By Nurah Tape – The Palestine Chronicle  

The president of Columbia University, Minouche Shafik, has resigned following months of criticism over her handling of campus protests against Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

In a statement on the university’s website on Wednesday, the President of Columbia University, Minouche Shafik, acknowledged “a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community.”

“This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community,” she said.

Columbia became a center of protests earlier this year where students set up encampments, calling for an end to Israel’s genocide and their university’s ties to the occupation state, resulting in violent arrests by police, authorized by Shafik.

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‘Traverse the Challenges’

Shafik, the first woman president as well as the first person of color to hold the position at Columbia, faced fierce criticism from students and staff over the university’s forced removal of protesters from the campus and academic freedom.

“I have tried to navigate a path that upholds academic principles and treats everyone with fairness and compassion,” she stressed. “It has been distressing—for the community, for me as president and on a personal level—to find myself, colleagues, and students the subject of threats and abuse.”

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Shafik said she had, over the summer, “been able to reflect and have decided that my moving on at this point would best enable Columbia to traverse the challenges ahead.”

She added that she announced her decision “now so that new leadership can be in place before the new term begins” in September.

‘Sheer Violence’

Student movements have issued a stern warning in response to the news of her resignation.

“After months of chanting ‘Minouche Shafik you can’t hide’ she finally got the memo, the Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine movement said on X. “To be clear, any future president who does not pay heed to the Columbia student body’s overwhelming demand for divestment will end up exactly as President Shafik did.”

After months of chanting “Minouche Shafik you can’t hide” she finally got the memo. To be clear, any future president who does not pay heed to the Columbia student body’s overwhelming demand for divestment will end up exactly as President Shafik did.

— Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (@ColumbiaSJP) August 15, 2024

The Columbia chapter of the Jewish Voice for Peace group of students said on X: “The students of Columbia will never forget the sheer violence unleashed upon us by Minouche Shafik, and we will not be placated by her removal as the university’s repression of the pro-Palestinian student movement continues.”

In a video shared on X, protesters at a rally against a Kamala Harris campaign event in Harlem were seen celebrating the announcement of her resignation.

Third Resignation

In April, Shafik faced a congressional committee over allegations that the university’s leadership had failed to protect staff and students from allegations of anti-semitism on the campus.

Her resignation followed those of the presidents of Harvard University as well as the University of Pennsylvania following campus tensions over Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza which has resulted in the killings of close to 40,000 Palestinians.

The students of Columbia will never forget the sheer violence unleashed upon us by Minouche Shafik, and we will not be placated by her removal as the university’s repression of the pro-Palestinian student movement continues. https://t.co/2KzgbzucA8

— BC/CU Jewish Voice for Peace (@JVPColumbia) August 15, 2024

Shafik’s tenure as president lasted 13 months and 13 days – “the shortest tenure in Columbia’s history since 1801, according to the college paper, Columbia Spectator.

Nearly 2,500 people were arrested at pro-Palestinian rallies at college and university campuses across the US.

(The Palestine Chronicle)