Three Columbia University administrators placed on leave following alleged text message exchange during panel on anti-Semitism

NEW YORK — Columbia University said it has placed three administrators on leave while it investigates allegations that they exchanged unprofessional text messages while participating in a panel discussion on anti-Semitism on campus.

The university said the administrators work for its undergraduate institution, Columbia College, which hosted the panel discussion “Jewish Life on Campus: Past, Present and Future” at an alumni reunion on May 31st.

The university said the college's dean, Josef Sorett, informed his staff Thursday that the three administrators were being placed on leave.

“Columbia College is addressing this situation with the utmost seriousness,” a College spokesperson said. “We are committed to fighting anti-Semitism, discrimination and hatred, and taking concrete steps to ensure that our community is one of respect and healthy dialogue, where everyone feels valued and safe. »

Columbia did not identify the directors by name and declined to discuss the matter further while the investigation is ongoing.

The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative media outlet, published images on June 12 and 21 of what it claims were text messages from administrators. One suggested that a panelist might have used campus protests to raise money and another appeared to criticize a campus rabbi's essay on anti-Semitism.

The panel on anti-Semitism was held a month after university leaders called police to evict pro-Palestinian protesters from an occupied administration building and dismantle a tent encampment that threatened to disrupt graduation ceremonies. graduation ceremony.

The police action came amid deep divisions on campus over whether some of the protests against Israel's military campaign in Gaza were anti-Semitic.

Some text messages allegedly sent by Sorett were among those published by the outlet, but he was not among those placed on leave. He will continue to serve as dean and is cooperating with the investigation, the university said.

“I deeply regret my role in these text exchanges and the impact they had on our community,” Sorett said in a message to the Columbia College Board of Visitors Friday.

Sorett said he was “determined to learn from this situation and fight anti-Semitism, discrimination and hatred in Colombia.”