You can probably guess why some faculty members are opposed to this.
Gothamist reports:
Columbia University’s plan to open a center in Israel divides facultyColumbia University’s announcement that it would open a new global center in Tel Aviv, Israel, has divided its faculty and raised concerns from some that the site would be off-limits to many students and faculty due to Israeli government restrictions.“There are a number of people who would not be able to use that global center because of Israel’s essentially apartheid policies,” said Katherine Franke, a law professor who was barred from entering Israel in 2018 because of her work with Jewish Voice for Peace, a group critical of the Israeli government’s policies and its treatment of Palestinians.“We would never tolerate this in the United States, of not allowing people to participate in Columbia programs because they have a criticism of the United States foreign policy, but we’re doing exactly that in the state of Israel,” said Franke, who signed a faculty letter opposing the new site. Some 107 faculty signed the letter as of Friday.But an even larger faculty contingent – numbering 171 as of Friday – signed on to a separate letter voicing support for the new center, saying it would be “a positive step in the intellectual life of the university.” It urged the administration not to back down in the face of faculty opposition.University spokesperson Ben Chang told Gothamist, “the aim of the Tel Aviv Global Center is to be inclusive, building partnerships across Israeli society, including Palestinians, and to provide access to all segments of the society.”
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