A History of Jewish Studies at Columbia University and the Columbia Jewish Alumni Association
The modern university is marked by a flourishing of humanistic inquiry. These fields seek to understand and appreciate historic cultures within an academic setting. Jewish studies at Columbia University, particularly through the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies (IIJS), exemplifies this humanistic desire. The history of Jewish studies at Columbia touches on various aspects of the university's past, including Christian Hebraism, Columbia politics, Jewish philanthropy, and the influence of the State of Israel. Each generation of the IIJS interprets the mission of its founder, Salo Wittmayer Baron (1895-1989).
Salo Baron envisioned scholarship enriching the appreciation for the Jewish people and their heritage. He believed the university was the ideal place for this, as it houses the range and diversity of disciplines necessary for contemporary Judaica, including history, political science, economics, sociology, philology, languages, and literatures. These disciplines would bring a breadth and quality of insight to the study of Jewry throughout its history.
Early Foundations: Christian Hebraism and Richard Gottheil
The origins of Jewish studies at Columbia can be traced back to the university's founding. Samuel Johnson, the founder of King's College, was a Christian Hebraist who considered Hebrew a foundational language for Christianity. Students were required to learn Hebrew alongside Greek and Latin.
In 1887, Jewish studies began in earnest at Columbia. Temple Emanu-El, a Reform congregation in Manhattan, funded the position of Professor of Rabbinic Literature and Semitic Languages. Richard James Horatio Gottheil (1862-1936), the son of the Temple’s rabbi, was appointed to this role. Members of Temple Emanu-El sought a Jewish intellectual whose scholarship could match their modern sensibilities. They wanted Jewish texts to be evaluated with the same scrutiny applied in academic environments, releasing them from the constraints of rabbinic seminaries.
Gottheil represented a new kind of Jewish interest on campus, the academic study of Jewish literature and history, outside of a rabbinic institution. He oversaw the publication of the Jewish Encyclopedia and held affiliations with the Jewish Publication Society and the Society of Biblical Literature.
Read also: Columbia University Legacy
Temple Emanu-El also donated rare Jewish books and manuscripts to Columbia's library, including the library of Talmudist Jacob Emden of Altona (1697-1776). By 1896, Columbia's collection was considered the largest in the country, establishing the university as a center for Judaica study.
Gottheil was also involved in the American Zionist movement, serving as President of the American Federation of Zionists from 1898-1904 and attending the Second Zionist Congress organized by Theodore Herzl in 1898. Gottheil's example demonstrates the complex relationship between academic and political Jewish interests that emerged alongside Jewish studies at Columbia.
Salo Baron and the Center for Israeli Studies
Salo Baron's arrival at Columbia in 1930 marked a significant moment in the development of Jewish studies at the university. In 1928, Linda Miller, a member of Temple Emanu-El, donated funds to establish the Nathan Miller Chair in Jewish History, Literature, and Institutions.
Nicholas Murray Butler, the president of Columbia, chose Salo Baron for the position. Baron's appointment was not without controversy. Linda Miller had hoped that Rabbi Hyman Enelow would be selected and expressed concerns about Baron's potential ties to what she termed the "ethnic Jew" and the nationalistic strain of Judaism. Richard Gottheil also felt he should have been considered for the position.
Despite these challenges, Baron made significant contributions to the field of Jewish studies. His three-volume Social and Religious History of the Jews (1937) was groundbreaking. Baron criticized the tendency to isolate Jews in historical studies and overemphasize their suffering. He argued that Jewish history should be studied in relation to its broader environment and that Jews actively interacted with their historical contexts.
Read also: Opportunities at Columbia University
Baron believed that scholars of Jewish studies should be based in their respective foundational disciplines. Jewish history scholars should be in the history department, Yiddish scholars in Germanic languages, and so on. This approach continues to influence the structure of Jewish studies at Columbia.
Around 1948, the year the State of Israel was founded, Baron started the Center for Israeli Studies, the precursor to the IIJS. The Center sponsored courses in Jewish history, including those related to the Land of Israel and Jewish communities outside of Israel. Early funding came from the Jewish Agency for Palestine. In 1955, the center was renamed the Center for Israel and Jewish Studies to appeal to a wider range of funders and accommodate a broader selection of courses.
The decision to include Israel in the title was seen as "idiosyncratic," as Israel studies was not yet a defined field. However, it reflected the historical Jewish connection to the Land of Israel.
