Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), representing over 2,500 traditional, Orthodox rabbis in American public policy, today welcomed the resignation of Columbia President Minouche Shafik. This followed the resignation last week of three deans caught sharing disparaging and antisemitic texts during a presentation on antisemitism at Columbia University.

CJV called last month for all four to resign or be ousted, due to their tolerance for bigotry that proliferated at Columbia, along with Columbia College Dean Josef Sorett, who was the fourth who participated in the antisemitic texting scandal. There has been no disciplinary action against Sorett beyond a required apology.

CJV President Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld issued the following statement:

President Shafik’s resignation is only the first step towards a safer college experience for Jewish and pro-Israel students, and Columbia’s renewed compliance with anti-discrimination laws. However, we fail to understand how Dean Josef Sorett, who claimed to find mockery of the Hillel director entertaining and appropriate while the latter was describing the open antisemitic bigotry permitted at Columbia, can be part of solving the problem. We know that if any other minority were involved than Jews, Sorett would already be gone, and thus a double standard persists at Columbia University.

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