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January 13, 2025

The Birth of Jewish Studies at Columbia

A university’s inconsistent legacy.

Over the past year, Columbia University has developed a reputation as one of the campuses where anti-Israel demonstrations have been the most strident and persistent, and among the most violent. It has also been the home of some of academia’s foremost apologists for terrorism: Edward Said, Rashid Khalidi, and Joseph Massad. But Columbia, in addition, has long been a place where Jews, and Jewish studies have thrived—as well as a place of restrictive quotas and presidents overly friendly to Nazis. Michelle Margolis takes a look at the university during the 1930s and 40s:

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January 13, 2025

  1. Israel’s Assault on Hizballah Could Pave the Way for Peace with Lebanon

    Cautious optimism about a new president.

  2. The Inescapable Dilemma of the Catholic Church in Israel

    Cardinal Pizzaballa doesn’t admire Hamas, but he fears for his flock.

  3. A Lesson in Caring about Jews, Hostages, and Freedom from 19th-Century Britain

    Lord Palmerston and Don Pacifico.

  4. The Jew Who Lived with the Bedouin to Understand the Biblical Patriarchs

    Clinton Bailey, in memoriam.

  5. The Birth of Jewish Studies at Columbia

    A university’s inconsistent legacy.