Columbia professor’s forced exit over Gaza activism exposes Zionist grip on US academia

By Alireza Akbari

On Saturday, law professor Katherine Franke announced her resignation from Columbia University of New York (CUNY), citing a toxic environment for teaching and research.

The veteran academician's forced retirement has sparked concerns about increasing repression on college campuses in the United States, nine months after the Gaza solidarity encampments.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Franke, who has served as the director of the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law, described a "toxic and hostile environment" fostered by the university administration amid the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, which has resulted in over 46,600 deaths and more than 109,600 injuries during the 15-month genocidal campaign that began in October 2023.

Franke, the founder and faculty director of the Law, Rights, and Religion Project at Columbia Law School, also issued a detailed statement on Friday, addressing the pro-Palestinian encampments at the university, which emerged in response to ongoing Israeli genocidal war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

"I have ardently defended students' right to peaceful protest on our campus and across the country. I truly believed that student engagement with the rights and dignity of Palestinians continued a celebrated tradition at Columbia University of student protest," Franke stated.

However, she noted that the university, where she taught for 25 years, has allowed its own disciplinary process to be weaponized against members of our community, including herself.

"I have been targeted for my support of pro-Palestinian protesters – by the president of Columbia University, by several colleagues, by university trustees, and by outside actors," she noted.

The professor described the university’s finding of her public comments as "unjustified."

"This has included an unjustified finding by the University that my public comments condemning attacks against student protesters violated university's non-discrimination policy," she said.

She reiterated her agreement with the university, which has relieved her of her obligations to teach or participate in faculty governance, noting that while the university may term the change in her status "retirement," it should be understood as "a termination dressed up in more palatable terms."

Back on January 25, 2024, pro-Palestinian students at the Columbia University were sprayed with a foul-smelling substance during a campus protest in support of the Palestinian cause.

The incident involved pro-Palestinian protesters, and the accused were identified as students who had previously served in the Israeli forces through Columbia's joint degree program with Tel Aviv University.

Following the incident, Professor Franke appeared on "Democracy Now" show to discuss the events.

In her interview, she expressed concerns about Israeli students who come to Columbia directly after military service, suggesting they had been known to harass Palestinian students on campus.

Her comments led to complaints from two Columbia colleagues, alleging that Franke's remarks constituted harassment against Israeli members of the university and violated its policies.

These allegations prompted an investigation by Columbia University, which claimed that the professor had violated the university's so-called discrimination policies.

Given her long and decorated academic background and vocal support for the right to peaceful protests, Professor Franke's forced retirement has sparked widespread reactions.

The Center for Constitutional Rights, a non-profit legal and educational organization, issued a statement in response to the end of her career, expressing solidarity with their former board chair.

The center described the termination of the esteemed scholar's career as an "egregious attack on both academic freedom and Palestinian rights advocacy."

According to the center, her so-called "ostensible offense"—who also served on the executive committees of Columbia’s Institute for the Study of Sexuality and Gender, and the Center for Palestine Studies—was her comment expressing concern about the university’s failure to address harassment of Palestinians and their allies by Israeli students who had come to the campus straight from Israeli military service.

Heba Gowayed, a sociology professor, also took to X to reference the end of Franke's career.

"I'm old enough to remember when Shai filmed students praying Friday prayers on Columbia's campus and told the world to come look as though they were doing something shameful or illegal, yet he still has a job and Katherine Franke does not," she wrote.

Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, a student association working in solidarity with the Palestinian people, also highlighted the environment at the university and Barnard College in 2024.

According to the organization, over 200 students have been arrested, more than 122 have been suspended, one has been expelled, and over 300 disciplinary cases have been opened.

Franke is a distinguished American legal scholar renowned for her contributions to gender and sexuality law. She held the position of James L. Dohr Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, where she also directed the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law.

