Back to Timeline
Avatar
Kate Litvak Unofficial
Outrageous: non-Jews and known antisemites are lecturing the Jews on how to properly combat antisemitism. Northwestern edition

After numerous documented antisemitic escapades on campus following October 7, Northwestern set up a Committee to Combat Antisemitism and Hate.

16 members. 9 Jews, two of them are far left, one is a public supporter of antisemitic organizations. Among the remaining 7 non-Jews, two opposed the creation of the committee on antisemitism; one is a member of a pro-Hamas organization, and a few are assorted DEI bureaucrats.

After the university president struck a deal with hamasniks, the 7 non-far-left Jews resigned in protest.

The remaining 9 committee members — 7 non-Jews and 2 far-left Jews — are now lecturing the rest of us on what it takes to fight antisemitism.

It turns out, we cannot talk about antisemitism without... you knew it... simultaneously talking about “anti-Muslim, anti-Black, and anti-Arab” hate.

Now, imagine: a group of 7 non-Blacks on the committee from which 7 Blacks just resigned in protest is teaching the Black community that “all lives matter”.

Especially imagine that 4 of those “all-lives-matter” non-Blacks are known racists and support the Klan.

JUST IMAGINE.

Cannot imagine? That's what antisemitism is. Applying to the Jews the standards that do not apply to anyone else. Antisemitism.

Here are the “all-lives-matter” members of the antisemitism committee (their signatures are on the bottom of the letter without affiliations):

Bryan Brayboy
SESP Dean and Carlos Montezuma Professor of Education and Social Policy

Emily Babb
Associate Vice President for Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance

Mona Dugo
Assistant Vice President of Wellness and Dean of Students

Tarek Elmasry
Trustee

Reema Habiby
Associate Professor of Pediatrics

Mahdi Haseeb
Student

Heidi Kitrosser
William W. Gurley Professor of Law

Nour Kteily
Professor of Management and Organizations and Co-Director of the Dispute Resolution Research Center

Robert Launay
Professor of Anthropology

Jessica Winegar
Professor and the Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani Chair in Middle Eastern Studies

Clyde Yancy
Magerstadt Professor of Medicine and Vice Dean for Diversity and Inclusion

May 2, 2024 To: President Schill, Northwestern University, Peter Barris, Chair, Northwestern Board of Trustees We write in response to the resignations of our peer committee members, which we first learned of yesterday afternoon. We know their decisions were not reached without careful thought. Given their departure, we conclude, with regret, that the committee as currently constituted cannot continue to function. We remain steadfast in our belief that it is now more important than ever to combat hate on university campuses, while simultaneously safeguarding free speech and expression and academic freedom. The fight against Antisemitism can only be strengthened by an equally firm commitment to fighting anti-Muslim, anti-Black, anti-Arab, and all other form of hate. In other words, there is no room for hate, in any form. We also must remember that American Jews, like all Americans, have a range of political and policy views. For example, two of the signatories to this letter are proud Jews, no less so because they continued to support this Committee's efforts over the past week. Recent events only strengthen the need for Northwestern to engage with effective and actionable input that will address worrisome cases of hate at our institution. Many students are grieving and fearful. Some faculty are concerned or feeling disillusioned. These are our students; the faculty members are our colleagues and friends. Given the urgency of healing our community, we very much hope that you will pursue the Committee's goals through other means, perhaps by appointing a new committee in the near future or by incorporating this committee's charge into that of another, existing committee. Finally, we want to share a message that we hoped to send to the community over this past weekend. There has been some confusion to the effect that we were unable to reach consensus on a statement condemning antisemitism. To be clear: we abhor and reject antisemitism. We stand against hate. Our committee, including the signatories of this letter agreed in principle with what follows; we were working toward consensus on specific language when the conversations ended. We include the most recent version of that letter-which we were planning to further edit in good faith until we could arrive at consensus-here: The President's Advisory Committee on Preventing Antisemitism and Hate is appalled by the clear expressions of Antisemitism and Islamophobia on Northwestern's campus. We affirm that freedom of speech and expression, and the right to assembly must be fiercely protected, at Northwestern and elsewhere. The right to criticize governments, policies, and administrations is essential, even when it results in expressions that make others uncomfortable. But Northwestern is also entitled to draw the line, on its own premises, at virulent and intimidating expressions of Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and hate or threats of violence against members of our community.Over the past four days, we have seen instances of the line being crossed and we feel compelled by the charge of our committee to make a statement condemning the hateful and discriminatory behavior that has emerged. We have received images of a sign posted on campus featuring an Antisemitic image of President Schill with horns. There was a crossed-out Star of David posted on the fence by Deering Meadow. The words "Death to Israel" were spray-painted on a university building. We have heard from countless Jewish students who have reported feeling unsafe and unwelcome on campus. We have also heard from Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian students in Deering Meadow who have been on the receiving end of racial slurs, been called terrorists, and in some cases been spat on. Jewish protestors in Deering Meadow, too, have reported being spat on and subjected to vile slurs associating them with Nazis. While we support the right to free expression and know that the majority of our students and community support peaceful protest and counter-protest, the impact of these behaviors is profound. We strongly condemn those who have crossed the line. We are committed to ensuring that Northwestern remains a place for vigorous debate, and that it not become a breeding ground for Antisemitism and Islamophobia. Our community members have a right to feel safe. Northwestern is a premier higher education institution. It is a home to deep thinking; a site for teaching and learning and working together to solve major societal challenges. As an institution, we believe in academic freedom and the freedom of expression. We also believe in the basic humanity of all peoples. Hate has no place here. Respectfully, Bryan Brayboy Emily Babb Mona Dugo Tarek Elmasry Reema Habiby Mahdi Haseeb Heidi Kitrosser Nour Kteily Robert Launay Jessica Winegar Clyde Yancy