On October 16, 2024, Columbia University announced that it had temporarily barred assistant professor Shai Davidai from campus, after he attended a protest on October 7 in which protestors claimed, university workers were harassed and intimidated.
The protest came on the first anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel, which has stirred enormous controversy in connection with Shai Davidai’s participation. Shai Davidai spoke at length in a video posted on his Instagram account, ranting over not attending university as he termed it an expression of his readiness to respond to what he described as a “hateful mob.” He specifically mentioned the discussions he held with some of the officials running the institution, including Chief Operating Officer Cas Holloway during the protest. In all videos posted online on his different social media accounts, Davidai delivered an outright condemnation of the administration. He drew a comparison between them and “useless administrators in Nazi Germany” and raised demands for accountability for their indifference toward the concerns of students.
A release from Columbia University, Millie Wert said the institution respects Shai Davidai’s right to free speech but does not tolerate such behavior that is deemed harassment and intimidation of its employees. Wert said that the suspension of Davidai would not change his compensation package or professorial rank status, hence evidence of upholding ethical conduct within the ranks of the employees at the university. Davidai, too, would be readmitted to the campus upon completion of training on some of the policies bordered on employee conduct within the university boundaries.
According to the suspension, Shai Davidai has replied that he is indeed willing to take the training that might be required, but only if Holloway is also forced to join him. “Innocent people don’t get punished, not in a democracy, and I refuse to take a punishment for something that I’m innocent of,” he noted, emphasizing his stand that he is attacked unfairly because of his mouthiness.
Davidai’s recent troubles are not isolated incidents. Rather, they form part of a broader context of allegations against him. Early in the year, a group of graduate students within the Society of Personality and Social Psychology called for an investigation into Shai Davidai after holding that he endangered vulnerable students from diverse backgrounds through his public actions. In addition, the Students for Justice in Palestine affiliated at Columbia launched a petition demanding Shai Davidai’s resignation, charging that he bullied pro-Palestine students without consequence because of his untenured status.
The access of Davidai April to the Morningside campus has been curtailed following his declaration of having the intention to join the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” and calling for supporters to join him. Continuous tension reflects the polarized atmosphere surrounding the discussions about Palestine and Israel on university campuses and, particularly at Columbia.
The suspension of Davidai has posed a question over the treatment of Jewish faculty and students in the university setting. He believes that the administration is seeking to silence Jewish voices on campus and said in an interview, “It’s no longer a double standard. There’s no standard for when it comes to Jewish life on campus.” His words are a testament to the seriousness of feelings of unfair treatment for all groups of students and to the implications it has for academic freedom and discussion.
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