jews in the d

SCAN THIS PAGE
TO READ U-M
PRESIDENT MARK
SCHLISSEL’S LETTER.

Taking
Action

U-M disciplines
professor for putting
his political beliefs
above his students.

SAMANTHA STOLOFF/SAMIISTOLOFFPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

KERI GUTEN COHEN
STORY DEVELOPMENT EDITOR

Junior Noa Friedman
of White Plains, N.Y.,
a pro-Israel activ-
ist, and sophomore
Emily Reisler of
Chicago pose for the
#GoBlueAndWhite social
media campaign Oct. 11
on the Diag at U-M in
response to the recent
anti-Israel incidents on
campus.

Standing I
Strong

Students, parents react to
incidences of anti-Israel,
anti-Semitic stances at U-M.

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

n spite of a semester that has so
far been rocked by two instruc-
tors denying letters of recom-
mendation to students desiring to
study in Israel and a visiting lectur-
er equating Benjamin Netanyahu
with Adolf Hitler, Jewish students at
the University of Michigan headed
into fall break with their heads held
high.
During a social media photogra-
phy campaign Oct. 11 called “Go
Blue and White,” dozens of Jewish
students and Israel supporters
strolled the Diag wearing blue and
white clothing or T-shirts showing
their pride in Israel, being Jewish
and being a Wolverine.
“This past week, I’ve been
flooded with calls and texts from
(out-of-town) friends and family
asking me how can I go to a uni-
versity that has such an anti-Israel
environment,” said junior Noa
Friedman of White Plains, N.Y.,
who is active with pro-Israel groups
such as i-LEAD Michigan (Israel
Leadership, Education, Advocacy
and Dialogue).
“Despite everything that’s hap-
pened, today [Go Blue and White
day] showed us we can walk
around our campus as proud Jewish
Wolverines and supporters of

A

Israel.”
Friedman plans to study at Tel
Aviv University in the spring of
2019 and she has already confirmed
which professor will be writing her
recommendation letter.
Across campus, Alexa Smith of
Livingston, N.J., a senior at the
Penny Stamps School
of Art & Design, han-
dled a flood of calls
and texts from media
after her viral social
media posts depict-
ing anti-Semitic and
Alexa Smith
pro-BDS images at a
mandated lecture got
global attention. Last week, in the
days following the lecture, she juggled
press inquiries and her academic
demands with meetings with the
design school’s dean and Dr. Robert
Sellers, U-M’s chief diversity officer. She
proposed U-M should adhere to the
International Holocaust Remembrance
Alliance (IHRA) definition of
anti-Semitism (bit.ly/2GXsAMR).
“In order for anti-Semitism
on this campus to be tackled
head on, it must first be defined,”
Alexa wrote Oct. 8 on Facebook.
“Example 10 of the IHRA definition
states that ‘drawing comparisons of
contemporary Israeli policy to that

month after University of
Michigan professor John
Cheney-Lippold rescinded
an offer — because of his political
beliefs in support of Palestinians — to
write student Abigail Ingber a letter
of recommendation
to study abroad at Tel
Aviv University, the
university has taken
disciplinary action.
A letter dated Oct.
3 to Cheney-Lippold
John Cheney- from Elizabeth Cole,
Lippold
interim dean of U-M’s
College of Literature,
Science and the Arts, which the JN
obtained, stated the tenured American
and digital studies associate professor
will not get a merit raise this academic
year and will not be allowed sabbati-
cals for two years, including a planned
sabbatical this January.
Cole’s letter further stated the pro-
fessor could be subject to more dis-
cipline, including dismissal, if similar
conduct occurs. According to the let-
ter, Cole wrote that Cheney-Lippold’s
“conduct has fallen far short of the
University’s and College’s expectations
for how LSA faculty interact with and
treat students,” that this letter “is a
strong warning that your behavior in
this circumstance was inappropriate
and will not be tolerated” and that
he is not to use “student requests for
recommendations as a platform to
discuss your personal political beliefs.”
The letter also took Cheney-
Lippold to task for writing letters
of recommendation for two other
students who wanted to study abroad
in Israel, but then denying Ingber.
Cole’s letter says the professor stated:
“I wrote letters for them because I did
not have tenure.” Although Ingber
asked for the recommendation letter

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jn

October 18 • 2018

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