A letter signed by more than 300 UCLA faculty members demanded that the school administration denounce pro-Hamas protests that incite violence against Jewish students and teachers.
It's one more sign that American universities are beginning a tentative pushback against the undemocratic, illiberal, terrorist-loving left. The faculty's sympathies may be with the Palestinians, but the open incitement to violence while cheering on Hamas terrorists is a bridge too far for many left-wing faculty members.
The letter said that the Hamas' massacre "should be condemned irrespective of political views," that the administration must "make the strongest possible statements" condemning the attacks, and that there is no room for moral equivalence, "both-sideism," or ambiguity.
"[W]hile we all cherish the First Amendment and its guarantees of freedom of speech and assembly, UCLA must ensure that any hate speeches and celebrations of the Hamas massacre by students and faculty on our campus are prevented from crossing the line from protected speech to unlawful incitement," the letter reads. "We were horrified to see Pro-Palestinian rallies on campus in which the massacres by Hamas were celebrated, including explicit calls for violence (including chanting 'Intifada' or event advertisements featuring images of weapons/violence)."
What makes this letter different is its specific demands that the university administration condemn all pro-Hamas demonstrations that celebrate the deaths of Israelis.
"Such celebrations create an atmosphere of fear; one cannot imagine that UCLA will allow for celebrations of the killing of George Floyd, or for celebrations of the Armenian genocide, or the celebrations of the 9/11 attacks," the letter reads. "It is inconceivable why such celebrations are not denounced by the UCLA leadership, regardless of political views. The atmosphere on campus results in Jewish students, staff, and faculty who are afraid to be on campus, show solidarity with Israel, or practice their freedom of religion in public."
The letter also urges the university to label Hamas as a terrorist organization and to hold student groups and UCLA community members accountable if they directly participate in incitement by enforcing existing UCLA policies prohibiting this conduct. The faculty said distributing event invitations that encourage incitement would be an example of direct participation.
The faculty members' letter comes as pro-Palestinian student groups at various colleges and universities across the country have released statements and organized demonstrations supporting Hamas' attack against Israel, even as many of the universities themselves condemned the acts of terrorism.
Columbia University in New York recently took action against anti-Israeli student groups by suspending two of them from all university assistance until at least the end of the semester.
The Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) are prevented from holding rallies on campus and receiving university funding. And at Brandeis University, SJP has been kicked off campus.
"National SJP has called on its chapters to engage in conduct that supports Hamas in its call for the elimination of the only Jewish state in the world and its people. Such expression is not protected by Brandeis' principles of free speech," Brandeis spokeswoman Julie Jette said.
At MIT, a math professor finally had enough of the classroom disruptions. Professor Retsef Levi posted a video of a pro-Hamas protester interrupting his class to spout Hamas propaganda.
Today, Jewish and Israeli MIT students were physically prevented from attending class by a hostile group of pro-Hamas and anti-Israel MIT students that call themselves the CAA. This is after students from the CAA harassed MIT staff members in their offices for being Jewish and interrupted classes in the past few weeks. All of this has occurred with no clear response from the administration. With each passing day, MIT admin’s silence makes Jewish and Israeli students feel unsafe at MIT.
I'm not going to go so far as to say that the tide has turned against pro-Hamas protesters. But there is clearly pushback by saner voices on campus, and some administrators are heeding the call for opposition to violence and radicalism.
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