Representatives Jared Moskowitz, from left, Kathy Manning, Josh Gottheimer and Dan Goldman at a news conference near Columbia University last week. All four signed the letter, which was led by Mr. Gottheimer and Mr. Goldman.Credit…Adam Gray for The New York Times
Among those pushing Columbia University to crack down on pro-Palestinian demonstrators before the arrests of dozens of protesters on Tuesday was a group of 21 House Democrats who urged its board “to act decisively” or resign, lending bipartisan support to similar calls from Republicans.
“The time for negotiation is over; the time for action is now,” the lawmakers said in a letter, dated Monday, demanding the clearing of an encampment of demonstrators. “If any trustees are unwilling to do this, they should resign so that they can be replaced by individuals who will uphold the university’s legal obligations.”
The letter, reported earlier by Axios, accused Columbia of violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, by failing to create a safe environment for Jewish students and allowing “the unauthorized and impermissible encampment of anti-Israel, anti-Jewish activists on campus.”
In recent weeks, some protesters had suggested that pro-Israel demonstrators should be the target of a terrorist attack or that Zionists do not deserve to live.
“The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech and assembly, but not freedom to harass and intimidate other students,” wrote the lawmakers, led by Representatives Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Dan Goldman of New York. “It is clear to us that the university has allowed the encampment to create an environment that appears to violate its legal obligations to protect all students from discrimination and harassment.”
The letter, signed mostly by moderates, reflected the fractures among Democrats over Israel’s war in Gaza and the resulting protests that have swept the nation’s campuses. Three days earlier, progressive Democrats such as Representatives Jamaal Bowman and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York visited the protesters and voiced support for their dissent.
On Tuesday, some Republican senators also invoked Title VI, urging Education Secretary Miguel A. Cardona to cut funding for Columbia during a hearing.
Mr. Cardona replied, “Ultimately, if a school refuses to comply with Title VI, yes, we would remove federal dollars.”
