February 2, 2020
Dr. Andrew D. Hamilton
President, New York University
andrew.hamilton@nyu.edu
Dear President Hamilton:
We write on behalf of the California Scholars for Academic Freedom with regard to the investigation of New York University launched in November 2019 by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). * The OCR initiated this investigation under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act in response to a complaint it had received in April 2019. That complaint, which the OCR deemed “appropriate for investigation,” alleged that (as the OCR’s letter put it) NYU had “discriminated against students of Jewish descent on the basis of national origin by failing to respond appropriately to incidents that created a hostile environment for Jewish students at the University.”
California Scholars for Academic Freedom is committed to fighting all forms of racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism. We believe that this investigation however constitutes a politically motivated attack on academic freedom and on the constitutionally protected right of free speech. As such, it violates the First Amendment rights of NYU students, faculty and staff.
This case began when one self-identified “pro-Israel” activist alleged that NYU had long tolerated and fostered “extreme anti-Semitism” on its campus, denying Jewish students “their rights under the law to an environment on campus free of hostility created by anti-Semitism.” This student alleged that a recognized NYU student organization, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), caused Jewish and pro-Israel students to feel unwelcome and unsafe.” The student described the SJP as “an avowed anti-Semitic organization with known terrorist connections.” In April 2019, however, SJP was awarded NYU’s President’s Service Award, which honors students and student organizations for contributing to the NYU community through community service and civic engagement or student leadership and campus programming. The alleged anti-Semitism cited in the complaint amounts only to members of SJP expressing their support for Palestinian rights and their opposition to Israeli actions and policies that violate those rights.
California Scholars for Academic Freedom firmly believe that criticism of Israel and support for Palestinian rights is not tantamount to anti-Semitism. Indeed, labeling it in this fashion will make it nearly impossible to teach, research or even to speak about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on university campuses. Such a situation undermines the academic freedom that is vital to higher education. It also may divert attention and resources from efforts to combat real anti-Semitism.
The timing of the NYU investigation appears connected to the appointment of Kenneth Marcus. Over the objections of many academic and human rights organizations, he was confirmed in June 2018 as the Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. With a long record of pressuring universities to suppress open discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Marcus has tried to silence faculty and students who express criticism of Israeli policies or advocate for Palestinian rights. His campaign against free-speech and academic freedom helped pave the way for President Trump’s Executive Order of 11 December 2019, which states that “discrimination against Jews may give rise to a Title VI violation when the discrimination is based on an individual’s race, color, or national origin.” The Executive Order holds that all Jews share a common national origin embodied in the state of Israel. Far from a statement of fact, this claim by supporters of Israel is an ideological canard, aimed to suppress meaningful criticism of Israel. It violates the basic principles of academic freedom and free speech.
We call on you, President Hamilton, and on NYU’s leadership as a whole, to respond to this investigation. We urge you to reaffirm your commitment to combating anti-Semitism and all forms of racism, but also to reject any efforts to utilize allegations of anti-Semitism in order to advance a political agenda. We encourage you to take a clear public stand that all political speech, including criticism of any government or ideology and advocacy for the rights of a repressed group, must remain free, as specified in the constitution. Finally, we call on you to ensure that NYU rigorously adheres to the standards and traditions of academic freedom, including freedom from the threat of politically motivated intimidation and harassment by government agencies.
We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Edmund Burke
Professor Emerita of History
University of California, Santa Cruz
eburke@ucsc.edu
Richard Falk
Professor Emeritus of International Law
Princeton
falk@global.ucsb.edu
Margaret Ferguson
Distinguished Professor Emerita
University of California, Davis
mwferguson@ucdavis.edu
Nancy Gallagher
Professor Emerita of History
University of California, Santa Barbara
gallagher@ucsb.edu
Ruth Goldstein
Assistant Professor of Global and International Studies
University of Southern California
rgoldst1@uci.edu
Larry Gross
Professor of Communication
Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
University of Southern California
lpgross@usc.edu
Howard Winant
Distinguished Professor of Sociology
University of California, Santa Barbara
hwinant@ucsb.edu
