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pus administration buildings. 
This past January, the University of 
Michigan honored Hamamy and SAFE 
with the 2024 Spirit of MLK Jr. Award for 
“exemplifying Dr. King’s leadership and 
extraordinary vision.
” 

Then came the university’s 101st 
Honors Convocation on Sunday, March 
24. 
Lisa Barron Momblanco of Huntington 
Woods had her purse searched as she 
went through security and entered Hill 
Auditorium with her husband to attend 
the event. The couple’s daughter, a senior, 
was one of the student honorees. 
Momblanco sat in the balcony’s fifth 
row, where she had a view of the stage 
and some of the main floor seats toward 
the front. 
Seated in front of Momblanco were 
two “jittery” young women clad in keffi-
yehs. The women were texting and post-
ing on social media the entire ceremony. 
Momblanco said at their feet was a large 
roll of canvas. There were several other 
women in headscarves seated in the 
balcony section, including the front row 
with rolled-up banners. 
Ten minutes before U-M President 
Santa Ono was about to speak, Momblanco 
said one of the keffiyeh-clad young women 
left. When she came back, she smiled at her 
seated friend and signaled a thumbs-up. 
When Ono took the stage, Momblanco 
said the screaming and shouting began. 
“
At that point, someone behind me yelled 
‘Death to Jews,
’” Momblanco recalled. “That 
is when some girls and parents near me 
began to cry and leave. My husband and 
I left in fear and headed downstairs to try 
to find my daughter. We both began to cry 
when we saw each other and left the audito-
rium. That was the first time I saw security 
or police, and they were all outside. There 
were also other protesters filming us on the 
front steps.
” 
Students and parents fear that this is just 
a warmup for commencement ceremonies. 
There is chatter on Jewish parent Facebook 
and WhatsApp groups that stronger mea-
sures need to be taken or else they may con-
sider not attending graduation events. 
Many are hoping Ono’s administration 
can dial things back down by establishing 
new ramped-up anti-disruption policies in 
time for graduation. 

U-M PRESIDENT RESPONDS
In a campus community announcement, 
Ono on March 27 stated that while he 
recognizes the importance of maintaining 
the campus as a bastion of free speech 
and expression, at the same time, the 
administration is surveying the community 
as it unveils its proposed Disruptive Activity 
Policy. 
Ono stated: “No one has the right to 
infringe on the exercise of others’ speech 
and activities by disrupting the normal 
celebrations, activities and operations of the 
university.
”
Ono continued: “Under the draft 
Disruptive Activity Policy, students accused 
of a violation would receive written notice 
and, after an opportunity to meet with a 
U-M official, may accept responsibility 
and an assigned sanction, or choose 
to participate in a hearing. Sanctions 
would include a formal reprimand up to 
and including suspension or expulsion, 
according to the draft policy.
” 
It is not clear when the policy will be 
finalized or enacted. 

BEYOND FREE SPEECH
Rabbi Asher Lopatin, media relations 
director for the Jewish Federation of 
Greater Ann Arbor, was also at the 
Convocation to see two of his daughters 
being honored. One is a senior who 
could be spotted on the 
stage dais wearing a “Chai” 
in the ceremony recording. 
His younger daughter, a 
freshman, was seated below 
on the main level. When the 
protesters hijacked the cere-
mony, he filmed the occur-
rences from the balcony 
where he sat and posted it on Instagram. 
Anguished, he said by Ono stepping 
away from the podium without delivering 
his speech, he allowed for the ceremony 
to be shut down, and let the protesters 
have a victory with their intimidating 
tactics. 
A staunch proponent of First 
Amendment rights, Lopatin said protest-
ers may do so all they want in outdoor 
spaces. But squelching an awards cere-
mony and denying students and families 
the joy of celebrating their academic achieve-
ments went too far. Testifying later that week 
in the public comment section before the 
Board of Regents, Lopatin said disruption of 
“sacred spaces” such as an honors or gradua-
tion ceremony is a desecration of decency. 
“The University of Michigan is a stellar 
place,
” Lopatin said. “It is a place that has 
allowed for an abundance of free speech. But 
the administration needs to stand up and 
show some strength.
” 
Lopatin said for his family and many Jews 
in the U-M community, the feeling of intim-
idation is constant and palpable. 
“There are two issues at play,
” Lopatin 
maintained. “One is that Jews are feeling 
unsafe. If a student leader of an organization 
would have wished death and more to any 
other group on campus, it would not be 
tolerated. Secondly, it is about decency. The 
university is supposed to set the gold stan-
dard. It is a matter of enforcing decency and 
teaching students about civil discourse. That 
requires a bit of strength and a backbone; 
and if they are not teaching them that, they 
are shirking their responsibility.
” 
Lopatin hopes that Ono’s administration 

Rabbi 
Asher 
Lopatin

Salma Hamamy wishes death to 
supporters of Israel on social media.

