Rabbi Ingber: The toxicity and level of infection in our elite academic institutions is remarkable

The university here in New York City announcing all classes actually can be held virtually today. This coming in a statement the University of president saying the community needs a reset and a chance to de escalate the rancor of recent days. She’s referring to protests and a near and near campus calling for the school to divest from companies connected to Israel and especially intimidation and maybe more that’s emerged against Jewish Jewish students over the weekend. A rabbi associated with the university recommended that a group of Jewish students return home and not come back to campus until the security situation improves. Yesterday, the White House blasting the really the calls for violence, intimidation of Jewish students is blatantly anti-Semitic. Joining us right now for his take on all of this and what comes next. Rabbi David Engbur founding a rabbi of Renewal Synagogue Romamu, and he’s the senior director for Jewish life and the senior director of the Brothman Center at Manhattan’s 92nd St. Y Good morning to you. I think we’re always trying to understand what, first of all, what we think has even happened over the weekend, what you’ve seen, given your proximity to it all. Yeah. So my proximity is not only because my synagogue is in that neighborhood, but also I have congregants who are members of the faculty at, at Columbia University. I have I have family members who are who are actually who attend Columbia University. So I’m hearing first hand and we’re receiving first hand videos, you know, from my niece on our WhatsApp group. So we’re I’m seeing it and it’s around me. It’s also, I live in that neighborhood, so I’m seeing it on the streets. It’s unbelievable. I mean, just for for our viewers to know like about 75 blocks from here, there are people chanting that October 7th and the massacre of Jews, the pogrom that took place on October 7th. They’re saying it’s not going to happen once or 10 times. It’s going to happen a thousand 1000 times for twice we’ve said we want to tone down the rancor. I mean, that is soft. Someone is going to get hurtful killed at one of these. I I mean, what what the president said about there being a reset is, is absurd. We don’t need to reset. We need absolute consequences and enforcement. And the university essentially brought in the NYPD in order to do kind of like a, you know, to to clear the encampment. But of course, it’s just a it’s just a small gesture. It’s not safe on campus for for Jewish students. What do you think is happening there for from an administrative level at this university? We’ve seen this at other universities, but what do you think is happening at Columbia right now? We were talking before Columbia Business School, one of the most famous business schools in the country, Warren Buffett’s a famous alumni, Henry Kravis. I mean, there’s a there’s a whole long list. Where is the pressure point on these universities for there to be some kind of meaningful change? So, so I don’t know, I’m not in those backdoor conversations, but it’s a little bit appalling and it should appall. All of us took a congressional hearing in order to get the president of Columbia University to begin some small gesture of disciplinary action towards tenured professors who revel and who spoke in what took place on October 7th. I mean, this is the the toxicity and the level of infection in our elite academic institutions is remarkable. It’s just remarkable different from free speech because I think that’s where a lot of people get confused. Free speech and protests on campus is one thing. What is different that’s happening again, So I’m not a lawyer. I can’t actually let you know. No, just what you see. But what you see, what we’ve seen is that this is not an issue of free speech. People are not protesting a political stance. Visa V Israel and Visa V the Palestinians advocating for sovereignty, they are actually in. They’re in. They’re essentially calling for the genocide of Jews who live in Israel and Israelis. They’re intimidating, physically intimidating students. Students don’t feel sick. We already read from the beginning that the rabbi, one of the rabbis in Columbia University, said that students in 2024 have to leave Columbia’s campus, the Upper West Side of Manhattan. They’re going to be safe on Passover. The irony of this is so thick, we should actually be bowling over and be Passover as a holiday that celebrates the Jewish liberation in the face of Egyptians that were trying to murder them and trying to that enslaved them for 400 years and so on. And here we are 2024. You know, we have historically, we have the libel against Jews that they used the blood of of Christians was a a common trope in Europe around Passover that we’d make matzo with blood. And here we are in 2024 at the bastion of our elite institutions telling Jews that unless they go home, they’re not safe. And we know, I know personally from my, from my niece who is at home now, we know students are terrified and they’ve been bullied, they’ve been harassed, they’ve been spit at. But I mean, it’s a terrible scene. Here’s my question to you, Rabbi, and the reason why I I mentioned the business leaders because historically they have had influence over these universities. Last night we made calls, CNBC made calls to a number of business leaders, alumni on the board of and connected to this University of Columbia and to a man, nothing, zero, no comment, no statement. We don’t want to say anything and we can take Columbia out of this. But more broadly, and I’ve had a number of conversations with CEOs about this who all say, I can only talk to you, Andrew, off off the record. I don’t want to talk to you on the record about this. I can’t say anything publicly. I, I, I, I fear that the, that my employees are going to come for me. I fear that the customers who are, who are, who are against this are going to come for me. What what do you tell those people who are watching right now on this issue? Well, this is a time for moral clarity and for moral courage. You know, one of the great things about the story of Passover is that in order for the the Israelites to become free, God gave them a test. They said, take the God of Egypt and bringing it to your home. And that will become the paschal offering sacrifice, right? The God of Egypt, the Israelites at the time said that’s too scary, that’s terrifying. How do we bring the God of Egypt into our home and sacrifice? And that forever becomes the emblem of what Passover stands for, which is the courage to do the scary and risky thing right. You want to be free. If we’re speaking about liberal values, we’re speaking about this country. It’s really remarkable to see how leadership here is is so wanting. Is there a way to stand up Governor Hochul? Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams are more vocal and the White House, which has already issued 3 statements on it that semitism thus far has more more courage than Columbia University’s leadership and other elite universities leadership. That’s appalling. OK so explain this. Is there a way to stand up for Jewish people and against anti-Semitism and at the same time potentially disagree with the approach that Israel has taken as it relates to Gaza? Of course there is. Of course there is. If peaceful protest is something that is guaranteed right by our those are that’s our constitution guarantees that right to each and everyone of us. But we’re not talking about peaceful protests. Go to NYU now where encampments are also happening. Go and visit Colombia diversity, try to see I think we have live videos.