Hey-O, here comes another one, just like all the other ones. Back in December of 2023, Presidents of Ivy League and affiliated universities were invited to testify before Congress regarding anti-Semitism on their campuses. We all know how that went. Put it in context, my dears. Columbia University was invited, but wisely decided to rearrange the campus’ sock drawers instead. Today, they all screwed their courage their courage to the sticking place (Hamlet) and showed up today. Columbia’s President Minouche Shafick and Board of Trustees co-Chairs David Greenwald and Claire Shipman. Oh yes, you know that name.

These Columbia University overlords will be appearing before Virginia Foxx and the Education and the Workforce Committee. Heh, heh, heh. They learned nothing from December’s massacre which cost Harvard’s Claudine Gay the Presidency. Columbia should have found more sock drawers to rearrange. From the New York Post, Miss Foxx lets it rip:

The Bronx-born Foxx (R-NC) laid into Shafik in her opening statement, calling attention to antisemitic demonstrations and even violence that erupted at Columbia in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed an estimated 1,200 people.

“Columbia stands guilty of gross negligence at best — and at worst has become a platform for those supporting terrorism and violence against the Jewish people,” Foxx said.

“That a taxpayer-funded institution become a forum for the promotion of terrorism raises serious questions,” she added. “I need not remind you that this is not just a moral duty, but a legal duty set forth in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
Shafik agreed that “the events of October 7 brought to the fore an undercurrent of antisemitism” but maintained that Columbia had taken “immediate action” in the wake of the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

“I attended a vigil for the victims on October 9; we held daily meetings of our campus security committee; we brought in extra security expertise; and have regular contact with NYPD and the FBI,” Shafik told panel members.

snip-

That challenge became clear at the start of the hearing, as self-described “anti-Zionist” Columbia students shouted to be let into the hearing room — and Republican lawmakers grilled the panel about the university’s fostering of antisemitic faculty and permissive approach to violations of its code of conduct.

Nice, right? They learned nothing from December. You can hire all the media consultants that you want, but they can’t give you a soul.

The blast from the past name that caught my eye was Claire Shipman. Brush away the cobwebs. She is married to Barack Obama’s Presidential Mouthpiece AND she was a court stenographer for ABC during the Obama years. That’s right. Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees and a media savvy female, her opening statement was weak:

Next up, co-chair of the board of trustees, and former journalist, Claire Shipman — married to Obama's former Press Secretary.

"I can tell you plainly that I am not satisfied with where Columbia is at the moment, and as co-chair of the board I bear responsibility for that." pic.twitter.com/4WABCEoGEI

— Incidental 41 (@incidental41_) April 17, 2024

You can make all the rules and be outraged, but if the evil-doers know that you are just giving a wink and nod to their anti-Semitism, you are worthless. It was bad enough in general, but when a specific professor Joseph Massad was brought up both Shipman and Shafik went wobbly. Here are the details on Massad from the New York Times:

One of the professors, the focus of Representative Tim Walberg’s questioning, was Joseph Andoni Massad. Dr. Massad, who is of Palestinian Christian descent, teaches modern Arab politics and intellectual history at Columbia, where he also received his Ph.D. in political science.

Long known for his anti-Israel positions, he published a controversial article in The Electronic Intifada last October, in the wake of the Hamas attack, describing it as a “resistance offensive” staged in retaliation to Israel’s settler-colonies near the Gaza border.

The piece drew a visceral response and demands for his dismissal in a petition by a Columbia student that was signed by tens of thousands of people. The petition specifically criticized Dr. Massad’s use of the word “awesome” to describe the scene of the attack.

Columbia has long been anti-Semitic so his teaching there is no surprise. But Chairing a Department? Shafik is not media savvy, but Claire Shipman, she should know better:

@Columbia President Minouche Shafik is either

Clueless about the #Antisemitism at Columbia University or siding with Antisemites on Morningside Campus and #NYC

In the video from @FoxNews below
Shafik questioned about why Professor Joseph Massad, a Hamas admirer and antisemite… pic.twitter.com/qQ1KqI2EdW

— ChiuMeister (@ChiuMeister) April 17, 2024

Claire Shipman wouldn’t give an answer, but her co-Chair David Greenwald was definitive.

Board co-chair Claire Shipman won't give a direct answer on whether or not Joseph Massad should be removed as committee chair. Board co-chair David Greenwald says Massad's comments are "abhorrent" and "one of the steps we could take in terms of discipline is to remove him from…

— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) April 17, 2024

The Board of Trustees of any high education facility should set the tone. That’s why Clair Shipman is AWFUL Just so you know AWFUL is AFFLUENT, WHITE, FEMALE, URBAN, LIBERAL. If the acronym fits, Claire.

Featured Image: Rick Fahr/wikimedia commons.org/cropped/Public Domain