Faculty at Columbia University are under fire after falsely accusing a Jewish trustee of leaking these appalling messages to the Washington Free Beacon. An anonymous statement from “a group of Columbia faculty and staff,” posted on the activist-run Rise Up, Columbia Substack, baselessly claimed trustee Shoshana Shendelman leaked text messages from acting president Claire Shipman. But as the Free Beacon reported, Columbia itself released the texts to a congressional committee—not Shendelman.
Shipman’s texts, obtained through a House subpoena, include appalling messages in which she called to “take her out” and remove Shendelman from the board. In another, she described her as a “mole” and a “fox in the henhouse,” telling staff to exclude her from protest negotiations. Yet, Columbia’s faculty didn’t criticize these internal attacks—instead, they targeted the trustee confronting campus anti-Semitism.
“Who benefits from sending Shipman’s messages to the right wing Free Beacon?” the faculty group asked, answering: “Shoshana Shendelman.” But the record is clear—House Republicans subpoenaed the school after Columbia failed to produce documents. Texts were then released by Committee Chair Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY).
The radical faculty’s statement was circulated by Joseph Howley, a Columbia professor who supported illegal anti-Israel encampments and dismissed safety concerns. Instead of condemning Shipman’s smears or Columbia’s failure to protect Jewish students, the faculty attacked a trustee who demanded accountability.
