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Graduates of UES Elite Jewish High School Won’t Be Attending Columbia College Due to Rise in Anti-Semitism
Edited by: Fern Sidman
In a striking departure from tradition, none of the 2024 graduates from Ramaz, an elite Jewish high school on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, will be attending Columbia University’s prestigious Columbia College. According to a report that appeared on Sunday in The New York Post, this marks the first time in over two decades that Ramaz, known for its academic rigor and its consistent track record of sending students to top-tier universities, will not have a single graduate enrolling in Columbia College. The absence of Ramaz students at Columbia this year is a telling indicator of a growing concern among Jewish families about the rising tide of anti-Semitism on college campuses, particularly at institutions such as Columbia.
For years, Columbia University has been a beacon of academic excellence, attracting top students from across the globe, including many from Jewish day schools such as Ramaz. However, recent events have cast a long shadow over Columbia’s reputation among Jewish communities. The information provided in The Post report indicated that the decision by this year’s Ramaz graduates to bypass Columbia College in favor of other institutions is rooted in the alarming increase in anti-Semitic incidents on campus, particularly those linked to anti-Israel protests.
🇺🇸 RAMAZ GRADUATES SHUN COLUMBIA DUE TO ANTISEMITISM
For the first time in over 20 years, no graduates from the elite Upper East Side Jewish high school Ramaz will attend Columbia College, partly due to concerns over antisemitism.
Ramaz cited anti-Israel protests and hostility… pic.twitter.com/o1xPYLcaqq
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) August 18, 2024
According to a statement from Ramaz, the school’s administration has been proactive in providing detailed information about the environment at various colleges, with a particular emphasis on the rise of anti-Semitic incidents, The Post report said. This approach reflects a growing recognition among Jewish educators and families that the college selection process must now consider not just academic opportunities but also the safety and well-being of Jewish students.
Ramaz’s statement to The New York Post emphasized that their decision-making process included careful consideration of the hostile environment that has emerged at some universities. “We have given priority to issues surrounding the horrific rise in anti-Semitic instances at some schools, so that our students and their families are able to make informed decisions about which colleges are right for them,” the statement read. This sentiment was echoed by Rory Lancman, a prominent Jewish civil rights activist and Columbia Law School graduate, who has openly advised Jewish students to avoid applying to Columbia and other institutions that fail to take anti-Semitism seriously.
The concerns about anti-Semitism at Columbia are not new, but they have reached a critical point in recent years. The university has been a focal point for intense anti-Israel protests, some of which have crossed the line into outright hostility toward Jewish students. The report in The Post said that these protests, often organized by student groups, have created an atmosphere where Jewish students feel increasingly marginalized and unsafe.
Lancman, whose two daughters graduated from Ramaz, expressed his deep concern over the current climate at Columbia. “Jewish families are voting with their feet and choosing colleges and universities that take antisemitism seriously,” Lancman told The Post. His warning is not an isolated voice but part of a broader chorus of concern within the Jewish community, where many families are reconsidering their traditional choices of universities in light of the growing hostility on campus.
The decision by Ramaz graduates to opt for other institutions reflects a broader trend among Jewish students who are increasingly prioritizing their safety and well-being over the prestige of attending certain universities. The Post report also said that while one Ramaz student did enroll at Columbia’s School of General Studies and three others chose Barnard College, Columbia’s affiliated women’s college, the absence of any Ramaz students at Columbia College is particularly telling.
In response to these developments, Columbia University has remained conspicuously silent. When approached by The Post for comment, the university declined to offer any statement. This silence is troubling, especially at a time when transparency and engagement with the concerns of all student groups are crucial. Columbia’s refusal to address these issues publicly only exacerbates the perception that the university is either indifferent to or incapable of addressing the anti-Semitism that has taken root on its campus.
This lack of response from Columbia stands in stark contrast to the proactive measures being taken by other universities that have recognized the need to address anti-Semitism head-on. The failure to engage with these concerns risks further alienating Jewish students and families, potentially leading to a more significant exodus of Jewish students in the years to come.
As Jewish families continue to “vote with their feet,” the message to universities is clear: anti-Semitism must be confronted and eradicated. Anything less is unacceptable, and the cost of inaction is the loss of talented students who choose to take their futures elsewhere.
The Post report also said that the turmoil on the Columbia U campus, primarily driven by intense and often violent anti-Israel protests, has led to the resignation of Columbia’s President Minouche Shafik and three university deans, signaling a profound leadership vacuum at the heart of the institution.
Last week, President Minouche Shafik announced her resignation, a decision that has sent shockwaves through the academic community. Shafik, who had been at the helm of Columbia for just over a year, cited personal reasons for her decision to step down. However, The Post reported that her resignation comes at a time of unprecedented unrest on the Columbia campus, where protests, some of them destructive, have become a daily occurrence.
Shafik’s tenure was marked by constant challenges as the university grappled with a series of anti-Israel demonstrations that often escalated into violence. These protests, fueled by Hamas’ brutal October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, where over 1,200 people were killed, have created a highly charged and divisive atmosphere on campus, as was explained in The Post report. The ongoing war in Gaza has only exacerbated tensions, leading to increasingly aggressive actions by protesters.
Adding to the chaos, three university deans resigned just one week before Shafik’s departure, following the revelation of a disturbing text chain in which they disparaged the concerns of Israeli and Jewish students regarding the rising anti-Semitism on campus, The Post report revealed. This scandal has further eroded trust in the university’s leadership and highlighted the deep-seated issues within the administration.
The exposure of these text messages has drawn widespread condemnation, both from within the Columbia community and beyond. The messages not only belittled the fears of Jewish students but also suggested a troubling lack of empathy and understanding from those in positions of authority, The report in the Post confirmed. This has sparked outrage among students and faculty alike, who are demanding greater accountability and a commitment to addressing the pervasive anti-Semitism on campus.
The campus unrest reached a peak in April when a large group of masked protesters, described as pro-terror rioters, broke into a Columbia academic building, seizing it and draping a massive flag calling for “intifada” over the facade. Indicated in The Post report was that this shocking act of aggression was captured on video, showing a hammer-wielding demonstrator smashing through a glass door and securing it with a bike lock—a clear symbol of the lawlessness that has taken hold on campus.
The takeover followed a series of protests in which hundreds of students set up an encampment on campus, refusing to leave despite repeated warnings from university officials. The Post report said that when the situation escalated, campus police intervened, arresting numerous students on trespassing charges. However, despite the severity of the actions, many of those involved in the vandalism, rioting, and trespassing ultimately escaped criminal prosecution, raising questions about the effectiveness of the university’s response., the report added.
The events at Columbia are not happening in isolation but are part of a broader pattern of unrest and anti-Semitism that has spread across many college campuses in the wake of the Hamas invasion of Israel. The October 7 attack, which saw the slaughter of over 1,200 people in Israel, has been a flashpoint for protests worldwide, including in the United States. On campuses like Columbia, these protests have often crossed the line from legitimate political expression to outright hostility and violence, particularly against Jewish students.
The influence of extremist ideologies and the justification of terror by some student groups have created an environment where anti-Semitism can flourish unchecked. The calls for “intifada” and the glorification of violence against Israel have contributed to a toxic atmosphere that endangers the safety and well-being of Jewish students on campus.
