A law professor says she was forced to leave, as academics, lawyers and activists express support columbia university for her advocacy for pro-Palestinian students.

Katherine Franke, a tenured Ivy League law professor, said: “I have entered into an agreement with Columbia University, effective immediately, that exempts me from teaching or participating in the governance of the school after 25 years of service at Columbia Law School. obligations,” the United States said. a statement Thursday.

“While the university may refer to this change in my identity as ‘retirement,’ it is more accurately understood as a termination packaged in more acceptable terms.

“I believe the Columbia University administration has created such a toxic and hostile environment for legitimate debate surrounding the war in Israel and Palestine that I can no longer teach or conduct research,” Frank said.

Protests over Israel’s war on Gaza erupted last April on Columbia University’s New York campus, sparking similar protests at other institutions in the United States and elsewhere. Students are demanding that the university divest from Israel, which has been accused of war crimes and genocide in Gaza. They also called for a ceasefire to end a war that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians and reduced Gaza to rubble.

However, the prestigious Ivy League school has tried to fight back against student protests, a crackdown that has drawn criticism from human rights groups.

Some critics argue that crackdowns on pro-Palestinian students and groups hinder free speech on college campuses, while others accuse university administrations of allowing a hostile atmosphere to spread.

Commenting on Frank’s resignation on Saturday, Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, said Frank had become “another victim of the pro-Israelism that is exterminating universities and other places of public life.” Becomes a place of obscurantism, discrimination and oppression”.

On Sunday, Rutgers professor and human rights lawyer Noura Elakat called the university’s mistreatment of Professor Frank “shocking.”

Erakat posted on social media platform “

Todd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), called Columbia University’s actions “truly disgraceful” and said Saturday that the AAUP stands with “Professor Frank in opposing this crackdown on pro-Palestinian act of speech”.

The Center for Constitutional Rights, an advocacy group, said Thursday that Frank’s resignation represented a “serious attack on academic freedom and Palestinian rights advocacy.”

Columbia “collaborates” with “enemies” of its academic mission

According to the New York Times articleColumbia University spokesperson Samantha Slater said a complaint was filed (against Frank) “alleging discriminatory harassment in violation of our policies. An investigation has been conducted and the findings have been released.”

In her resignation statement, Frank noted that last February, two of her colleagues filed a complaint against her with the university’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, accusing her of making comments to U.S. news outlet Democracy Now! 》One of the comments. This amounts to harassment of Israeli members of the Columbia community and violates university policy.

In January 2024 interview“This is something that many of us are concerned about because many of the Israeli students who later come to Columbia’s campus graduated from Israel,” Frank said of the university’s graduate program relationships with countries including Israel. their military service. They are known to harass Palestinian and other students on our campus. “

As the investigation into complaints about the comments progressed, Frank said that in April 2024, during a U.S. Congressional hearing, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik asked then-Colombian President Minouche Minouche Shafik, what disciplinary action was taken against Frank for comments he made about Israeli students on campus.

Stefanik wrongly attributed the statement to Frank that “all Israeli students serving in the (Israeli military) are dangerous and should not be on campus.”

“President Shafiq responded, ‘I agree with you that these remarks are completely unacceptable and discriminatory.'” President Shafik was aware at the time that Congresswoman Stefanik’s summary of my comments was highly inaccurate and misleading, but she made no effort to correct the Congresswoman’s intentional mischaracterization of my comments,” Frank said in a statement.

Professor Frank said she faced harassment, including death threats, following the congressional hearing.

Shafiq resigned as university president in August after facing criticism for his handling of student protests.

Meanwhile, last November, an outside law firm was hired to investigate Frank’s remarks, concluding that her comments violated the school’s equal opportunity and affirmative action policies. Frank said she has appealed.

“Upon reflection, it has become clear to me that Columbia has become a hostile environment and that I can no longer function as a positive teacher,” Frank said in the statement.

“Rather than defending the university’s role in a democracy, Columbia’s leadership promotes critical debate, research, and learning around vital issues of public concern… Columbia’s leadership has demonstrated cooperation with enemies of our academic mission will.”