HARLEM — A Columbia University statement cited Palestinian scholar and former professor Edward Said before suspending two pro-Palestinian student groups for the remainder of the fall semester.
“Internationally renowned scholar and author Edward Said once wrote: ‘Our role is to widen the field of discussion, not to set limits in accord with the prevailing authority.’ Therefore, Columbia University is suspending Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace.”
One student, Janice Smith, said that citing the author of Orientalism to ban the two groups reminded her of “how Republicans quote MLK Jr before doing something racist.” We offered to hide Smith’s identity for the interview, but she informed us that she was a Barnard student so Columbia didn’t care about her anyway.
In response to criticism that the school had taken a side, officials pointed out that they had banned not just the broad pro-Palestine group but also the explicitly Jewish pro-Palestinian group. It was also noted that Said was given tenure and his own special parking spot in his time at the school. (The parking spot was on 125th St, prior to the school’s more aggressive gentrification of the neighborhood.)
The announcement appeared right next to news articles regarding the resignation of a Jewish billionaire from the school’s board.
The Pigeon Post 