Trump cuts $400m from Columbia University over anti-Semitism claims

TDT | Manama

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President Donald Trump’s administration said Friday it was cutting $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University, accusing it of failing to protect Jewish students from harassment as protesters rallied against Israel’s offensive in Gaza.

Four government agencies announced in a statement “the immediate cancellation of approximately $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”

Trump said this week that he would cut funding for schools that allow “illegal protests,” his latest threat to turn off the flow of federal money to the country’s education system.

US campuses including Columbia’s were rocked by student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. The demonstrations ignited accusations of anti-Semitism. Joseph Howley, an associate professor of classics at Columbia, told AFP he hoped the university would challenge the defunding in court.