She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Barnard College in 1981, followed by a Juris Doctor from Northeastern University School of Law in 1986. She further advanced her legal studies with a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in 1993 and a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) in 1999, both from Yale Law School.

Beginning her academic career in 1995 at the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law, Franke later taught at Fordham University School of Law from 1997 until 2000, when she joined the Columbia Law faculty.

Franke is recognized as one of the country's leading scholars in law, sexuality, race, and religion, drawing from feminist, queer, and critical race theory.

Her publications include Wedlocked: The Perils of Marriage Equality (2015) and Repair: Slavery’s Unfinished Business (2019), both of which advocate for reparations through historical narratives.

Franke's departure can be understood within the context of Columbia University's environment following the events of April 2024. She was not the only professor targeted by pro-Israeli lobbies, which have been known to aim at professors and activists.

She, however, is not the only one who has been at the receiving end of attacks and intimidation at the Columbia University over her pro-Palestine advocacy and activism.

Joseph Massad, a professor at Columbia University specializing in modern Arab politics and intellectual history, has also faced smear campaign, especially after his October 2023 essay that was published by The Electronic Intifada website.

In the essay, he described Operation Al Aqsa Flood, a historic retaliatory operation by Gaza-based resistance movement Hamas against the Zionist entity that was launched on October 7, 2023, as "awesome," "astounding," and "incredible," labeling it a "stunning victory."

In April 2024, during a US House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing on antisemitism at Columbia, then-President Minouche Shafik was questioned about Massad's statements.

Shafik claimed Massad was under investigation and had been "spoken to" but not formally disciplined. Massad, however, denied being aware of any investigation or reprimand.

Massad also faced repercussions related to his teaching courses at Columbia University.

On platforms like Rate My Professors, some Israeli students expressed dissatisfaction with his courses, alleging perceived bias, particularly in courses related to the history of Zionism, Israeli occupation and the war on Gaza. They claimed that the material was not presented with balance.

Moreover, there were calls for students to boycott his classes. This backlash included a petition with over 50,000 signatures demanding his removal from teaching at Columbia.

In response to Massad teaching the Zionism course, adjunct professor Lawrence Muzzy Rosenblatt resigned in protest, a move that was driven by his pro-Israeli affiliation. 

Rosenblatt claimed that allowing Massad to teach this subject was akin to having someone with extreme views teach on unrelated topics, a claim that experts said was not informed by facts. 

Massad is part of the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies (MESAAS) at Columbia University. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1998 and has been associated with the university since then.

He is known for his scholarly works and has authored several notable books, including Desiring Arabs (2007), which won the Lionel Trilling Book Award, The Persistence of the Palestinian Question (2006), and Colonial Effects: The Making of National Identity in Jordan (2001).

His work often focuses on identity, culture, nationalism, sexuality, race, and religion.

The events affecting pro-Palestinian students and professors at Columbia University trace back to the April 2024 encampments, which were erected in response to the  Israeli genocidal war on Gaza.

In April 2024, Columbia University became a focal point for widespread pro-Palestinian on-campus protests in the US, marked by student encampments and confrontations with police.

Approximately, 70 students established the "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" on the East Butler Lawn, erecting around 50 tents adorned with Palestinian flags and banners.

This action was a direct response to the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza, with students demanding that Columbia University divest from companies supporting Israel's genocidal offensives. 

On April 18, 2024, University President Minouche Shafik authorized the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to dismantle the encampment.

The NYPD's Strategic Response Group intervened, resulting in the arrest of over 100 protesters, including students and external activists. This marked the first instance since the 1968 Vietnam War protests that Columbia permitted police action against campus demonstrations.

Following the initial crackdown, students promptly established a second encampment on the West Lawn of the Butler Lawns.

Negotiations between the university administration and protesters ensued but reached an impasse by April 29.

In a significant escalation, protesters occupied Hamilton Hall, leading to another NYPD intervention on April 30, during which more than 100 individuals were arrested.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk