Cardona 'deeply concerned' about situation at Columbia: 'Antisemitic hate' is unacceptable

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona released a statement Tuesday condemning Columbia University as bipartisan concerns about antisemitism on campus have risen.  

“Antisemitic hate on college campuses is unacceptable. I am deeply concerned by what is happening at Columbia University,” Cardona said in a post on X. 

Columbia is almost a week into the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” that students created, refusing to leave until demands, such as divesting from Israel, are met.  

At least three students have been suspended and others were arrested by the New York Police Department. The school has switched to hybrid classes for the rest of the semester due to the unrest.  

“In November 2023, our Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation of Columbia involving Title VI. While we can’t comment on pending investigations, every student deserves to feel a sense of safety and belonging at school. Hate has no place in our schools. All education leaders must stand definitively against hate, antisemitism, anti-Arab, and anti-Muslim sentiment,” Cardona said.

While lawmakers, such as Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), have called for Columbia’s president to resign, Cardona did not take a position.  

“While every American has the right to peaceful protest, calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly Antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous — they have absolutely no place on any college campus, or anywhere in the United States of America,” the White House said in a statement.