Shai Davidai, outspoken Israeli professor at Columbia, leaves the university Controversial advocate for pro-Israel Jewish students says he is departing voluntarily as school closes investigation against him, plans to continue his activism from New York by Luke Tress
Shai Davidai, an outspoken Israeli professor at New York City’s Columbia University, said on Wednesday that he was leaving the school and that a Columbia investigation against him had been closed.
Davidai became a prominent and controversial advocate for pro-Israel and Jewish students soon after the October 2023 invasion of Israel, and often clashed with the administration, as the campus was roiled by raucous anti-Israel protests.
Davidai told The Times of Israel that he left Columbia voluntarily.
“I’ve lost all trust in the institution and respect for my colleagues,” Davidai said.
“I feel like it’s a place that is unwilling to change on its own. It’s only doing things when forced by the government or forced by money,” he said. “That’s not a place where I think anyone would want their name to be associated with.”
Earlier Wednesday, Davidai shared a letter from the university saying that an investigation against him was closed without finding any wrongdoing or taking any disciplinary action against him.
The university opened the investigation last year. It was carried out by Columbia’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, which responded to allegations of harassment and discrimination on campus. The office was later replaced by the Office of Institutional Equity, which sent Wednesday’s letter to Davidai, according to a screenshot he shared online.
Davidai said there were aspects of his departure he could not discuss for legal reasons, but that he had told the university, “There is no way that I’ll ever leave before they find me innocent.”
“There are things in life that are more important than anything else, and one’s name is extremely important,” he said. “Hypothetically, if I were to negotiate with Columbia, that would be a No.1, non-negotiable issue.”
Columbia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Davidai’s departure was first announced by the dean of the business school, where he had been an assistant professor, in an email to the community.
“We thank Professor Davidai for his service to our community and wish him the best in his future endeavors,” the email said.
Davidai came into public view just weeks after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel triggered widespread anti-Israel protests on college campuses, including at Columbia, when a video of an impassioned speech he gave gained widespread traction online. In the speech, Davidai condemned the university for allowing “pro-terror” student demonstrations and told parents that their children were not safe on Ivy League campuses.
“I want you to know one thing: We cannot protect your child,” he said at an outdoor vigil less than two weeks after the Hamas attack. “I’m speaking to you as a dad, and I want you to know, we cannot protect your children from pro-terror student organizations, because the president of Columbia University will not speak out.”
He became a leading voice criticizing universities for permitting anti-Israel sentiment to flourish and bleed into antisemitism.
His advocacy for Jews and Israelis made him a target on campus and beyond. Some students claimed he targeted them and demanded sanctions against him from the university. Davidai said he did not target individual students, only student organizations.
He was sometimes confrontational and caustic toward Columbia administrators, at one point cursing Columbia’s chief operating officer on social media, and was barred from campus last year after feuding with university staff.
Davidai was a leftist activist in Israel, before moving to New York, and has feuded with the far-right pro-Israel group Betar.
Davidai said Wednesday that he planned to “take my fight bigger” with his advocacy work, and is writing a book about Columbia and “everything happening on campuses.”
His plans include growing his podcast audience, traveling the country for speaking engagements, and community work. He will continue living in New York City.
“The goal is to educate people, to activate people and to amplify other people’s voices,” he said. “I’ve been focusing my educational efforts in academia and I’ve decided being a professor is not the only way to educate people.”
“There’s a fight to be fought in the United States,” he said.
Columbia was rocked by anti-Israel activism starting immediately after the October 2023 attack on Israel. Pro-Israel Jewish students said the protests often veered into antisemitism, a position backed up by reports from the university’s antisemitism task force.
The controversy has continued in recent weeks as the Trump administration puts heavy pressure on Columbia and other elite universities.
Last week, Acting University President Claire Shipman apologized after a Congressional investigation released documents showing that she had pushed to remove a Jewish member of the university board after October 7. Before that disclosure, Shipman had been seen as a better ally to Jewish students than her two predecessors, who both stepped down amid the campus turmoil.
This week, Barnard College, an affiliate of Columbia, settled an antisemitism lawsuit filed by Jewish students. As part of the settlement, the college will institute several reforms aimed at combating antisemitism. Columbia was also a defendant in the lawsuit, but was not part of the settlement.
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