The president of Columbia University took a stand against anti-Semitism on Wednesday as she denied accusations from Republicans who see the New York campus as a hotbed of bias.
But Nemat Shafik was more guarded over whether certain phrases from some supporters of Palestinians were forms of harassment.
Ms Shafik and board of trustees members were questioned by members of the House of Representatives committee on education and the workforce about their response to claims of on-campus anti-Semitism.
She arrived on Capitol Hill four months after a similar hearing that led to the resignations of two Ivy League university presidents.
From the start, Ms Shafik took a more decisive stance than the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, who gave lawyer-like answers when asked whether calls for the genocide of Jews would breach school policies.
She and three other Columbia officials responded unequivocally that it would. But Ms Shafik seemed to prevaricate on specific phrases.
Representative Lisa McClain, a Republican from Michigan, asked her if phrases such as “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” or “long live intifada” are anti-Semitic.
“I hear them as such; some people don't,” Ms Shafik said.
Ms McClain posed the same question to David Schizer, who leads an anti-Semitism task force at Columbia.
Mr Schizer responded that such phrases are anti-Semitic.
It was a shaky moment for Ms Shafik, who otherwise avoided the type of answers that turned the previous hearing into a frenzy for Republicans, who say elite schools are havens for anti-Semitism.
“Anti-Semitism has no place on our campus and I am personally committed to doing everything I can to confront it directly,” Ms Shafik said.
“Columbia strives to be a community free of discrimination and hate in all its forms and we condemn the anti-Semitism that is so pervasive today."
Ms Shafik said the university has suspended 15 students and taken disciplinary action against several faculty members.
“We have 37,000 students and I think the numbers that we are talking about who are crossing these lines are, you know, a very, very small number,” she said.
The Columbia administrators were the latest school leaders called before Congress for questioning about protests at US university campuses related to the Israel-Gaza conflict.
University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill resigned in December after her responses to a congressional committee and Harvard University's Claudine Gay stepped down in January.
The fallout from the conflict has been felt around the world, and is particularly intense on US university campuses, where both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups say they are being victimised and silenced.
The hearing came after the University of Southern California cancelled plans this week for a May 10 graduation speech by a Muslim student over what it said were safety concerns.
Pro-Israel groups had criticised the selection of Asna Tabassum as the class valedictorian, accusing her of using “anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist" speech.
Ms Tabassum condemned the decision, which she said was the result of the university “succumbing to a campaign of hate meant to silence my voice”.
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Stats at a glance:
Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)
Number in service: 6
Complement 191 (space for up to 285)
Top speed: over 32 knots
Range: Over 7,000 nautical miles
Length 152.4 m
Displacement: 8,700 tonnes
Beam: 21.2 m
Draught: 7.4 m
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Naga
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$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 435hp at 5,900rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,800-5,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