Sampson Simson's Oration
Sampson Simson's 1800 Columbia commencement oration was a significant event. Simson, a 21-year-old Jew and Columbia graduate, delivered a speech in Hebrew about the origin, genealogy, and national significance of New York Jews. The speech, prepared by his Hebrew teacher Gershom Mendes Seixas, asserted Jewish belonging and longevity in New York City.
Simson's oration marked the earliest public assertion of Jewish belonging and longevity in the nation's largest city. After 150 years in New York, Jews were proclaiming the city as the birthplace of American Jewry.
Read also: Paying for Columbia
Seixas, an advocate for American independence and republicanism, highlighted the history of Jewish arrivals in New York. He focused on the fact that Jews were present during both the Dutch and English eras of the city's history.
Seixas interpreted the Jews' arrival in New York in the 17th century through the lens of Jewish and biblical history. He emphasized the Jews' eagerness to make their own way within the growing city.
Simson's oration equated the establishment of a Jewish community in New York with the birth of the American nation.
The Columbia Jewish Alumni Association (CJAA)
The Columbia Jewish Alumni Association (CJAA) was founded in response to the October 7th invasion of Israel. In recent times, the CJAA has become increasingly vocal in its concerns regarding the safety and well-being of Jewish students at Columbia University. This has been particularly evident in the wake of anti-Israel demonstrations on campus.
The CJAA has expressed "profound concern" over the safety of Jewish students at Columbia, arguing that a "lack of decisive leadership" is fueling the protests. The association has called for Columbia President Minouche Shafik to take "immediate and effective action" to protect the Jewish community, including enforcing rules, calling in the NYPD, and restoring order.
The CJAA penned a letter to Columbia President Nemak (Minouche) Shafik warning that violence against Jewish students on campus is imminent. The letter called for Dr. Shafik to take “all possible steps to protect Jewish safety.” This letter comes one day after the mass arrests on Columbia’s campus and two days following the congressional hearing in which Colombia has been charged with not doing enough to protect its Jewish students on campus. The letter highlighted “unauthorized protests” that they say are “disrupting classes and creating an irrefutably unsafe environment for Jewish students.” Then the letter provided an example, saying, “Within the last 24 hours, for example, protesters assaulted an invited speaker and threatened Jewish students by shouting, ‘We know where you live.’ Immediately outside Columbia’s gates, protesters shouted that ‘October 7 would be every day’ for Jewish students while, on its lawn, protesters called for the destruction of Israel and equated the NYPD and IDF to the KKK.” The letter claimed that suspended students and some suspended faculty members are actively participating in these protests and are “openly fomenting unrest.” It also claims that those unaffiliated with the university are joining the protests. CJAA pointed to a petition organized by Jewish students asking for the ability to take their remaining classes online due to fears of violence and intimidation. CJAA asserted that Columbia is now under “mob rule.” They continue, “A mob - by the way, that is only interested in attention and chaos, rather than thoughtful dialogue or reasoned debate.” The letter concluded with a call to close Columbia’s gates so that those unaffiliated with the university or those who have been suspended cannot access the campus and can be arrested or removed.
The CJAA has also criticized the university's response to professors who have made controversial statements regarding Israel and the October 7th attacks.
In light of these concerns, the CJAA has demanded that President Shafik enforce rules, call in the NYPD, restore order, or resign. The association's activism reflects a growing concern among Jewish alumni regarding the climate for Jewish students at Columbia University.
Contemporary Challenges
Columbia University has faced controversy over anti-Israel demonstrations on its campus. More than 100 protesters were arrested at a "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" on the university's South Lawn, including the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. The university canceled in-person classes.
Videos shared to social media showed continued protests, including a faculty walkout against Columbia's decision to call police to the encampment.
Jewish Columbia assistant professor Shai Davidai claimed his key card to enter the university was deactivated, alleging the university barred him from entering as a safety precaution.
The congressional hearing on Wednesday brought to light the environment in which Jewish students learn at Columbia University. Several congressmen highlighted professors who celebrated the October 7 attack in the classroom and across social media, including Joseph Andoni Massad, Katherine Franke, and Mohamed Abdou.
At the hearing, Dr. Shafik made an effort to show that she was on top of the issue of antisemitism on campus, however many members of congress argued that not enough disciplinary steps have been taken to squash the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish rhetoric on campus. “You have no action, no disciplinary action,” Stefanik told Dr. Shafik. “Speaking to these professors is not enough.
tags: #Columbia #Jewish #Alumni #Association #history
