Patricia Dailey

Patricia Dailey is an associate professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. She has aligned herself with faculty and student groups at Columbia that have taken part in some of the university’s most hostile campaigns against Israel and its supporters.

Faculty Petition at Columbia
Dailey signed a faculty petition at Columbia that declared opposition to the university’s “financial involvements in institutions associated with the State of Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian lands, continued violations of Palestinian human rights, systematic destruction of life and property, inhumane segregation and systemic forms of discrimination.” The petition voiced support for Columbia University Apartheid Divest, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). These groups were at the center of disruptive protests on campus, where antisemitic rhetoric and intimidation of Jewish students were reported.

Letters to the New York State Assembly
In February 2014, Dailey signed a letter to the New York State Assembly opposing proposed legislation that responded to boycotts of Israel. The letter argued that such laws threatened “constitutionally protected academic speech and debate.” Ten days later, she signed another letter to the Assembly, again urging opposition to anti-boycott legislation, and stating that “academics have a right to express their political views through a wide range of protected speech, including boycotts.”

Impact on Campus Climate
By aligning with petitions and letters that defended Columbia’s most radical activist groups, Dailey contributed to an atmosphere in which antisemitism and hostility toward Jewish students were normalized under the guise of faculty-backed political action.