JULY 1 • 2021 | 13

F

ollowing the May 
conflict between 
Hamas and Israel, 
University of 
Michigan students, 
parents and alumni were 
astonished at an onslaught 
of one-sided statements con-
demning Israel from student 
organizations such as the U-M 
Central Student Government 
(CSG), the College of 
Literature, Science and the 
Arts (LSA), an email sent by 
the Ross School of Business 
BBA Council to all its con-
tacts, and dozens of others.
All echo the same accusa-
tory language that Israel is 
committing acts of apartheid, 
genocide and settler colonial-
ism. The statements’ language 
focuses on Israel’s displace-
ment and violence toward 
Palestinians but did not con-
demn Hamas’ firing more than 
4,000 rockets into Israel with 
intent to kill civilians. 
In support of the boycott, 
divestment and sanctions 
movement (BDS) against 
Israel, the U-M CSG demand-
ed that the university cease 
academic and financial rela-
tions with Israel and called 
upon students to pressure 
Congress to cut military aid to 
the Jewish state. 
On June 9, days after the 
words “F*** Israel” were writ-
ten on the large, iconic Rock 
at Washtenaw 
and Hill, and 
the Michigan 
Hillel building 
across the street 
was defaced 
with red hand-
prints, University 
President Mark 
Schlissel released a statement 

acknowledging “the tre-
mendous pain and suffering 
experienced in the University 
of Michigan community stem-
ming from the violence of the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” 
“I condemn these acts. Any 
actions motivated by anti-
Black or anti-Asian racism, 
xenophobia, antisemitism, 
Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian 
bias or any other form of big-
otry have no place in the dis-
course of a great university.”
Some parents, students 
and alumni said they felt that 
Schlissel’s statements about 
Jew-hatred are vague and not 
strong enough to curb the 
rising tide of anti-Israel and 
anti-Jewish hostilities on cam-
pus. On a parent’s Facebook 
page, dozens of parents 
expressed their concern. Some 
of them who are paying out-
of-state-tuition threatened to 
unenroll their students unless 
the Schlissel administration 
takes a stronger stance.
Stephanie Stoloff of Palm 
Beach Gardens, Fla., mother 

of U-M student Samii Stoloff 
who painted over the deroga-
tory language about Israel on 
the Rock with a pride flag (see 
the June 17 JN), secured one of 
the 15 public comment slots 
to address the U-M Board of 
Regents on the issue at their 
June 17 meeting. She would 
like to see Schlissel specifical-
ly call out antisemitism and 
wants more security cameras 
in the area where the Rock 
and three nearby Jewish build-
ings, Hillel, Chabad and the 

Jewish Resource Center, are 
located.
“The university is showing 
lack of leadership, and I think 
this is enabling [the hatred 
toward Jewish students on 
campus], and that’s not leader-
ship,” Stoloff said. 
“This conflict is 6,000 
miles away. Why should it 
jeopardize the security of 
our students on campus? 
Who is enabling this hatred 
toward them? If Northwestern 
University has a security cam-
era on their ‘rock,’ the same 
should happen in Ann Arbor.”

GEO STATEMENT 
What is troubling to others 
is a statement released by 
the Graduate Employment 
Opportunities, a labor union 
of graduate students, declaring 
that they stand “in full solidar-
ity with the Palestinian people 
facing the onslaught of Israeli 
State terror.”
Dana Miles of Grosse Ile, 
who is not Jewish, has one 
daughter who is a senior and 
another who is a graduate of 
U-M. She said she is disturbed 
about the one-sided anti-Israel 
stance the GEO has taken and 
how it will impact conversa-
tions on the Middle East in 
the classroom. 
“By GEOs taking one side 
on an issue, I fear they will be 
teaching our students from 
that one side,” said Miles. “I 
think [university leadership] is 
very weak as evidenced from 
the vague statement Schlissel 
put out after the Rock was 
painted with those anti-Israel 
slurs. So [anti-Israel activists] 
see the weakness and are 
exploiting that.” 
Graduate student and 

One-sided diatribes against 
Israel cross the line.

continued on page 14

Fighting 
Antisemitism 
at U-M

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

ON THE COVER

A war of 
words has 
broken 
out on The 
Rock.

SAMMI STOLOFF

Mark 
Schlissel

Samii and 
Stephanie 
Stoloff

 SAMMI STOLOFF

