Institutional neutrality is by and large an important principle. There are, however, exceptions. One is silence in the face of celebration of October 7 on
AAF supports free speech and open debate on campus, and condemns student rioters and calls on UC-Berkeley to punish ‘Bears for Palestine’ and individual students who shut down an event.
Faced with competing motions—one to ensure safety & free speech rights of all students & faculty versus another claiming that only certain students & faculty were at risk—we are dismayed that the DA voted for the latter.
AAF affirms Prof. Grewal’s right to post despicable remarks, even as we deplore them. There is legitimate concern that she might discriminate against Jewish, Israeli, or pro-Israel students.
This is not an honest academic institution open to scholarly inquiry and debate. E.g., its aborted conference at NYU & UCSC required participants to affirm anti-Zionist convictions.
The American Anthropological Association announced a boycott of Israeli universities; its Executive Board issued a series of attendant prohibitions on Israeli academia. The transgression of basic principles of academic freedom is a clear result.
The Alliance for Academic Freedom supports Hebrew University’s protest against Finance Minister Smotrich’s decision to suspend funding for its preparatory program for Arab students.
,,, academic boycotts are detrimental to the core principles that define the academy, namely the unfettered communication of ideas and the freedom to conduct research without fear of retaliation …
In the spirit of promoting academic freedom and resisting the forces of politicization and discrimination, Columbia University should continue with its plan to open a global center in Tel Aviv.
This summer, two Jewish undergraduates at the State University of New York at New Paltz, Cassandra Blotner and Ofek Preis, charged in a complaint to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights that they were expelled from a student group devoted to helping sexual assault survivors because they support Israel, alleging a violation of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
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