Columbia adopts new definition of antisemitism amid negotiations with Trump admin

Columbia University adopted a controversial definition of antisemitism as part of its ongoing negotiations with the Trump administration to restore over $400 million of frozen research money.

Acting Columbia University President Claire Shipman announced Tuesday that the university will follow the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s definition of antisemitism , which generally defines it as “hatred toward Jews.” Shipman said Columbia will also partner with the Anti-Defamation League, which supports Israel and combats antisemitism, as part of the new measures designed to mitigate antisemitism.

“Columbia is committed to taking all possible steps to combat antisemitism and the University remains dedicated to ensuring that complaints of discrimination and harassment of all types, including complaints based on Jewish and Israeli identity, are treated in the same manner,” Shipman wrote.

The definition has been criticized by leading civil and human rights groups — including Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, the ACLU and B’Tselem, Israel’s largest human rights group — for improperly conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism. The definition states “targeting the state of Israel” is antisemitic.

The definition, which appears to have the support of President Donald Trump, change came as Columbia faces ongoing pressure to improve safety protections for Jewish students and faculty while the Trump administration continues to withhold over $400 million from the university.

The U.S. State Department and several European countries have adopted the IHRA’s definition, which also includes a series of examples designed to help guide implementation.

The IHRA qualifies its definition by saying criticism “similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.”

But HRW, in a 2023 letter signed by over 100 civil society groups, said that while the text of the definition appears to draw a line between anti-Israeli and antisemitic speech, the implementation of it has almost always aimed to suppress any criticism of Israel and its military.

“In practice, however, the IHRA definition has often been used to wrongly label criticism of Israel as antisemitic, and thus chill and sometimes suppress, non-violent protest, activism and speech critical of Israel and/or Zionism, including in the US and Europe,” the letter read.

The main drafter of the IHRA definition, Kenneth Stern, also said the definition he wrote causes harm.

“The purpose was to take a temperature, not to create a blunt instrument to label anyone an antisemite,” Stern wrote in a 2022 statement. “Sadly, the definition hasn’t been used in the ways intended.”

Critics say some of the examples the IHRA provides, including “applying double standards” to Israel, make it difficult to talk about Israel human rights abuses merely because there are worse abuses happening around the world.

Around 350 universities around the world have adopted the IHRA definition in some capacity.

Shipman said the move followed input from experts and the Jewish community.

“After deep consultation with our Jewish community, and many friends and experts outside of our institution, we are taking some important additional steps,” Shipman wrote.

In February, a coalition of nearly 200 Columbia faculty members advocated for the university to adopt the definition, arguing it was a necessary step to address antisemitism on campus.

Columbia will also partner with the Anti-Defamation League and hire Title VI and Title VII coordinators as part of the changes, intended to prove the university’s commitment to Jewish community members. Barnard College, an all-women school affiliated with Columbia, announced similar commitments earlier this month, though it did not adopt the IHRA definition.

The Trump administration has made addressing antisemitism at Columbia a major factor in negotiations to restore federal funding, and the Trump administration previously referenced the IHRA definition in a letter of demands it sent to Columbia in March.

The demands, some of which Columbia subsequently agreed to, came a year after pro-Palestinian protests and student-led encampments at Columbia made national headlines. Protests and clashes with the police continue to happen on campus, though with less frequency.

Critics of Republicans’ efforts say Trump is using the term as a political cudgel to wield against universities.

“We object to the weaponization of antisemitism,” a coalition of Jewish faculty members at Columbia wrote in April 2024. “And we advocate for a campus where all students, Jewish, Palestinian, and all others, can learn and thrive in a climate of open, honest inquiry and rigorous debate.”

Shipman rejected the notion that Columbia is changing its policies in order to comply with the federal government’s demands in her letter.

“The fact that we’ve faced pressure from the government does not make the problems on our campus any less real; a significant part of our community has been deeply affected in negative ways,” Shipman wrote. “In my view, any government agreement we reach is only a starting point for change.”

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