In February 2026, Columbia University released its recommendations for reshaping the university’s approach to Middle Eastern studies.
After Columbia lost $400 million in federal funding over antisemitism allegations in 2025, it reached a settlement with the Trump administration. As part of the settlement, Columbia appointed a senior vice provost and a Regional Review Committee to ensure “balanced” curricula for the Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies departments. Two of this committee’s members, Timothy Mitchell and Bruno Bosteels, signed an October 2023 letter describing Hamas’s October 7 attack as a response to Israel’s long-standing “crushing and unrelenting state violence.”
Part of Columbia’s announcement is the replacement for the Edward Said Professorship in Modern Arab Studies and Literature, previously held by Rashid Khalidi. Khalidi held the position from 2003 to 2024, and left citing disdain over the university’s shifting priorities. The author and historian described Hamas’s October 7 attacks as “inevitable,” and criticized the university’s adoption of the IHRA antisemitism definition, which he said “deliberately, mendaciously, and disingenuously conflates Jewishness with Israel,” making it “impossible” to teach without being accused of antisemitism.
