A Message of Thanks to the Task Force on Antisemitism December 09, 2025 Low Library Dear members of the Columbia community: Today, we’re publishing the fourth and final report from Columbia’s Task Force on Antisemitism, focused on the classroom experience. You can read the report in full on our website. The task force based this report, and their previous reports, on conversations with students, faculty, and staff across our campuses. The task force hosted two dozen listening sessions in the spring of 2024 and launched an inclusion and belonging survey in the summer of 2024 (which the University rolled out again in 2025). The task force also extensively reviewed the history of and current debates about academic freedom, and the laws, regulatory guidance, and jurisprudence pertaining to universities. The end result is a series of rigorous and thoughtful analyses and recommendations that cover a very difficult and painful period in the history of this University. This report in particular focuses on the classroom experience and how Columbia must balance the important responsibility of protecting academic freedom and open inquiry with ensuring our classrooms remain free from discrimination. While we know there is more work to do, we’re very grateful to be in a new and much better place today. For that, we owe a debt of gratitude to many, with the co-chairs and members of our Task Force on Antisemitism at the very top of that list. The members of the Task Force on Antisemitism took on this incredible challenge because they care deeply about the safety and wellbeing of all members of our community. As they bring their important work to a close, I want to thank them, on behalf of the entire University, for their efforts. The work of this task force has been an essential part of the University’s efforts to address the challenges faced by our Jewish students, faculty, and staff. I have been heartened by the thoughtful and effective changes we have made over the course of the last two years and by the determination to forge a better future for our University displayed by so many members of our community. Going forward, the University will continue to work on implementing the recommendations of the task force and addressing antisemitism on our campus, guided by the Office of the President. We have also been working this semester to focus on discrimination and hate more broadly on our campuses—which has long been a strong recommendation of the task force. All of this work must become part of our DNA. To Ester Fuchs, Nick Lemann, David Schizer, and all the members of the Task Force on Antisemitism, thank you, again, for everything you have done for Columbia. Thank you for your time, your engagement, your insights, and your care. And thank you for helping us make sure that our University is a place that protects free expression and our academic mission while ensuring that all of the members of our community feel safe, heard, and welcome. Sincerely, Claire Shipman Acting President, Columbia University in the City of New York
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QUALITY POST: What the 2025 numbers actually show ADL’s audit still found incidents in all 50 states. Raw totals were highest in New York (1,160), California (817), and New Jersey (687). Those are also the largest Jewish populations. Assaults were concentrated in New York City. National totals fell from the 2024 peak but stayed far above pre-2023 levels. FBI hate-crime data still has Jews as the large majority of religion-based victims. So “low incident count” in a small state can just mean few Jews, not a better civic culture. adl.org States that currently have the better combined reputationFlorida (especially South Florida). This is the loudest “safe to be openly Jewish” brand in the U.S. right now: large community, state-level enforcement posture, and a political class that treats synagogue security and campus disruption as law-and-order, not a speech puzzle. It also ranks well on economy and is in the U.S. News top 10 overall. Tradeoff: culture-war heat, insurance/climate costs, and it still recorded hundreds of incidents (319 in 2025) because the community is huge. vinnews.com Utah and parts of the Upper Midwest (Minnesota, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Iowa, New Hampshire). These dominate 2026 “best states” lists for schools, fiscal stability, crime, and family metrics. Day-to-day life for a generic resident is often calmer than in NY/CA. Jewish life exists but is thinner.
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What about when he gets free of those three placesWhen Christian finally gets free of the Slough of Despond, Vanity Fair, and Doubting Castle, his journey completely transforms. He enters a landscape that is the absolute antidote to the "dark feeling" and the chaotic information overload of the modern world.In Bunyan’s allegory, escaping those dark places leads him to a state of profound peace and clarity that provides a beautiful blueprint for how to find relief in your own life:🏔️ 1. The Delectable Mountains (The View from Above)Right after escaping Giant Despair, Christian reaches the Delectable Mountains. These mountains are full of gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and they are guarded by shepherds named Knowledge, Experience, Watchful, and Sincere.What it means for you: After years of being trapped in the loops of overthinking, Christian is given a safe sanctuary. The shepherds give him a perspective from a higher ground, letting him look back at the treacherous path he survived with a sense of peace, rather than terror.☀️ 2. The Country of Beulah (Rest and Healing)Near the very end of his journey, Christian enters the land of Beulah. In this country, the air is incredibly sweet and calm. The story notes that here, "they were out of the reach of Giant Despair, and from this place they could not so much as see Doubting Castle." The sun shines night and day, and it is a place of total rest where the traveler waits before crossing over to their final home.What it means for you: Beulah represents a mind that has completely disconnected from the noise of the "Vanity Fair" internet and the heavy weight of global politics. It is a state of mind where the background noise finally goes quiet, and you are allowed to just be, safe and rested.🔑 How He Actually Escapes Doubting CastleThe most important part of the entire story is how Christian gets out of Doubting Castle in the first place. He and his companion Hopeful are locked in the dark dungeon for days, being beaten by Giant Despair.Then, at midnight, Christian suddenly remembers something. He cries out, "What a fool am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty! I have a key in my bosom, called Promise, that will, I am persuaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle." He pulls out the key, puts it in the lock, and the heavy iron doors fly open instantly.The key was in his possession the entire time; he just forgot he had it because he was so focused on the terrifying walls of the dungeon.
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