Anti-Israel protesters rally outside Columbia University in New York City on April 30, 2024. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)
They explained that in the past, citizens were warned that trespassing on public spaces was enough to warrant incarceration, and the same conduct should warrant lesser measures like expulsion or termination.
"After all, elite universities purport to train not just law-abiding citizens but future leaders," the letter reads. "Universities should also identify students who engage in such conduct so that future employers can avoid hiring them."
The judges also offered their stance on free speech, saying the university should offer neutrality and nondiscrimination when protecting free speech and enforcing the rules of conduct on campus.
NYC PUBLIC SCHOOLS UNDER FIRE FOR FAILING TO ADDRESS ANTISEMITISM: ‘NOT SEEING ANY ACTION’
"Freedom of speech protects protest, not trespass, and certainly not acts or threats of violence or terrorism. Speech is not violence, and violence is not speech," the judges wrote. "It has become clear that Columbia applies double standards when it comes to free speech and student misconduct.
"By favoring certain viewpoints over others based on their popularity and acceptance in certain circles, Columbia has failed as a legitimate, never mind elite, institution of higher education," they added.
The third thing the judges suggested the school do is change the composition of its faculty and administration to restore confidence in Columbia.
Anti-Israel agitators build an encampment on Columbia University’s campus in New York City on April 22, 2024. (Peter Gerber for Fox News Digital)
"I actually agree with them on the substance, but I do find it a bit concerning that the judiciary gets involved with these, sort of, counter boycotts," he said.
Just like everyone else, he explained, judges have First Amendment rights, so there should not be any ethical issues, but he finds it concerning when judges get involved with issues involving protests.
While he may not blame a judge for not wanting to hire from Columbia, the collective action of them getting together and issuing a statement rubs him the wrong way.
But Jacobson also said he has no sympathy for the students and faculty at Columbia, many of whom endorsed boycotting Israel.
"What goes around, comes around, and the student body, not all of them, but a significant percentage … support the boycott of Israel," the professor said. "I have no sympathy for Columbia as an institution. But a boycott is a blunt instrument, and therefore you would be boycotting students who are not participating in this, and that’s, again, another thing that I have very mixed feelings on."
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik leaves the Low Memorial Library on the campus of Columbia University on April 24, 2024. (Fox News Digital)
Eventually, there will be a protest of the protesters or counterprotesters, Jacobson said.
The student and faculty protesters are "so aggressive and so hostile" toward Israel, and so determined to drive Israelis and supporters out of civil society, that he believes it is inevitable that pushback is on the horizon.
Federal judges tend to hire from top tier schools like Columbia, which has become "the poster child" for everything that has gone wrong in academia, Jacobson said.
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"I think it's a little curious that it ends up being 13 federal judges who are the first to send that warning, but I think it is a warning that, and I've said this many times before, that academia has become so radicalized that it cannot be reformed internally," Jacobson said. "The only way to reform it is from outside pressure. I'm not even sure that will work, but it cannot be reformed internally. Places like Columbia are too far gone, and society is going to have to address that. The issue moving forward is not how we are going to reform our universities, because that is going to be a generational effort, but how can we protect society from our universities."
Reuters contributed to this report.
Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.
Story tips and can be sent to Greg.Wehner@Fox.com and on Twitter @GregWehner.
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