Columbia Law Professor Who Vilified Israeli Students Says She Was Forced Into Early Retirement
NEW YORK – Tenured Columbia University law professor Katherine Franke is stepping down after 25 years following public criticism and a university investigation into her comments and actions during a pro-Palestinian campus protest last year.
The dismissal follows a Columbia investigation into Franke's comments after a January 2024 campus protest, where two Israeli students were accused of spraying pro-Palestine demonstrators with a foul-smelling substance.
In a letter sent Friday, Franke said she was effectively terminated following a university investigation. "While the university may call this change in my status 'retirement,' it should be more accurately understood as a termination dressed up in more palatable terms," she wrote.