- Columbia University on Monday deactivated the identification card of Shai Davidai, an assistant professor at its Business School, in response to his plans to hold a protest on the main Morningside campus. Columbia Daily Spectator
- The Israeli-born Jewish professor had planned to hold a "peaceful sit-in" in opposition to pro-Palestine demonstrators who have occupied the main lawn to demand Columbia support a cease-fire in Gaza and divest funds in Israel. The Telegraph
- Columbia Chief Operating Officer Cas Holloway said Davidai was prevented from accessing the West Lawn to "maintain the safety of the Columbia community" and could organize his event at a counterprotest area. National Review (LR: 5 CP: 5)
- Earlier, the assistant professor rejected the offer to hold a counter-protest in a separate area with the protection of public safety officers, calling it a "continuation of six months of gaslighting and degrading the Jewish community." TheTimesofIsrael
- Last month, Davidai claimed, without providing details, that Columbia opened an investigation to allegedly silence him for his "advocacy" for the university's Jewish and Israeli community. New York Post (LR: 5 CP: 5)
- Tensions at Columbia have been high, with students on both sides filing lawsuits against the school and the US House conducting a probe into antisemitism on campus. All classes on the main Morningside campus will take a hybrid format until the end of the semester. Time (LR: 2 CP: 5)
Narrative A:
- Davidai is being punished for calling out Columbia's policies, which tend to favor support for the Palestinians and do little to address rampant campus antisemitism. Limiting his ability to counter-protest — while allowing the pro-Palestinian protesters to construct a tent city — is a clear violation of Davidai's rights.
BREITBART (LR: 5 CP: 3)
Narrative B:
- Davidai isn't banned from campus — he's being restricted from certain areas for his own safety. By harassing students for their political views, he violated university policies, abused his power, and posed a threat to the university community, attempting to ignite post-Oct. 7 campus tensions. He was rightly restricted from the type of protest he was planning.
COLUMBIA DAILY SPECTATOR
Nerd narrative:
- There's a 50% chance that at least 113.6K US Jews will move to Israel by Jan. 1, 2050, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
METACULUS (LR: 3 CP: 3)