Columbia University deans are caught sending shocking text messages during anti-Semitism panel - as photos of sneering group chat are revealed

Three Columbia University deans have been placed on leave after being caught exchanging shocking text messages during a panel on anti-Semitism. 

Images captured by an attendee showed Susan Chang-Kim, Matthew Patashnick and Cristen Kromm firing off dismissive texts about the conference on hostility targeted at Jews on campus on May 31. 

As speakers spoke of the rise in anti-Jewish sentiment following Hamas' October 7 terrorist attacks, the deans sent each other vomiting emojis and inferred that speakers were only there for the event's 'fundraising potential.' 

In an apology to Columbia's Board of Visitors, dean of the University's Columbia College Josef Sorett - who was also part of the texts but has not been disciplined - said the texts 'don't indicate the views of any individual or the team.' 

Sorett's apology also slammed the alumni in the audience who caught the texts over Chang-Kim's shoulder, who he said was guilty of an 'invasion of privacy.' 

The emergence of the texts has sparked outrage on the campus, which was rocked by months-long anti-Israel protests in the wake of its war with Hamas. 

To tackle the crisis, Columbia staged the event to bring together a number of voices on Jewish life at the institution, including Brian Cohen, executive director of Columbia’s Kraft Center for Jewish Life and former Columbia Law School dean David Schizer, co-chair of the elite school’s antisemitism task force. 

The speakers also included one Jewish alumna breaking down in tears when she described her sophomore daughter's experience on campus. 

But as they spoke, the three deans disparaged their efforts, in text messages first reported by the Washington Free Beacon. 

In one set of texts, Kromm showed his distaste for a 2023 Spectator op-ed titled 'Sounding the Alarm,' written by Columbia's campus rabbi Yonah Hain, by referencing the article with vomiting emojis. 

As the mother burst into tears,  he quipped, 'And we thought Yonah sounded the alarm.' 

'This panel is really making the administration look like jokers,' another text read.  

The deans were also caught implying that the speakers had other motives outside of raising awareness of anti-Semitism on campus, and were exploiting the situation for their own gain. 

'He knows exactly what he’s doing and how to take full advantage of this moment. Huge fundraising potential,' Pataschnick, the associate dean for student and family support, texted Chang-Kim. 

'Double urgh,' Chang-Kim responded. 

The administrators also cast doubt over stories from Jewish speakers about the experiences of anti-Semitism in the student population. 

Schizer told the auditorium that he was dismayed at how 'you could be an undergraduate who (wants to join a club)… and all of a sudden you find out that actually, because you're a Zionist and you're proud of your ties with Israel, that you're either explicitly kicked out or you're just not welcome. 

'And to my mind, that is utterly unacceptable.' 

'Did we really have students being kicked out of clubs for being Jewish?' Chang-Kim questioned, to which Pataschnick said 'to my knowledge no one was actively kicked out.' 

After the text messages sparked backlash on the campus, Sorett apologized in an email the the Board of Visitors for the 'harm' the exchanges caused. 

He insisted that the comments 'don't indicate the views of any individual or the team,' and 'reiterated his commitment to learning from this situation and other incidents over the last year to build a community of respect and healthy dialogue.' 

A Columbia spokesperson added to the New York Post: 'We are committed to combatting antisemitism and taking sustained, concrete action to ensure Columbia is a campus where Jewish students and everyone in our community feels safe, valued, and able to thrive.' 

Following the exposure of the texts, Columbia University placed the three deans on leave. 

'The Dean of Columbia College informed his team today that three administrators have been placed on leave pending a university investigation of the incident that occurred at the College alumni reunion several weeks ago,' the college told the Washington Free Beacon.  

Sorett added to the outlet that after his own participation in the texts, he 'reiterated his commitment to learning from this situation and other incidents over the last year to build a community of respect and healthy dialogue.'