by NEW YORK (AP) Prominent Columbia University genocide expert Marianne Hirsch has long utilized Hannah Arendt’s book Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, which chronicles the prosecution of a Nazi war criminal, to get her students talking about the Holocaust and its aftereffects.
However, Hirsch worries that she might be sanctioned for bringing up the seminal work by philosopher Arendt, who opposed the formation of Israel, since Columbia just adopted a new definition of antisemitism that labels certain criticism of Israel as hate speech.
Hirsch, the daughter of two Holocaust survivors, is considering quitting teaching entirely for the first time since she began her career fifty years ago.
She told The Associated Press, “A university that views criticism of Israel as antisemitic and threatens sanctions for those who disobey is no longer a place of open inquiry.” In that setting, I simply don’t see how I can educate about genocide.
Hirsch is not alone himself. The Trump administration’s efforts to define antisemitism on its own terms, frequently with the prospect of government funding losses, have alarmed academics at institutions across the nation.
The definition, which was promoted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, cites eleven instances of antisemitic behavior, including treating Israel unfairly, likening its policies to Nazism, or characterizing its existence as a racist undertaking.
Columbia agreed Wednesday to integrate the IHRA definition and examples into its disciplinary procedure as part of a $220 million deal with the Trump administration. Harvard, Yale, and scores of other universities have all supported it in one way or another.
Supporters argue that the semantic change is required to counter new types of Jewish hatred, while civil rights organizations caution that it will further stifle pro-Palestinian discourse that President Donald Trump is already targeting.
Hirsch believes that the prohibitions against making Holocaust analogies and challenging Israel’s origins amount to blatant censorship, which she says would stifle classroom debates and expose her and other staff members to fictitious lawsuits.
According to Hirsch, we learn by drawing comparisons. According to the university, that is now prohibited. How is it possible to have a course at university where concepts are not open to debate or interpretation?
An email request for comment from a Columbia representative was not answered.
Kenneth Stern stated he never thought the IHRA definition of antisemitism would be used as a hate speech law when he initially created it twenty years ago.
Stern was the American Jewish Committee’s chief antisemitism expert at the time. According to him, the definition and its examples were intended to provide a wide framework for European nations to monitor anti-Semitic prejudice.
Stern has been vocal in recent years about what he perceives to be its weaponization against anti-Zionist Jews and other pro-Palestinian activists.
He claimed that those who think they are fighting hate are drawn to straightforward answers to complex problems. However, when applied in this way, it is really impairing our capacity to consider antisemitism.
According to Stern, Claire Shipman, the university’s current interim president and co-chair of the board of trustees at the time, requested him to speak to Columbia’s officials last autumn, and he did so.
According to Stern, the discussion appeared to be fruitful. However, Columbia University declared in March that it would use the IHRA definition for training and instruction, just after the Trump administration declared it would deny the university $400 million in federal funding due to antisemitic concerns.
Shipman then stated last week that the institution would use the IHRA definition for disciplinary purposes, using its examples when determining discriminatory intent, just days before announcing an agreement with the Trump administration to reinstate that money.
According to Shipman, the official adoption of this concept will improve our community’s comprehension of contemporary antisemitism and our ability to respond to it.
Stern, who is currently the director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate, described the action as “abhorrent” and said it would lead to more lawsuits against the university and severely restrict pro-Palestinian expression.
The university’s disciplinary board has already come under fire for looking into students who, frequently at the request of pro-Israel organizations, attacked Israel in op-eds and other publications.
More outside organizations will be examining what instructors are teaching, what is on the syllabus, submitting complaints, and using public pressure to get people dismissed as a result of this new IHRA decree, he added. The university will surely suffer from that.
In addition to embracing the IHRA definition, Columbia has committed to additional oversight of its Middle East studies department, revision of its protest regulations, and coordination of antisemitic trainings with organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League.
Nearly 80 students who took part in pro-Palestinian protests earlier this week were suspended or expelled from the institution.
According to Kenneth Marcus, chair of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, Columbia’s measures to shield Jewish students from harassment were long overdue.
He ignored the faculty’s worries regarding the IHRA definition, stating that it would give the university’s efforts to eradicate antisemitism clarity, transparency, and uniformity.
According to Marcus, some Columbia academics will surely feel that they are unable to carry on teaching under the current administration. It may be awful for them personally if they commit self-termination, but it might not be as horrible for Columbia University students.
However, Hirsch, a professor at Columbia, stated that she was determined to carry on with her long-standing research on genocides and their aftermath.
Speaking to students about Israel’s ongoing ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza, where the Health Ministry of Gaza reports that over 58,000 Palestinians have died—more than half of them women and children—will be a part of that work, she added.
Hirsch stated that it might now be hard to accomplish it within Columbia due to this surrender to Trump. If so, I’ll carry on working beyond the university’s walls.
