Columbia University to pay ₹3 cr to Jewish student who used ‘fart spray’ at pro-Palestine rally. Here’s what happened

In a resounding victory for a Jewish student who was wrongfully suspended, Columbia University will pay $395,000 (around ₹3 crore) as a settlement amount, reported the Guardian.

The development comes months after Columbia University and the New York Police Department (NYPD) levelled hate crime allegations against the Jewish student.

Here's what happened

During an on-campus protest against the Gaza war, where around 100 student groups had gathered to demonstrate against the US support for Israel, two Jewish students used fart spray bought from Amazon. Alleging it to be a “chemical attack," the authorities suspended the students for 18 months.

After the incident, Columbia’s interim provost, Dennis Mitchell, in a statement, said, “A deeply troubling incident occurred on the steps of Low Library on Friday. Numerous Columbia and Barnard students who attended a protest later reported being sprayed with a foul-smelling substance that required students to seek medical treatment.”

The foul-smelling substance, which was presumed to be skunk spray, was later found to be harmless. Meanwhile, skunk spray is used as a crowd-control weapon which was developed in Israel and used in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

One of the Israeli students filed a lawsuit in April and called the spray “a harmless expression of his speech.” Later, the university reduced the punishment and agreed to pay the settlement amount.

However, students who suffered the fart spray attack reported symptoms such as nausea, abdominal pain, headaches, appetite loss and irritated eyes, while some required medical treatment.

The Committee on Education & the Workforce's report titled ‘Antisemitism on college campuses exposed’, meanwhile, revealed the US House of Representatives' findings. It observed that Columbia University unfairly targeted Jewish students and termed the punishment for the spraying “disproportionate discipline,” reported the Guardian.

A Jewish undergraduate student at the university called the settlement a “slap in the face” for the university. The student noted that the committee characterised campus protests for Palestinians as antisemitic and said, "It’s disgusting to try to weaponise something with a very real history.”