To be clear, we abhor any expression of anti-Semitism and wholeheartedly reject any role for anti-Semitism on our campuses. Likewise, we believe it is dangerous to confuse criticism of Israel or Zionism with anti-Semitism. Equating criticism of any nation with inherent racism jeopardizes basic democratic freedoms on and off campus. As the ACLU wrote in its November statement, a university “cannot fulfill its mission as a forum for vigorous dialogue” if it controls the opinions of faculty members and students, however much any of us may disagree with them or find them offensive.
In a nationwide crackdown on pro-Palestinian speech, students have had their scholarships revoked, job offers withdrawn and student groups suspended. In Columbia, protesters reported being sprayed with what they said was “skunk,” a chemical weapon used by the Israeli military. At Northwestern, two black students faced criminal charges, which were later dropped, for publishing a parody of a pro-Palestinian newspaper. at Cornell, students were arrested during a peaceful demonstration. In a shocking episode of violence last fall, three Palestinian students, two of them wearing kaffirs, were shot while walking near the University of Vermont.
Many more cases of student repression on college campuses are unfolding even as we write this.
Academic freedom, as defined by the American Association of University Professors in the mid-20th century, provides protection for the pursuit of knowledge by faculty members whose job it is to teach, learn, and research both inside and outside the academy. Not only does this resonate with the Constitution’s free speech protections, but international human rights law also affirms the centrality of academic freedom to the right to education and the institutional autonomy of educational institutions.
Across the United States, attacks on free speech are on the rise. In recent years, right-wing groups opposed to the teaching of critical race theory have sought to undermine these principles through measures that include restrictions on the discussion of history and structural racism in curricula, increased scrutiny of lectures and courses deemed to promote dissent . and disciplinary proceedings against academics working on these issues.
What people may not realize is that discourse critical of Israel’s occupation and apartheid policies has long been censored, posing persistent challenges for those of us who support academic freedom. Long before October 7th, speech and action at NYU in support of the Palestinians faced intense and unwarranted scrutiny.
