2023-11-01 01:13:00
New York police officers stand guard in front of Columbia University, October 30, 2023 (REUTERS/Jeenah Moon)
At least 292 professors at Columbia University (USA) expressed their dismay and said they were “horrified” on Tuesday by the large number of anti-Semitic incidents on the Manhattan campus. This occurred a day after several other colleagues signed a letter in support of the students who supported the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack.
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The new letter was issued after Jewish students protested on campus due to what they considered a lack of action by the administration, creating an unsafe environment. This unrest arose from at least one attack on an Israeli student, death threats and rampant hate speech, as well as acts of vandalism.
Although the professors favor a robust debate on complex issues related to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, they made it clear that there is no justification for Hamas’ barbaric attack on Israeli civilians. The letter also denounces the recontextualization of these attacks as a form of resistance to the occupation or military action.
Columbia University student Yoni Kurts, class of 2025, speaks to members of the media during a press conference calling on the University administration to support students facing anti-Semitism (REUTERS/Jeenah Moon)
The letter has been signed by leading professors and academics from around the world, including Philip Bobbitt, Tanya Zelevinsky and Asaf Cidon.
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The statement emphasizes that the university will not tolerate violence, inciting speech or hate speech, and condemns any form of intolerance directed at Palestinian and Muslim students. Anti-Semitic incidents are mentioned, such as epithets, physical attacks and the appearance of swastikas since October 7.
Some professors have moved their classes online due to tension on campus, and students feel the need to be cautious in their expressions due to the tense atmosphere.
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The discussion in Columbia regarding the conflict in the Middle East began on the same day as the Hamas terrorist attack. Less than two weeks later, Shai Davidai, a professor at the School of Business, gave a forceful speech on the symbolic university campus in New York, questioning the lack of expressions of repudiation by the presidents of American universities towards the demonstrations by “pro-terrorist” student groups. ” in the context of tension in the Middle East.
A Columbia professor attacked university authorities for the conflict between Israel and Hamas
Below is the full letter:
An Open Letter from Columbia University, Barnard College, and Teachers College Professors at the University Conversation on Hamas Atrocities and the War in Israel and Gaza
There are many statements, letters and counter-letters circulating, and we have no interest in waging a war of words while a real war is being fought. Still, given what we’ve heard from others on campus, we felt moved to write to emphasize three simple points.
First, at a great university like Columbia there should be robust debate about complex and difficult questions, such as whether a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is appropriate or feasible, who is to blame for the miserable conditions in Gaza, and What is the most intelligent strategy, looking forward, to achieve a just and secure peace in the region. The signatories of this letter themselves have diverse opinions on these issues. The university must foster an environment in which debate on these important issues can take place without intimidation or harassment.
FILE PHOTO: Pro-Palestinian students participate in a protest in support of the Palestinians at Columbia University (REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo)
At the same time, there is no excuse for Hamas’ barbaric attack on Israeli civilians, which was a heinous war crime. There is no justification for raping and murdering ordinary citizens in front of their families, mutilating babies, beheading people, using automatic weapons and grenades to hunt and murder young people at a music festival celebrating peace, burning families alive, kidnapping and taking hostages (including vulnerable populations of the elderly, people with disabilities, and young children), parading women hostages in front of chanting crowds, and proudly documenting these nightmarish scenes on social media. We are horrified that anyone would celebrate these monstrous attacks or, as some Columbia faculty have done in a recent letter, attempt to “recontextualize” them as a “salve,” as the “exercise of the right to resist” the occupation, or as “ military action.” We are shocked that anyone at Columbia would attempt to legitimize an organization that does not share any of the University’s core values: democracy, human rights, or the rule of law. Any loss of civilian life during war is terrible, but as faculty colleagues recognized in the letter mentioned above, the law of war clearly distinguishes between tragic but incidental death and suffering of civilians, on the one hand, and deliberate attacks on civilians, on the other. We feel sorry for all the civilians who die or suffer in this war, including so many in Gaza.
However, regardless of what one thinks about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or Israeli policies, the genocidal Hamas massacre was an act of terror and cannot be justified, nor its true purpose obscured by euphemisms and indirect references. We ask the entire university community to unambiguously condemn the Hamas attack. We doubt anyone would attempt to justify this type of atrocity if it were directed against residents of a nation other than Israel.
Finally, the University cannot tolerate violence, speech that incites violence, or hate speech. Just as we condemn any intolerant comments or acts directed at Palestinian and Muslim students, we are dismayed by the spate of anti-Semitic incidents on campus since October 7. These incidents, which include anti-Semitic epithets, physical assaults and swastikas scrawled on bathroom walls, are becoming more frequent and are creating a hostile and unsafe environment that affects our entire community. Just as the University defends other groups from this type of disgusting behavior, it is essential to do the same for Jewish and Israeli students. To do otherwise would betray our ideals and the values of Columbia as a great university.
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