Columbia University will not divest from Israel, a top official at the Ivy League school said on Monday, rejecting a key demand of pro-Palestinian protesters who have set up camp at the New York City campus over the past couple of weeks.
In a statement posted on the university’s website, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik said that talks between a small group of academic leaders and student organizers that began last week had broken down.
“Regretfully, we were not able to come to an agreement,” Shafik said, noting that the negotiators had sought a “path that would result in the dismantling of the encampment and adherence to University policies going forward.”
Shafik said the university’s goal for the talks was to find a “collaborative resolution” that would bring an end to an encampment on a school lawn and a commitment from protesters to adhere to rules for…
