How should universities deal with controversy in the midst of horrors?
Both Harvard and Stanford are having troubles with talking about Israel and Hamas. Below are two news articles, and a letter...
Here's the NY Times, on Harvard:
At Harvard, a Battle Over What Should Be Said About the Hamas Attacks. After a student group blamed Israel for the violence, Lawrence Summers, a former university president, condemned the leadership for not speaking up. By Anemona Hartocollis, Stephanie Saul and Vimal Patel
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And here's the SF Chronicle on Stanford and Berkeley:
Stanford, UC Berkeley respond to Israel-Hamas war amid campus debates by Nanette Asimov
"Rather than condemn the brutal invasion by Hamas into Israel, some student groups at universities across the country are turning the message around, using posters, social media posts and statements in campus newspapers to criticize Israel for its historic hard line against Palestinians.
"And some prominent universities have let them.
"On Wednesday, dozens of faculty members, including three Nobel laureates, sent a letter to Stanford leaders condemning the university’s mild response to the crisis and to pro-invasion sentiments expressed on campus.
"The letter to interim President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez chastised Stanford not only for referring to the murder of at least 1,200 Israelis and more than 100 people taken hostage merely as the “Middle East conflict,” but also for failing to remove “extremely offensive banners” on campus calling for the abolition of Israel, and for standing by as Jewish students were targeted online after the invasion by Hamas.
“This situation calls for a clear condemnation of terrorism and a strong stance in support of basic human rights and dignity,” says the letter signed by faculty across many disciplines and by three Nobelists: Michael Levitt, who won for chemistry, and the economists Paul Milgrom and Alvin Roth.
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Here's the Stanford letter:
Dear President Saller
and Provost Martinez,
We, members of the Stanford community — faculty, staff, students, and alumni — feel the obligation to share our thoughts on the university's response to the recent events in Israel and Gaza.
Many members of the Israeli and Jewish communities on campus are experiencing the hardest, most stressful days of their lifetime. Many Stanford faculty members and students have been reaching out to their Jewish and Israeli friends and colleagues, to extend their sympathy and support. These past few days have been terrifying and incredibly painful for us all, and this acknowledgment is heartwarming and greatly appreciated.
With that said, we must respectfully convey our concerns regarding the wording used in the messages sent by Stanford University as an institution, which, unintentionally, downplays the horrific gravity of the situation. Furthermore, over the last few days extremely offensive banners, calling to abolish Israel “by all means necessary”, have been on display in various spots on campus. Jewish, Israeli, and Zionist students at Stanford are being targeted both on campus and on Stanford-affiliated platforms. We are aware of some messages published by various University officials. However, the University has yet to take appropriate action against what is happening.
Since Saturday morning, Hamas has murdered more than 1,200 Israelis, many of them women, children, and elderly Holocaust survivors, in their homes and on the streets. Over one hundred more have been brutally kidnapped and taken hostage. These include young women paraded naked through the streets, toddlers ruthlessly snatched away from their parents, and elderly people in wheelchairs. The murdered and kidnapped are not just Israelis, they are also citizens of the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Nepal, Thailand, and Germany. These are not a result of “the Middle East conflict”, as stated in the University's message from earlier today. Rather, it is the result of a horrific, inhumane, terror attack by Hamas that has shaken the international and Jewish communities in a way we have not experienced since the darkest days of the previous century.
While there may be an instinct to chalk this up to just another skirmish in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, it is imperative that all of us are able to understand the gravity of these acts and call out terrorism. Phrasing these acts as “the Middle East conflict” inadvertently suggests a moral equivalence between the actions of terrorists and of those trying to protect innocent lives.
We believe that in an academic institution like Stanford, where critical thinking and accurate representation of events are paramount, it is essential to be mindful of the language we use. This situation calls for a clear condemnation of terrorism and a strong stance in support of basic human rights and dignity. Let us be clear, we are not demanding support of the Israeli government's policies vis a vis Gaza or the occupation, and in fact, many of us are ardent activists against these policies. Rather, as a bastion of critical and nuanced thinking, Stanford should be able to hold any and all of these positions while also unequivocally calling out unequivocal evil, as President Biden did earlier today. The Israel-Palestine conflict is complex and nuanced. Condemnation of the murder, rape, and kidnapping of innocent civilians should not be.
We believe that Stanford should immediately take action: it must voice its unambiguous condemnation of the horrifying actions taken by Hamas these past days. It must reach out to Israeli and Jewish students on campus and voice a clear message of support in these dire times. The university must act, firmly and immediately, to prevent hate speech, including antisemitic voices on campus, which, unfortunately, has already seen troubling instances of antisemitism in recent years. The university must ensure the safety of our Stanford community, which includes our Jewish and Israeli members. The lack of appropriate response is deeply troubling to us, as faculty, staff, students, and alumni of this university. Stanford’s failure to act appropriately is unacceptable.
Thank you for your attention to this matter, as well as for reaching out and offering us your support. We hope we can continue to engage in thoughtful dialogue.
Sincerely,
Michael Levitt, Robert W. and Vivian K. Cahill Professor in Cancer Research, Department of Structural Biology, Nobel Prize Laureate
Paul Milgrom, Leonard and Shirley Ely Professor, Department of Economics, Nobel Prize Laureate
Alvin Roth, Craig and Susan McCaw Professor, Department of Economics, Nobel Prize Laureate
Anat Admati, George G.C. Parker Professor of Finance and Economics, GSB
Lior Almagorl, esearch scientist (staff), Department of Structural Biology
Itai Ashlagi, Professor of Management Science and Engineering
Laren Becker, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Stanford SOM
Gill Bejerano, Professor Computer Science and Developmental Biology
...
and dozens more signers, in alphabetical order...
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