Columbia University Settles for $221M Over Anti-Semitism Claims, Sparking Uproa

Columbia University is making headlines again, this time not for academic prestige but for cutting a massive $221 million deal with the Trump administration to settle accusations that it failed to address anti-Semitism on campus.

The New York-based Ivy League school announced Wednesday that the agreement will allow it to regain access to billions in current and future federal funding, and unfreeze the “vast majority” of $400 million in grants that had been suspended.

The settlement also includes a $21 million payment to resolve a separate claim brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Claire Shipman, Columbia’s acting president, acknowledged the financial hit but said the alternative would’ve jeopardized the university’s long-term survival.

“We might have achieved short-term litigation victories, but not without incurring deeper long-term damage – the likely loss of future federal funding, the possibility of losing accreditation, and the potential revocation of visa status of thousands of international students,” she said.

Still, she pushed back on the core of the accusations.

“Columbia does not accept the Trump administration’s findings that we violated civil rights law by turning a blind eye to the harassment of Jews,” Shipman noted, while also recognizing “the very serious and painful challenges our institution has faced with antisemitism.”

The settlement formalizes reforms Columbia introduced earlier this year, more campus security, changes to its disciplinary systems, and a promise to foster “an inclusive and respectful learning environment.”

The agreement also commits Columbia to ending race-based admissions practices, diversity targets, and any “unlawful efforts to achieve race-based outcomes.”

Donald Trump, never one to miss a moment for self-congratulation, declared the outcome “historic” on Truth Social.

“Numerous other Higher Education Institutions that have hurt so many, and been so unfair and unjust… are upcoming,” he wrote, hinting that more lawsuits may be on the horizon.

The move is part of Trump’s broader campaign to clamp down on perceived left-wing activism and alleged misuse of public funds in universities, especially around the contentious issue of Palestine solidarity.

Columbia, like many US campuses, became a focal point of the Gaza war protests during spring and summer 2024. Demonstrations regularly filled its grounds, drawing both support and condemnation. Jewish students and faculty described the protests as veering into open anti-Semitism, while pro-Palestinian activists pushed back, saying criticism of Israel was being misrepresented as hate.

This week, Columbia’s Judicial Board also wrapped up disciplinary cases linked to those protests, including the takeover of the university’s main library in May and the “Revolt for Rafah” encampment from 2023.

With input from Al Jazeera