Antisemitism and Free Speech on Campus

Robert Barba
Wall Street Journal

Excerpt: Three Columbia University deans, who were placed on indefinite leave last month over insensitive text messages they sent during a panel about Jewish life on campus, are resigning, a university spokeswoman said Thursday.

Paul Larkin
Heritage Foundation

Excerpt: The text of the Constitution prohibits the adoption of a religious qualification as a prerequisite for holding federal office, and the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause bars the federal or state governments from denying anyone the ability to adopt whatever religious beliefs he or she chooses to treat as sacred.

But culture can be upstream or downstream of the law. In the case of antisemitism, American society did not extirpate it; it merely drove antisemitism underground, where it lay in wait for a chance to return. Sadly, it is back, as the events on America’s campuses have proved in the months since Hamas launched its brutal, murderous, and savage attack on Israel and its people on October 7, 2023.

Francesca Block
The Free Press

Excerpt: Don’t expect the anti-Israel protests that roiled college campuses earlier this year to disappear for good. In fact, recent moves from one university group suggest they might get far worse when school starts back in the fall.

Last week, NYU’s Palestine Solidarity Committee rebranded as the People’s Solidarity Coalition and announced a new mission hinting that they are prepared to use violence in their fight to “dismantle” the college’s “involvement in settler-colonial occupation, genocide and imperial wars.” The group went on to state that they “recognize and welcome the diversity of tactics that lead to victory,” including “armed struggle, non-violent direct action, cultural production, and world building.” The group declared it will “not condemn the brave actions of our allies nor will we limit ourselves to resistance through organizational means.”

Steven Porter
Boston Globe

Excerpt: Prosecutors are pressing forward with formal criminal charges against most of the 12 people who were arrested when pro-Palestinian demonstrators attempted to establish an encampment May 1 at the University of New Hampshire.

A prosecutor with the UNH Police Department filed formal complaints Wednesday against eight defendants, including six who were UNH students at the time of their arrest, alleging they committed misdemeanor trespassing and disorderly conduct by refusing to comply with a dispersal order, according to court records.

Ryan Quinn
Inside Higher Ed

Excerpt: Law professor Katherine Franke has long been outspoken in her support of Palestinians. Now, after House Republicans and her university president called her out in an antisemitism hearing, she faces potential termination.

Michelle N. Amponsah, Joyce E. Kim, and Tilly R. Robinson
Harvard Crimson

Excerpt: The Harvard College Administrative Board reversed its decision to suspend five students for participating in the pro-Palestine encampment earlier this year after the Faculty Council criticized its handling of the cases.

The College informed students on Tuesday of their updated disciplinary charges, which saw the suspensions downgraded to probations of varying lengths, according to a person familiar with the decisions who was granted anonymity to discuss disciplinary matters.