NEW YORK– Columbia University temporarily suspended outspoken pro-Israel professor Shai Davidai last week after repeatedly harassing and intimidating other university employees, according to a campus spokesperson.
Although he’s been temporarily barred from campus, the assistant business school professor’s compensation and his status as a faculty member weren’t affected, reports the Columbia Spectator.
A spokesperson for Columbia said the school has “consistently and continually” respected Davidai’s right to critique Columbia’s handling of this past spring’s pro-Palestinian protests, but that his behavior on October 7, 2024 — the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ terrorist attack against Israel on October 7, 2023 – prompted the restrictions, reports the Associated Press.
“His freedom of speech has not been limited and is not being limited now. Columbia, however, does not tolerate threats of intimidation, harassment, or other threatening behavior by its employees,” the spokesperson said.
Davidai is a citizen of Israel and is one of the most prominent critics of Columbia’s handling of the pro-Palestinian protests.
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He will be allowed back on campus once he completes “appropriate training on our policies governing the behavior of our employees,” the spokesperson said.
Columbia, Students Allege Davidai Repeatedly Engaged in Threatening Behavior
In one video posted on X, Davidai spoke with another campus employee saying, “You are such a useless administrator. But you know what, there were so many useless administrators in Nazi Germany, and you know what? After the war, they said they did everything they could.”
In another video he said to another administrator, “You are indifferent and you know what? Hatred happens when people like you are indifferent. You are the chief operating officer of Columbia. Do you realize that?”
The videos followed a letter in February from a group of graduate students calling on the Society of Personality and Social Psychology to investigate Davidai and sanction him for intentionally targeting and putting “vulnerable students from multiply marginalized racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds at risk through his actions.”
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In April, the Columbia chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine called for the school to terminate the professor for “bully[ing] pro-Palestine students of color with complete impunity despite being untenured.”
He also shared the name and email of another professor he said was “OK with rape, murder, torture, and kidnapping.” Additionally, Davidai has harassed and doxxed many students. One student, who is a Palestinian Christian and claims she was harassed by Davidai for months, criticized the university for waiting so long to take action against him, reports Aljazeera.
In response to his suspension, Davidai posted an expletive-laden video where he said, “the university has decided to not allow me to be on campus anymore. My job. Why? Because of October 7. Because I was not afraid to stand up to the hateful mob.”
He suggested he would sue Columbia over his suspension.
