Private Texts Come Back To Bite Columbia's Claire Shipman. Plus, Stifling Free Speech Pays for Yale Law Dean.
THE FREE BEACON'S DAILY NEWS BRIEF
Same as the old boss:
Roughly one year before Claire Shipman became Columbia's acting president, in January 2024, she sent a number of candid text messages about the school's board of trustees. They're now coming to light as Columbia enters its fourth month of negotiations with the Trump administration—and they could prove awkward for Shipman.
In one message, Shipman had an idea for a new board member: "We need to get somebody from the middle east [sic] or who is Arab on our board," she wrote. "Quickly I think. Somehow." One week later, she took aim at one of the board's most outspoken critics of anti-Semitism, Shoshana Shendelman, calling her "extraordinarily unhelpful" before concluding, "I just don't think she should be on the board."
The messages, our Aaron Sibarium reports, were included in a letter Reps. Tim Walberg (R., Mich.) and Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) sent to Columbia on Tuesday. The lawmakers "requested 'clarifications on the attached correspondence,' arguing that it appeared to downplay anti-Semitism on Columbia's campus and could even violate civil rights law."
Birds of a feather:
Free speech and anti-Semitism scandals defined Heather Gerken's tenure as dean of Yale Law School. That's no problem for the left-wing Ford Foundation, which announced Gerken as its new president.
"Gerken made headlines in 2021 when Yale Law School administrators who reported to her spent weeks threatening a Native American law student for sending a lighthearted email invitation to classmates, asking them to a party at his 'trap house' apartment for a Constitution Day celebration," writes the Washington Free Beacon's Collin Anderson. "Roughly two years later, in the wake of Hamas's Oct. 7 massacre, Gerken rebuffed Jewish students who urged her to take a more forceful stance against anti-Semitism, instead referring them to counseling services to get through the 'deeply challenging times.'"
"In this regard, Gerken appears to be a good fit for the Ford Foundation, which has faced anti-Semitism scandals of its own." Shortly after Oct. 7, the foundation began disbursing millions of dollars to foreign organizations that celebrated the attack. The man Gerken is slated to replace, Darren Walker, announced the effort in a statement that referenced "tragic events" in Israel and Gaza but made no mention of who was behind them.
READ MORE: Ford Foundation Taps Scandal-Plagued Yale Law School Dean as Next President
Time's up:
For more than three years, Francesca Albanese has launched baseless attacks against Israel as the U.N.'s special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories. She is supposed to serve another three-year term that will see her keep the position until 2028. The Trump administration wants to change that.
The administration, private communications obtained by our Adam Kredo show, wrote to the U.N. to formally request Albanese's removal. The letter cited Albanese's "virulent antisemitism and support for terrorism" as well as her misrepresentation of her legal qualifications. Though Albanese has claimed to be an "international lawyer," she "has not passed a legal bar examination or been licensed to practice law," according to the letter.
The administration's request came as Albanese began contacting top American companies that do business with Israel, accusing them of contributing to "gross human rights violations," "apartheid," and "genocide." Those threats "constitute an unacceptable campaign of political and economic warfare against the American and worldwide economy," the administration wrote.
In other news:
The University of Pennsylvania will strip biological male swimmer Lia Thomas of all records and titles as part of a deal with the Trump administration that resolves its Title IX violations, the Department of Education announced.
CBS News parent company Paramount is reportedly nearing a settlement with President Donald Trump over its sloppy pre-election Kamala Harris interview edit.
Top Democrats are in a state of "absolute panic and fear" as they decide whether to endorse Zohran Mamdani's "toxic" New York City mayoral campaign or risk a primary challenge from his socialist base.
Our full lineup is below.
Ford Foundation Taps Scandal-Plagued Yale Law School Dean as Next President
Prestigious Virginia K-8 School Hit with Civil Rights Complaint over Environment 'Hostile to Jews'
Former Obama Staffer Who Wished Death on Trump Finds New Work for Zohran Mamdani
Trump, CBS Parent Company Are 'Nearing a Settlement' in Lawsuit Over Kamala Harris Interview: Report
Mamdani won the primary because voters did not turn out. 8 % of registered Dem voters turned out and he got about 50% of that vote or 4% of the total vote. He is toast. The party will leave him hanging and they will support another Dem or maybe a Republican will surprise everyone.
The Ford Foundation is making homage to Henry Ford, a virulent anti-semite by hiring a hack faux academic jew hater. The unmasking of wokeism reveals cringey fascists and others sorta of misogynistic and and anti- human misanthropes.