Behind Closed Doors at Columbia: How a Renowned Professor Encourages Anti-Semitism

The release of undercover footage from Columbia University sheds light on the private counsel offered to students by faculty sympathetic to anti-Israel sentiments. Renowned scholar and former PLO press agency director Rashid Khalidi is captured advising students on methods to intensify anti-semitic activism, circumvent university communication systems, and continue disruptive protests. This revelation underscores a growing divide on campus where some educators, rather than promoting balanced inquiry, steer students toward confrontation.

Khalidi’s influence and legacy as the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies make his perspective especially significant. The recorded conversation depicts him lamenting institutional pressures and lauding what he sees as a transformative shift in student attitudes against Israel. He describes the current administration’s approach as compromised by “Zionist general counsel” and counsel of donors, asserting that power rests not with faculty or students, but with influential trustees and well-connected individuals determined to preserve a pro-Israel stance.

Guidance to Evade Official Channels

Khalidi expresses concern about surveillance, advising activists to avoid official university emails and consider personal communication methods. “They’ve instituted a police state, and police states usually surveil,” he warns, implying that pro-Palestinian advocates should assume they are monitored. The suggestion that students communicate cautiously and rely on personal email accounts, rather than institutional ones, speaks to a deep suspicion of the university’s neutrality and protection of student activism.

His recommendation for prolonged direct action also emerges clearly. Khalidi encourages persistent demonstrations—even “banging on the outside of the library”—to pressure the administration. He believes that, absent strong legal or moral arguments, pro-Israel forces rely on suppression of dissent, and he views ongoing, intense protests as essential.

Critique of Administration and Power Structures

Khalidi criticizes President Minouche Shafik’s leadership, portraying her as isolated, reliant on flawed advice, and influenced by external donors and trustees. According to him, these influential circles steer Columbia toward policies that skew the campus climate in favor of pro-Israel narratives. This environment, Khalidi suggests, ignores the concerns of pro-Palestinian and Arab students, who feel marginalized by the institution’s approach.

In his commentary, Khalidi underscores that while Israel’s supporters once enjoyed a campus environment more favorable to their cause, the balance of opinion has shifted. “When I got here in 2003, campus opinion was divided but much more favorable to Israel than it is today,” he notes. This evolution, he argues, has prompted pro-Israel backers to resort to pressure tactics and policy reforms aimed at silencing Palestinian advocacy under the guise of combatting antisemitism.

A Vision of Long-Term Change

Khalidi depicts generational change as a key factor in altering perceptions about Israel’s policies. He anticipates that older generations of supporters will yield to younger, more critical voices. He cites growing solidarity with the Palestinian cause among students, union members, and segments of American civil society as evidence of shifting public opinion.

However, he cautions students that this path to meaningful transformation will be neither straightforward nor quick. The professor points to the complexity of external influences, including evangelical Christian supporters of Israel far beyond the campus, to illustrate the enormity of the challenge. Despite these obstacles, Khalidi remains optimistic that the trajectory is moving toward greater acknowledgment of Palestinian rights and a diminishing tolerance for what he perceives as Zionist dominance on campus.

Matthew Tyrmand

Head of V24 Investigations