Emhoff calls Jewish leaders at Columbia University as protests spread to other schools

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff had calls with two Jewish leaders at Columbia University as pro-Palestinian protests spread to campuses across the country, a White House official confirmed. 

Emhoff spoke with the director of Orthodox Union-JLIC at Columbia and Barnard College, Rabbi Elie Buechler, and Columbia Barnard Hillel Director Brian Cohen earlier this week, according to the official. 

“During the calls, the second gentleman recognized that while every American has the right to freedom of speech and to protest peacefully, hate speech and calls for violence against Jews is both antisemitic and unacceptable,” the official said. 

Emhoff’s conversations with the leaders “focused on the immediate need to address antisemitism on college campuses,” the official said, adding that the second gentleman “emphasized that no student should feel unsafe on campus and offered his support on behalf of the administration.”

His calls with Jewish leaders came as students at the Ivy League institution protest Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which followed the deadly Hamas attack on Oct. 7. Protesters set up encampments on campus, calling for Columbia to halt endowment money going to Israeli-linked companies.

Columbia is in ongoing negotiations with students over the removal of the encampment, giving them a Friday deadline to disband. 

The school’s board of trustees, meanwhile, has shown support for the school’s president, Minouche Shafik, with ongoing calls for her to resign. 

“The Columbia University Board of Trustees strongly supports President Shafik as she steers the university through this extraordinarily challenging time,” the board said in a Wednesday statement. “During the search process for this role, President Shafik told us that she would always take a thoughtful approach to resolving conflict, balancing the disparate voices that make up a vibrant campus like Columbia’s, while taking a firm stance against hatred, harassment and discrimination.”

Protests have spread across the country with schools canceling commencement ceremonies, switching class schedules and protesters standing off against law enforcement.