The Trump administration is cutting off $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University, claiming it has failed to take steps to confront anti-Semitism on campus after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Leo Terrell, the head of the DOJ’s anti-Semitism task force, said the funding cuts are “only the beginning.”
“Universities must comply with all federal anti-discrimination laws if they are going to receive federal funding,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. “For too long, Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students studying on its campus.”
Over the weekend, Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Mahmoud Khalil, who graduated from Columbia in December. Khalil is a Palestinian activist who has been one of the leading figures in instigating anti-Israel student takeovers of the Columbia University campus. An ICE agent reportedly told Khalil’s lawyer the agency was enforcing a State Department edict to revoke Khalil’s student visa as well as his green card, pursuant to President Trump’s recent pledge to deport foreign student “agitators” responsible for fomenting campus unrest.
What a difference an administration makes. Eradicating anti-Semitism on campus is an enormous undertaking, especially since the root cause of so much of these anti-Israel/anti-Jewish protests are being funded by a revolving door of the detractors of Israel like Qatar and Hamas front groups, just to name a few. The agitators have also been allowed to freely take over campuses with no oversight by college administrations.
Under President Trump’s administration, cutting off funding to Columbia University is a good start and sends a very strong message: ZERO TOLERANCE for hatred and incitement with intent to harm Jewish students or Israel. Academic staff and leadership have an obligation to protect its student body but have failed miserably in the name of what they define as free speech. They also have a responsibility to teach students right from wrong when it comes to drawing a line between free speech and hate-filled intent. If they cannot do so, then we have no doubt that President Trump’s decisive actions now and, in the weeks, and months to come will set a new standard of learning for both students and administrators to be held accountable by.