Columbia Faculty Oppose Planned Israel Center Because of ‘Human Rights.’ The School’s China Center Gets a Pass.
Claire Sprang
April 5, 2023
Faculty at Columbia University are protesting the school's proposed Global Center in Tel Aviv over human rights concerns in Israel despite remaining silent on human rights abuses in China, home to the university’s Beijing Center.
Ninety-five faculty members signed a letter in opposition to the Global Center over human rights and free speech concerns, though an opposing letter in favor of the center gained more support, the New York Times reported.
The state of Israel "refuses to abide by international human rights laws and norms both domestically and in its treatment of Palestinians," the anti-Israel letter, which the Columbia Spectator reported was first circulated by law professor Katherine Franke, said.
But faculty in support of the Israel center noted in their letter, which has received 172 signatures, that the university maintains centers in countries with human rights controversies of their own—China, Jordan, and Turkey—that are ranked by the Freedom House democracy index as far more unfree than Israel.
https://freebeacon.com/campus/columbia-faculty-oppose-planned-israel-center-because-of-human-rights-the-schools-china-center-gets-a-pass/
