Columbia University unveiled a new dual-degree program in 2019 between the School of General Studies (GS) and Tel Aviv University (TAU), an academic institution that is deeply complicit in Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people, in addition to ethnic discrimination and repression of political speech.

We, the undersigned, call for the University to publicly recognize and address the full ramifications of such a program and the threat it poses to the fabric of our campus community. The GS-TAU program began in Fall 2020, the university is in the unique position to proactively respond to the concerns listed below.

1) How can Columbia ensure that the GS-TAU dual degree program will not violate Title VI of the Higher Education Act or the University’s Non-Discrimination Policy, given Israel’s track record of discrimination and harassment along national, ethnic, and religious grounds which could inhibit students’ access to the program?

2) Will the University formally challenge the relevant Israeli Ministries and compile a report on the legal limitations that will affect student participating in the GS-TAU program (e.g. what political ideologies are formally illegal to articulate, which identities are not legally protected, etc.), with regards to Columbia’s institutional mandate and commitment to academic freedom?

3) How can Columbia ensure that Palestinian students will have full and equal access to the educational opportunities offered by a GS-TAU program, given the Israeli State's systemic discrimination against Palestinians?

4) How can Columbia establish an academic program with Tel Aviv University without co-signing the commissioning of war crimes and human rights violations against Palestinians, given TAU's integration with the Israeli military-industrial complex?

These four questions represent a broad range of concerns that must be addressed to ensure that students and faculty have equal educational opportunities. As it stands now, the dual degree program risks excluding a substantial portion of prospective students and importing the racist and discriminatory policies of the Israeli State onto Columbia University’s campus. If the university is unable to adequately address these issues, we advocate for the suspension of this program until Israeli academic institutions such as TAU end their complicity in discriminatory practices and the repression of academic freedom.