10 | NOVEMBER 16 • 2023
J
N
opinion
College Presidents Must
Speak Up for What’s Right
L
ike many Jews, I
am watching with a
mixture of horror and
grave concern as college
campuses around the United
States convulse
with anti-Israel
demonstrations
and, in many
cases, overt
antisemitism
and vocal
support for
terrorism.
More, as a university
president, I have been
especially dismayed by
the failure of college and
university leaders to respond
adequately.
University presidents
have been slow to condemn
Hamas’ terrorism and
disavow expressions of
support by students and
faculty for violence against
Israelis, equivocating
statements have ignored
the real problem by calling
on “both sides” to exercise
restraint, and colleges are
failing to take appropriate
measures to protect their
Jewish students.
The school I lead, Touro
University, is unique. As
America’s largest Jewish-
sponsored educational
institution, our campuses
are safe havens not only
for Jewish students but
also for students from all
faiths. Amid the upsurge
of antisemitism on campus
since Oct. 7, we’ve heard
from numerous students
interested in transferring to
Touro. But universities like
ours must not become the
only safe places in America
for Jews to attend college.
Students everywhere must
feel safe.
Feeling safe starts
with faith in leadership.
College presidents must
clearly denounce violence,
support for terrorism and
antisemitism, especially
at fraught moments like
these. How can there be
any confusion about the
wrongfulness of murder, rape
and torture?
People of good faith can
disagree about politics
and the Palestinian-Israel
conflict. But evil deeds, like
Hamas terrorists’ beheading
of babies and the taking
of civilian hostages, need
to be denounced in clear,
unambiguous language.
Failure to do so portrays
either cowardice or a glaring
lack of moral leadership; it
implicitly suggests that it’s
OK to extol terrorism (so
long as only Jews are the
targets).
President Joe Biden
set an example when
the White House issued
a statement denouncing
“antisemitic messages
being conveyed on college
campuses” and condemning
student groups that have
praised Hamas’ attack on
Israel or called for “the
annihilation of the state of
Israel.”
Several days ago, I was
one of 18 college presidents
who joined in the founding
of a coalition to express
our support for Israel and
for Palestinians suffering
under Hamas’ repressive
rule in the Gaza Strip. So
far, over 100 institutions
of higher education have
signed on to our statement
of support, including public
and private universities,
faith-based schools and
historically Black colleges.
But making statements is just
a beginning.
Colleges must implement
measures to undo the
decades-long slide that has
transformed many campuses
into places where groupthink
and intersectionality falsely
link Israel’s existence to
a narrative of colonial
oppression that hails
Palestinian terrorists as “civil
rights heroes” and dismisses
the rights of Jews to live
securely in Israel.
We must restore college as
a place where Jewish students
do not feel threatened
wearing Jewish symbols,
speaking up about Israel
in the classroom or simply
Alan Kadish
JTA
Jewish students and supporters rally near New York University in Washington Square Park, Oct. 26, 2023.
LUKE TRESS
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