Columbia University’s Tel Aviv plans draw faculty rebuke

Columbia University’s plan to open a new centre in Tel Aviv is drawing criticism from close to 100 faculty members who say the US university should reconsider the move because of Israel’s human rights record and ongoing political crisis, writes Liam Stack for The New York Times.

Plans to open the centre, which were announced on Monday 3 April, had been an open secret on campus, but they attracted renewed criticism after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel won re-election this fall with the help of far-right political allies. He has since pushed forward judicial reforms that have deeply divided Israel, even as he faces trial for corruption.

Criticism of Columbia’s plan has spilled into the open in recent weeks: 95 faculty members have signed an open letter against the proposal. A competing faculty letter in support of the centre has drawn 172 signatures.
Full report on The New York Times site