Photo: Columbia University President Shafik announced his resignation on the 14th. The photo shows Shafik testifying before the U.S. Congress in April this year. \Reuters

[Ta Kung Pao News]According to Reuters and The New York Times, Columbia University President Shafik announced her resignation on the 14th, becoming the third Ivy League university president to step down during the anti-war protests at American universities during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, highlighting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has torn American campuses apart. Shafik said she resigned before the start of the new semester on September 3rd in order to allow new leadership to be in place in time.

Shafik took over as president of Columbia University in July last year, and announced his resignation via email on the 14th of this month. Columbia University said that Armstrong, dean of the medical school, will serve as interim president. Shafik said that the anti-war demonstrations on campus had dealt a heavy blow to her family, which was one of the reasons that prompted her to resign. In April this year, anti-war demonstrations broke out at Columbia University, and students set up tent camps on campus, calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and for the school to stop investing in companies that support Israel. Shafik went to the U.S. Congress to answer questions, condemned “anti-Semitism”, and took the initiative to invite the police to enter the campus to “clear the field”, resulting in the arrest of hundreds of students.

Shafik’s actions have been criticized by many parties. Many students, faculty and anti-war activists condemned her decision to allow police to enter the campus, and Republican lawmakers who support Israel accused her of not taking enough measures to eliminate “anti-Semitism.” Shortly before Shafik resigned, three deans of Columbia University also resigned because they made “derogatory remarks” when discussing Jewish-related topics.

In addition to Columbia University, anti-war demonstrations also broke out at Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, MIT and other famous American universities. In December last year and January this year, Penn President Magill and Harvard President Gay resigned due to the so-called “campus anti-Semitism” controversy.