Illustrative: Thousands of anti-Israel protesters from the Midwest gather in support of Palestinians, march and march through Chicago’s Loop District on October 21, 2023. Photo: Alexandra Buxbaum/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Wellesley College President Paula Johnson responded to faculty by pressuring them to condone some anti-Israel rhetoric on campus, noting in an open letter that the Massachusetts school interprets “some” anti-Zionist rhetoric as harmful to Jewish students.
Johnson, who has served as the college’s president since July 2016, made the announcement on Saturday in response to a letter from the college asking her to register, saying that any criticism of Israel or Zionism should not be characterized as anti-Semitic.
“I want to make it clear that Wellesley would not make such a statement,” Johnson said. “In fact, some of the anti-Israel and anti-Zionist rhetoric can create a hostile environment for many of our students.”
Johnson added that the faculty members’ statements in their letter, which accused Israel of committing a “genocidal attack on Gaza,” are part of the problem.
“The letter ignores how opinions and statements of the type expressed in the letter could threaten Israel’s existence and heighten concerns for Jewish students on our campus,” she wrote, affirming the college’s commitment to balancing its policies prohibiting hate speech with its mission of preventing hate speech. Promoting academic freedom and freedom of expression. “Once again, Wellesley strongly rejects any invitation to contribute to these damages.”
wellesley college, Alma mater Former US Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright are currently being investigated by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights over allegations that they violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by failing to respond to an anti-Semitic incident leading up to the venue in October.
The complaint that prompted the government’s investigation into the college was filed by the Louis D. Brandeis Human Rights Under Law on November 9. She cited an incident in which a Munger Hall residential employee sent an email to students that stated, “There should be no space, consideration, or support for Zionism with the Wellesley College community.” The employee, who was never punished, continued to contact Jewish students Who complained about the email “Some weak bitch Daddy [for real]“On a personal Instagram account that the resident students you supervise and serve can access.
The October incident is not the first anti-Semitism scandal at Wellesley College. In 2022, the journal’s editorial board Wellesley Newsthe campus’s official newspaper, endorsed the Mapping Project — an American pro-boycott organization of Israel, which promotes a conspiracy theory that claims to show a connection between Zionism, police brutality, and the “colonization of Palestine” — a decision that the newspaper’s student-led staff later overturned.
Johnson denounced it unequivocally Wellesley News The organization’s endorsement, saying that “Wellesley College rejects a mapping project promoting anti-Semitism.”
“To claim that Jewish people and Jewish organizations are responsible for a range of societal harms and to call for action against them is, by definition, anti-Semitism,” Johnson added.
The clash between Johnson and Wellesley faculty comes amid rising anti-Semitism on college campuses across the West. Universities have become centers of such anti-Semitism since the October 7 Hamas massacre across southern Israel, with students and faculty demonizing Israel and justifying the Palestinian terror group’s attack. Incidents of harassment and even violence against Jewish students also increased. As a result, Jewish students expressed feeling unsafe and unprotected on campus. In some cases, Jewish communities on campuses were forced to endure threats of rape and mass slaughter.
A recent poll, published by Hillel International, found that 37% of Jewish college students have felt the need to hide their Jewish identity on campus since the October 7 atrocities, in which about 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians, and another 240 were taken prisoner. Hostages in Gaza. The survey also found that 35% of respondents said there were acts of hatred or violence against Jews on campus. The majority of those surveyed said they were dissatisfied with their university’s response to these events.
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In a recent statement, the president of Wellesley College took a strong stand against extremist anti-Zionist rhetoric, condemning the use of inflammatory language and divisive tactics. Additionally, the president also announced the dismissal of several faculty members who had been found to be promoting such rhetoric. This decisive action demonstrates the college’s commitment to fostering a respectful and inclusive environment for all members of its community. The president’s statement has sparked important discussions about academic freedom and the responsibility of educators to engage in constructive dialogue.