When I was studying at Cornell University (1958-1962), a zoology professor told me that Sabbath-observant students would stay at Hillel Rabbi Morris Goldfarb’s house during the Sabbath and take exams. Instead of accepting the usual arrangement, they insisted that I take my final exam on Saturday. The exam was held under his supervision on Saturday evening. An appointment was made to speak with the president of Cornell University.
I mustered up the courage, with the support of my fellow students, to go into the dean’s office and explain why my religious beliefs prevented me from writing on the Jewish Sabbath. He listened carefully and expressed his gratitude. With the support of Jewish professors and Rabbi Goldfarb, the dean ensured that the zoology professor reluctantly relented.
I later learned that the zoology professor, like other professors in the department, held anti-Semitic views and had to leave the university at the end of his tenure. The lesson from this incident is that proactive action against anti-Semitism ensures a tolerant environment and human dignity.
Cornell University was known as a university where anyone could receive instruction in any field. Notably, it was the first Ivy League school to admit women as an undergraduate in 1870, and today the student body is in the minority. Among Cornell University’s 15,000 undergraduates are her 2,500 Jewish students.
But things have changed at Cornell University. Anti-Semitism has surfaced in the guise of anti-Israel sentiment, intolerance, and restrictions on free speech. Jewish and Muslim students do not feel comfortable on campus due to the presence of Islamic extremist students who promote violence. A few days ago, daily Jewish prayers on campus were canceled due to concerns about possible anti-Semitic violence.
Shockingly, threatening posts encouraging violence against Jews, such as slitting Jewish throats, assaulting Jewish women, and destroying Jewish homes and cafeterias, have been reported to fraternities and girls. Published on a student club review site. The authors of these posts call themselves “Hamas,” “Hamas soldiers,” and “Kill the Jews.” Additionally, anti-Semitic graffiti appeared on the main campus. Rabbi Hillel advised students to avoid Jewish sites on campus, and Cornell’s student newspaper quoted one student as saying, “It’s scary to have Jews on campus…” .
In response, New York Governor Cathy Hochul visited Cornell University on October 30 and vowed to find and prosecute those who posted graphic threats against Jewish students. The FBI and the New York State Counterterrorism Unit were called in to locate the Cornell University students involved in these threats. A police presence was visible outside the Jewish compound on campus.
Universities are known for developing society’s future leaders, and Ivy League institutions like Cornell University are supposed to produce the best of these leaders. When universities champion freedom of expression and equality, they develop leaders for a democratic society. But when terrorism, violence, racism, and anti-Semitism take over campuses, universities lose their educational purpose.
Recent anti-Semitic incidents at Cornell University have troubled me and raised questions. How did America’s intellectually stimulating universities, where free speech and the exchange of ideas were the norm, transform into campuses of fear, intolerance, and hatred? Assessing the decline in democratic ideals in American educational institutions is a complex task, but several causes can be identified. University Management Department. and the rise of anti-Israel incitement and anti-Semitism in America.
Faculty members are the most important element in university education. In the tolerant environment of Cornell University in the 1960s, professors like Milton and his Convitz taught famous classes on American ideals and played a pivotal role in shaping the lives of thousands of students. . At the time, we delved into his writings about equality, civil rights, fundamental freedoms, and the evils of discrimination. I earned my first degree at Cornell University, where he taught for eight years, and like many others, my life was greatly influenced by Cornell University.
The current faculty is different. Russell J. Rickford is an associate professor in the Department of History at Cornell University. His research focuses on African American society, and he wrote a book on Malcolm X’s wife and “Negro English.” He is also a pro-Palestinian activist.
At a pro-Palestinian rally on October 15, he expressed “exaltation” over the October 7 Hamas attack, which he defined as a legitimate attack on Israel. Support for Hamas’s genocide, in which 1,400 Israeli residents were brutally murdered, tortured, raped, and kidnapped, is understood as a call for violence against Israelis and Jews. When calls for violence come from professors, their influence on students increases.
Rickford’s impassioned speech was then followed by student posts threatening Jewish students, anti-Israel graffiti, and demonstrations advocating the exclusion of Israel. Freedom of speech and academic freedom do not include incitement to violence. Words can kill others and incite them to violence.
Teachers openly express anti-Israel views and participate in rallies advocating the removal of Israel, just as Hamas’s genocide was intended in southern Israel. On the other hand, very few, if any, Cornell faculty openly support Israel, and I only know of one pro-Israel activist at Cornell.
Cornell faculty, like many American universities, fail to provide balanced analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, often portraying Israel as an apartheid and undemocratic state. One-sided presentations are not educational, but rather an unfair form of indoctrination.
Currently, American universities offer very few courses that introduce positive aspects of Israeli society (this was the case in my Cornell University course until 2015). Israeli diplomats are rarely invited to speak on university campuses, but anti-Israel dictators like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at Columbia University on September 24, 2007.
The unilateral negative portrayal of Israel reflects a broader educational failure. Cornell University students learn that they can analyze issues by relating them to one side of any subject, issue, or controversy. Cornell University faculty have failed in one of their key tasks: teaching students to think critically, ask questions, and evaluate problems. They also fail to inculcate in their students the basics of human dignity and freedom, such as respecting the opinions of others.
University administrative policies also contribute to the absence of a protected learning environment at Cornell University. They are unwilling to act decisively against violations of Jewish students’ freedom of speech. Freedom of speech means protecting everyone’s right to speak. Pro-Palestinians can picket Jewish and Israeli events, but violently disrupting or blocking them is unacceptable to university authorities who respect free speech. University police should be instructed to prioritize protecting free speech over reluctance to confront violent protesters.
slow to condemn Hamas
Cornell University’s president’s initial response to the October 7 massacre omitted strong condemnation of Hamas, which is indicative of traditional university policy. As a result of alumni disappointment and outcry over her initial statement, a new statement was released on October 7 condemning Hamas atrocities.
Then there were other examples, including Mr. Rickford’s pro-Hamas speech, anti-Zionist graffiti, and anti-Israel rallies. Recognizing that students may interpret them as consistent with university policy, Cornell University’s president issued a strong and clear statement, saying: We will work to strengthen Cornell University’s culture of trust, respect, and safety. ”
This is a welcome policy change, but it cannot be achieved simply by stationing police cars outside Jewish living spaces. Educational measures are needed to create a tolerant environment.
Unless undemocratic and terrorist ideas are eliminated from Western society, including universities, they may overwhelm the silent majority of responsible citizens. How Cornell University’s administration and faculty deal with terrorism and anti-Semitism is indicative of how Western countries deal with anti-democratic forces within themselves.
Universities should be open to exchanging views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But professors and students who advocate the exclusion of Israel and terrorize Jewish students have no place at Cornell University.
The author is a former president of the National Labor Court and graduated from Cornell University in 1962.