Our V24 undercover investigative series into American higher education has uncovered disturbing levels of institutional anti-Semitism, spanning university administrators, faculty, and student activists. This latest exposé focuses on Columbia University, revealing the troubling extent of this issue within the institution.
Inside Columbia’s Extremist Panel
A recent undercover investigation at Columbia University uncovered a panel discussion that sharply deviated from academic discourse and descended into overt ideological extremism. Marked by anti-Western conspiracies, anti-Israel rhetoric, and the romanticization of political violence, the event raised serious concerns about the role of higher education in platforming radical ideologies.
Presented as an intellectual forum, the event instead showcased a blend of revolutionary rhetoric and academic jargon. Speakers expressed open hostility toward America, its constitutional foundations, and Western civilization at large. The conversation rejected reform and instead embraced radical upheaval, calling for “a thousand warriors” to reshape global order through force.
Ideological Rewriting of History
Panelists urged a radical reinterpretation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, framing it as part of a centuries-long global “religious war” rooted in the medieval Reconquista and the colonization of the Americas. They portrayed this struggle as a continuation of displacement, subjugation, and cultural erasure, driven by what they described as “white supremacist logic” and sustained by Zionism, Western powers, and global capitalism.
Their rhetoric dismissed Western values such as democracy, secularism, and human rights as mere instruments of control manufactured by an “always Christianized liberal modernity.” They grouped capitalism, communism, and Zionism together as interchangeable tools of a colonial project, arguing that all forms of modern governance are disguises for Eurocentric dominance.
Though universities often tolerate a wide spectrum of political thought, this panel veered well beyond critical discourse. One speaker's invocation of “a thousand warriors” appeared to glorify militant destabilization of global systems, prompting applause from a sympathetic audience. This moment captured the broader tone of the event: not a forum for open debate, but a rally for ideological purity.
Absent from the discussion was any acknowledgment of complexity. Israel’s security concerns, the repression of Palestinians by non-state actors, and the democratic traditions of Western states were all conspicuously ignored. In their place stood sweeping condemnations, historical oversimplifications, and passionate calls for a total reordering of the world.
The Purpose of Higher Education
The V24 Investigations footage raises pressing questions about the role and responsibility of academic institutions. When radical ideologies are presented under the guise of scholarship, where should universities draw the line between protecting academic freedom and preserving intellectual integrity?
Institutions like Columbia face the delicate but essential task of fostering diverse viewpoints while upholding standards of evidence, moral clarity, and critical rigor. When speakers minimize atrocities or ideologically reframe genocide and systemic violence, they erode the very pursuit of truth that academia exists to defend.
Left unchallenged, events like this risk turning scholarly forums into echo chambers, replacing education with indoctrination, critical inquiry with dogma. The real danger lies not just in the rhetoric itself, but in the corrosion of critical thinking within spaces meant to cultivate it.
Universities must therefore reaffirm their commitment to truth, nuance, and ethical scholarship. Academic freedom is essential but it must not become a sanctuary for propaganda disguised as intellectual engagement.
Stefan Tompson
Founder | Visegrad24
