Please sign below! Full statement can be read here .

Dear President Shafik, 

We write to you as Jewish alumni of Columbia University to express our unwavering support for the brave students who have erected the Gaza Solidarity Encampment on East Butler Lawn. We feel that it is important to speak up at this moment in particular as your administration weaponizes our Jewish identities to silence current students and faculty expressing dissent against the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.

We condemn far-right House Members’ attempts to define experiences of discomfort among Zionist students and faculty as antisemitic violence, and we condemn your administration’s acquiescence and complicity in this attempt to suppress students’ rights to speak out against the brutal oppression of the Palestinian people. We condemn your weaponization of our Jewish identity to stifle political discourse and silence demands for basic human rights and compliance with international law. We respond: Not in our name. 

The Gaza Solidarity Encampment is a testament to the power of student organizing and extends Columbia’s rich history of transformative student activism. To deny students the right to civil protest on campus is to reject Columbia’s dedication to the principles of free speech and open discourse, which are fundamental to the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. Rather than silencing them, the administration should be celebrating these students for upholding the highest ideals of the university – to be educated and active members of society.

We cannot in good conscience stand by an institution who punishes students for protesting against a genocide. We will withhold all financial support for our alma mater until the following demands of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment are met:

• Divest all finances, including the endowment, from corporations that profit from the Israeli occupation of Palestine. 

• Reverse the unfair suspension of Columbia/Barnard Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace.

• Reverse the recent suspension and eviction of student activists.

• Provide amnesty to all encampment participants from legal and institutional disciplinary action.

In solidarity,

Jewish Alumni of Columbia University