Politics
Controversial ex-Columbia academic ‘may be kept away from Israel-related work at Foreign Office’
The government should defend her appointment, insiders say
August 16, 2024 16:48
The government should defend her appointment, insiders say
August 16, 2024 16:48Baroness Minouche Shafik, the former Columbia University president who courted controversy with her handling of antisemitism on campus, “may not” work on Gaza and Israel in her role at the Foreign Office, a Labour source has said.
Her appointment to a policy review role by Foreign Secretary David Lammy has received much criticism. But a Labour source told the JC: “The Foreign Office should be defending her appointment, especially if they are saying that she may not be working specifically on Gaza or Israel, so her background could be seen to be less relevant."
The source added: “I’m not keen to have a go at her because she was attacked by students for bringing in the cops and was decisive in restoring order to campus.”
The JC understands that the specific remit of Shafik’s responsibilities will be announced in due course, but her review is one of three externally-led reviews commissioned by David Lammy.
In her resignation letter to Columbia, Shafik wrote: “I am honored to have been asked by the UK’s Foreign Secretary to chair a review of the government’s approach to international development and how to improve capability.
"I am very pleased and appreciative that this will afford me the opportunity to return to work on fighting global poverty and promoting sustainable development, areas of lifelong interest to me. It also enables me to return to the House of Lords to reengage with the important legislative agenda put forth by the new UK government.”
Shafik’s tenure at Columbia was marred by antisemitism on campus and news of her departure was celebrated across the American political spectrum.
Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson posted on social media: “I stood in President Shafik’s office in April and told her to resign, and while it is long overdue, we welcome today’s news. Jewish students at Columbia beginning this school year should breathe a sigh of relief.”
My statement on the Resignation of Columbia President Minouche Shafik:
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) August 15, 2024
As a result of President Shafik’s refusal to protect Jewish students and maintain order on campus, Columbia University became the epicenter for virulent antisemitism that has plagued many American university…
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a fellow Republican whose high-profile questioning of heads of American universities over their handling of campus antisemitism was by many seen as key to the resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay and University of Pennsylvannia President Liz Magill, said: “THREE DOWN, so many to go.
“As I have said consistently since her catastrophic testimony at the Education and the Workforce Committee hearing, Columbia University’s President Minouche Shafik’s failed presidency was untenable and that it was only a matter of time before her forced resignation.
"After failing to protect Jewish students and negotiating with pro-Hamas terrorists, this forced resignation is long overdue. We will continue to demand moral clarity, condemnation of antisemitism, protection of Jewish students and faculty, and stronger leadership from American higher education institutions.”
Democratic New York Congressman Richie Torries posted on X/Twitter: “Columbia University, once a jewel in the crown of higher education, has been exposed as ground zero for campus antisemitism in NYC. I hope the new leadership will summon the moral clarity and the moral courage to confront the deep rot of antisemitism at Columbia’s core.”
Columbia University, once a jewel in the crown of higher education, has been exposed as ground zero for campus antisemitism in NYC.
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) August 15, 2024
I hope the new leadership will summon the moral clarity and the moral courage to confront the deep rot of antisemitism at Columbia’s core. pic.twitter.com/1U9k7W92yb
Egyptian-born Shafik is an economist who served as deputy governor of the Bank of England between 2014-2017 and as president and vice-chancellor of the London School of Economics (LSE) between 2019-2023.
She was made a peer in the House of Lords in 2020, which she took an absence from to take up her role in Columbia. Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s office has been contacted for comment.