Attorney General Raúl Labrador joined a 25-state coalition of attorneys general in sending a letter to Columbia University to raise grave concerns about antisemitism on campus. The letter also encourages the university not to give in to demands to divest from Israel.
“Like most Americans, I was dismayed at the antisemitic protests occurring on college campuses across the country,” said Attorney General Raúl Labrador. “However, despite the demands from pro-Palestinian student groups and others supporting Hamas, I am encouraged that Columbia University has not divested from Israel. I urge them to continue to resist that pressure.”
The letter, to Columbia University Interim President Katrina Armstrong, MD, says, “In April of this year, several pro-Palestinian groups staged occupation protests on Columbia University’s campus in New York City, established encampments, and demanded the university divest from Israel. Even after some protesters were arrested, occupations continued, and the school entered negotiations with protesters. The school appropriately declined to divest from Israel. But demands for divestment have not abated. And the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attacks heralded an escalation in antisemitic rhetoric by pro-Palestinian campus protest groups.”
The letter goes on to list examples of actions and rhetoric by pro-Palestinian protesters calling for even more violence, including one member of Columbia University Apartheid Divest saying the school was lucky he wasn’t out killing Zionists.
The letter from the attorneys general commends Columbia University for its decision not to divest from Israel and urges the administration to maintain that position, despite blatantly antisemitic pressure from some pro-Palestinian student groups.
The letter was co-led by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin. In addition to Idaho, the letter was joined by the attorneys general of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The letter can be read here.
