House Education Committee Chair Virginia Foxx threatened Columbia University with a subpoena on Thursday, accusing the Ivy League school of blowing off document requests for its antisemitism probe.
In February, the GOP-led panel opened an investigation into a spate of antisemitic incidents on campus and the institution’s lacking protocols for responding to those episodes.
“In many cases, these items were requested months ago. Columbia’s continued failure to produce these priority items is unacceptable, and if this is not promptly rectified, the Committee is prepared to compel their production,” Foxx (R-NC) warned in a statement.
Foxx, 81, gave Columbia University a deadline of noon on Aug. 8 to fulfill its requests and re-upped her demands in a Thursday letter to the institution.
She’s demanded a range of material, including all communications about alleged antisemitism and the anti-Israel activity on campus since Oct. 7, 2023, calendars from April 17 to May 2 of key officials on campus, Board of Trustees notes since April 17, disciplinary case documentation related to antisemitic incidents since Oct. 7, 2023, and all documentation broadly about alleged antisemitic instances on campus.
The North Carolina Republican stressed that a lot of the material had been “requested months ago.”
“The Committee is providing Columbia an additional week to fulfill them. If these requests are not satisfied by the above deadline, the Committee is prepared to issue subpoenas,” she wrote to Columbia University President Minouche Shafik.
Back in February, the Education Committee slapped its first-ever subpoena against Harvard University’s leadership for failing to cooperate with its antisemitism probe.
Columbia University was particularly thrust into the national spotlight between April and June when a swarm of anti-Israel protesters began setting up encampments on campus and at one point, took over and barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall.
“We have received the Chairwoman’s letter and we are reviewing it. We are committed to combating antisemitism and all forms of hate,” a spokesperson for Columbia University told The Post.
Video captured and a slew of photos showed protesters during the thick of the campus upheaval calling for the destruction of Israel and parading around antisemitic slogans.
Ultimately, the New York Police Department was forced to intervene and help clear out the encampments, costing the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime pay.
Hundreds of individuals were arrested during those protests and scores of students, including some from other nearby institutions, that participated in the protests at Columbia were suspended.
In addition to the campus upheaval sparked by virulent protests, a number of Jewish students came forward detailing harrowing incidents of antisemitism they experienced on campus.
Back in April, Rabbi Elie Buechler implored Jewish students via WhatsApp to go home due to safety concerns.
“The events of the last few days, especially last night, have made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy,” Buechler wrote at the time.
“It deeply pains me to say that I would strongly recommend you return home as soon as possible and remain home until the reality in and around campus has dramatically improved.”
Republicans in Congress had slammed Columbia University’s leadership over the response to the protests last spring.
In April, Shafik testified before Congress and explained that “From the river to the sea” and “Intifada” were “hurtful” but was coy about whether it violated the school’s code of conduct.
Columbia University moved to hybrid learning in April amid heightened tensions on campus.
With the fall semester set to begin within a matter of weeks, many observers fear that anti-Israel protests on campus will soon resume at similar levels following a summer nadir.