Shai Davidai, outspoken Israeli professor at Columbia, leaves the university Controversial advocate for pro-Israel Jewish students says he is departing voluntarily as school closes investigation against him, plans to continue his activism from New York by Luke Tress

https://www.timesofisrael.com/shai-davidai-outspoken-israeli-professor-at-columbia-leaves-the-university/

Shai Davidai, an outspoken Israeli professor at New York City’s Columbia University, said on Wednesday that he was leaving the school and that a Columbia investigation against him had been closed.

Davidai became a prominent and controversial advocate for pro-Israel and Jewish students soon after the October 2023 invasion of Israel, and often clashed with the administration, as the campus was roiled by raucous anti-Israel protests.

Davidai told The Times of Israel that he left Columbia voluntarily.

“I’ve lost all trust in the institution and respect for my colleagues,” Davidai said.

“I feel like it’s a place that is unwilling to change on its own. It’s only doing things when forced by the government or forced by money,” he said. “That’s not a place where I think anyone would want their name to be associated with.”

Earlier Wednesday, Davidai shared a letter from the university saying that an investigation against him was closed without finding any wrongdoing or taking any disciplinary action against him.

The university opened the investigation last year. It was carried out by Columbia’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, which responded to allegations of harassment and discrimination on campus. The office was later replaced by the Office of Institutional Equity, which sent Wednesday’s letter to Davidai, according to a screenshot he shared online.

Davidai said there were aspects of his departure he could not discuss for legal reasons, but that he had told the university, “There is no way that I’ll ever leave before they find me innocent.”