Antisemitism and Free Speech on Campus

Brett Tomlinson
Princeton Alumni Weekly

Excerpt: Amid a tumultuous semester of often polarized demonstrations by pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups on college campuses, Amaney Jamal, the Palestinian American dean of Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs, and Keren Yarhi-Milo, the Israeli American dean of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, penned an Oct. 30 New York Times op-ed calling for universities to be centers of free speech and “hold difficult conversations without fear of retaliation.”  

This week, Jamal and Yarhi-Milo put some of their ideas into practice, discussing the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the history of diplomacy in the region, and the role universities can play in adding nuance to the discourse at a pair of public conversations, Nov. 28 at Princeton and Nov. 30 at Columbia.

Jacob Katz '23, Leon Skornicki '06
Princeton Alumni Weekly

Excerpt: As PAW has compellingly demonstrated in recent articles, Hamas’ barbarous attacks on Israeli citizens hit close to home for many Princetonians. But the attacks’ aftermath has reached us all. Skyrocketing antisemitism has reverberated around the globe, and sure enough, it made its way through Fitz Randolph Gate. Following two student-led pro-Intifada rallies, concerned students reached out to alumni about unchecked antisemitism on campus.

As alumni, we want current students to guide campus discourse. We had our turn, and now it is theirs. But as Princeton occupies a prominent place in both our personal identities and our national conversation, we have reason to make our voices heard when something is awry. And when exasperated students turn to us and other alumni for help, something is awry.

Micaiah Bilger
College Fix

Excerpt: Students blocked a conservative journalist covering a pro-Palestinian walkout on Thursday at Princeton University, following her and covering her camera with signs and flags.

Alexandra Orbuch, editor in chief of the conservative, independent student newspaper The Princeton Tory, wrote on X the aggressive obstructions made her very uncomfortable. Orbuch and The Princeton Tory published several videos on X showing student protesters repeatedly following the conservative journalist and blocking her camera.

Eden Bendory and Estelle Botton
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: We are writing to respond to The Daily Princetonian’s recent article, “Princeton staff member assaults student at pro-Palestine protest in town.” The article describes the protest in question only as background information to contextualize an incident regarding a University employee assaulting a student. The few words it does devote to the protest paint it as merely “repeat[ing] calls for a ceasefire” and “continu[ing] largely without incident” after the harassment. This claim is false.

Peter Berkowitz
RealClear Politics

Strategists close to the front seek to understand the constellation of circumstances and ideas that give rise to war. So too must responsible commentators far from danger assess the adversaries’ rival claims. The need to grasp a war’s wider frame goes for Hamas’ 10/7 massacres and Israel’s exercise of its right of self-defense.

No shortage of Hamas apologists insist that the jihadists’ mass atrocities perpetrated against civilians in southern Israel and their indiscriminate rocket attacks extending to much of central Israel must be placed in context. But the apologists don’t provide a reliable account of Hamas’ motives, ideas, goals, and conduct; a reasonable summary of Israel’s response; or a scrupulous overview of the Israeli-Arab conflict, not least Islamist enmity toward the Jewish state. Instead, Hamas apologists suppress facts, invent narratives, and repackage outlandish neo-Marxist talking points.

On Oct. 22, 69 professors and 595 students and alumni published in The Daily Princetonian an open letter “in solidarity with Gaza” addressed to university president Christopher Eisgruber. The professors, students, and alumni wrote “to express our unequivocal outrage over the tragic loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives during the past week” but suggested that Israel acting in self-defense was worse than Hamas jihadists butchering civilians. While declining to describe Hamas’ documented atrocities, they accused Israel of engaging in “the targeting of civilians by the relentless bombing of hospitals, homes, roads, schools, universities, and infrastructures of survival in the Gaza Strip” while imposing “unchecked collective punishment.”

Ilai Guendelman
Daily Princetonian

Excerpt: I am an Israeli postdoc at the University. Yesterday, Oct. 25, my plan was to work from home. At around quarter to noon, I saw the security alert from the University about a threat. After a short search online I saw that a pro-Palestinian walkout was planned. I took my flag and drove to the University to show my presence, as part of my freedom of speech, while respecting and honoring the freedom of speech of others, who I do not agree with and who I think sometimes might not speak the truth.

This is the nature of the freedom of speech — the ability to talk, to protest — even if it is uncomfortable to some people. This is a sacred right, and for this reason it should have limits.