OUR COMMUNITY

A 

few weeks ago, 
Palestinian flags were 
posted facing out-
ward in the windows of some 
art studios at the Cranbrook 
Academy of Art. The flags 
were reportedly removed 
on Nov. 4 at the direction of 
Cranbrook Academy’s admin-
istration.
A subsequent message to 
the Cranbrook community 
from its president, Aimeclaire 
Roche, and Jeff Suzik, director 
of schools, explained that “… 
Given the collective size, scope 
and positioning of the flags along 
a main thoroughfare on campus, 
these displays had a threaten-
ing and unwelcoming impact 
on members of our community.
“On Saturday, the director of 
the Academy and I communicat-
ed with our Academy graduate 
students about messaging in our 
common spaces and the impact 
of these outwardly facing dis-
plays on our community, and 
they were removed from these 
common spaces …
“The decision to remove the 
displays is one that is aligned 
with our past practices and 
our respect for the many con-
stituents of our community. 
Institutionally, we do not take a 
public position on political caus-
es or conflicts. Our long-standing 
practice has been to keep the 
common, shared areas of our 
campus free of political messag-
ing or activities. Moreover, politi-
cal messages could be interpreted 

as political statements made on 
behalf of Cranbrook …”
Soon afterward, a group 
of more than 200 Cranbrook 
Academy students and alum-
ni sent a letter protesting the 
removal of the flags, proclaim-
ing support for the Palestinian 
people and excoriating Israel. 
The letter did not mention the 
brutal Hamas attack on Israel 
on Oct. 7.
An excerpt from the stu-
dents’ protest letter states: 
“We, the undersigned, rep-

resenting a majority of the 
2024-2025 student body at 
Cranbrook Academy of Art, 
with support from alumni, 
write to establish our unwav-
ering solidarity with the 
Palestinian people in their 
eight decades of impassioned 
and fervent resistance for lib-
eration against the settler colo-
nial ideology of Zionism and 
the occupation of their land by 
the Israeli apartheid ethnostate 
… Cranbrook is making a 
choice to erase the Palestinian 

identity from public life, an 
explicitly political statement 
that betrays the plurality that 
the Academy allegedly cham-
pions.”

CRANBROOK’S 
STATEMENT
This week, Cranbrook’s com-
munications staff declined 
to answer specific questions 
about the flags and the poten-
tial impact of this situation on 
Jewish and Israeli students. 
However, they responded with 

Administration orders Palestinian flags in studios to be removed.

Controversy at Cranbrook 
Academy of Art

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

30 | NOVEMBER 23 • 2023 
J
N

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or 
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of 
the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the 
Government for a redress of grievances.

Cranbrook Art Academy students displayed 
Palestinian flags on campus.

