"A faculty rebellion is brewing at Columbia University against President Lee Bollinger over his handling of the university's investigation into the conduct of professors in the Middle East studies department.

Leading the way is a former provost of the university, Jonathan Cole, who in a speech on Tuesday night before a restive gathering of professors and students strongly suggested
that Mr. Bollinger wasn't doing enough to defend faculty members from accusations that they have intimidated Jewish students.

Speaking for almost an hour and drawing applause from the audience, which included some of the scholars under investigation, Mr. Cole said in no uncertain terms that Columbia is under attack by what he described as outside political forces.

When the content of a professor's views is under attack, Mr. Cole said, 'leaders of research universities must come to the professor's defense.'

He said the pressures bearing down on the university reminded him of the climate that
existed on American campuses a half-century ago during the McCarthy era.

'We are witnessing a rising tide of anti-intellectualism,' Mr. Cole said, calling the present situation at the university 'another era of intolerance and repression....'"

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