's popular on campus.
...
So Trump is taking an unconstitutional side if it's to suppress antisemitism.
Intimidation and assaults are illegal, if he wants to suppress that. In that case don't say antisemitism.
"Legality" per se is irrelevant. We are not speaking of crimes for which people can be prosecuted. This issue falls under the "hostile environment" doctrine that the Left has been diligently advancing since the 60s or 70s.
You are free to speak scathingly of Jews, blacks, or any other group you like under the First Amendment to the Constitution, but if you do it on the job or in an educational setting you are creating a hostile environment for your peers, just like making lewd comments about a woman's voluptuous tits and ass within earshot of her or other women. You can't be put in prison for it, but you can certainly lose your job or be expelled from school for it. Federal law requires this to be done, in fact. Columbia failed to do so, and accordingly, they deserve this punishment.
This was not only a "antisemitism" issue, but part of an internal political struggle.
You don't say! Who ever heard of an internal political struggle at a university before Trump came along to upend all our cherished norms?
Probably it's neither. The university didn't take measures to protect some of its students who are Jewish, so it's paying, and rightly so. The current 'fight against anti-Semitism' includes efforts to silence critics of Israeli policies. If this is a milestone on that road, that's a bad sign. The idea that major universities are bastions of free speech has of course become ridiculous. They are the places where free speech is most restricted and hardest to achieve.
"This has nothing to do with antisemitism. Trump's "antisemitism" is driven by his fascist desire to destroy independent thought."
A standard rhetorical ploy by the left. When someone takes action to combat intolerance, it is intolerant, or better yet, "fascist."
It's also a significant milestone in forcing the university to abide by the rule of law, such as reporting foreign nationals here on student visas to the government when they disappear or are expelled; giving police on campus ordinary arrest powers when a student or students are assaulted, restrained from accessing public spaces, threatened, etc. It requires the university to cease discriminating in admissions, assigning a special monitor and regular reporting to prove they are not (a model used to desegregate the South and used regularly by the DOJ to monitor police forces). In other words, it sends the very important message that universities and colleges are not foreign countries that may pick and choose the laws they enforce. This has been a long time coming.
This has nothing to do with antisemitism. Trump's "antisemitism" is driven by his fascist desire to destroy independent thought.
Barricading Jewish students in a library = independent thought, according to Freder.
Jim at: Yes, I thought that resonated horribly of Kristallnacht. It was also technically kidnapping and several other crimes. For which the offenders, under Trump's rules, might actually face prosecution, though I doubt conviction, in a NYC court.
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