Faculty and Staff Demand Justice for Votes on Palestine – Bowdoin East

Henry Abbott

As the college’s faculty and staff commit to ending the Israeli genocide, we recently came together to form the Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP). In this capacity, we analyzed the situation at the college, as well as the broader landscape of US higher education, for students, staff, and faculty who oppose war and genocide or support Palestinian rights. We are writing this letter because we are increasingly concerned about the attacks and acts of intimidation that supporters of Palestine are experiencing, including on our own campus.

Over the past year, we have heard reports from students, staff, and faculty about censorship, verbal harassment, attacks on personal and professional integrity, and suppression of campus events that promote informed dialogue about the ongoing genocide and our complicity in the escalation of the war. This raises serious concerns about the future of academic freedom at the college.

For example, one professor was harassed via email and on social media after he signed a letter to faculty supporting free speech on campus. In another incident, a pro-Palestinian professor was physically assaulted on campus. The professor was also not invited to a guest lecture in the classroom after a co-teacher found out they were pro-Palestinian. Official complaints have been filed against other professors for speaking publicly about Palestine.

As for the students, Student Affairs has banned students from holding the name-writing event in the Smith Union’s main room, instead moving it to an upstairs room with much less visibility. We’re told that administrators got rid of student art installations for Palestine last year and that the administration told then-leaders of the Native American Student Association not to mention Palestine at their inaugural powwow.

We could cite many more examples of intimidation and repression—some of them quite egregious—but we choose not to, out of concern for the safety of our targets, many of whom are among the most vulnerable members of our community. We also want to point out that repression also takes many mundane forms. They all serve the same purpose of suppressing free speech.

These events at the College do not exist in a vacuum. They are part of a wider atmosphere of suppression of speech against those fighting for the liberation of Palestine. Students, staff and faculty across the country and beyond have been subjected to doxing, intimidation, harassment, physical assault and death threats.

Most disturbingly, many administrators willingly aided these campaigns by suppressing protests, removing and arresting protesters, and firing people from their jobs. I will name only a few examples:

Maryland State University banned all “expressive” activities not approved by the campus administration.

Florida State University System granted itself the right to review courses and curricula for “anti-Israel bias.”

University of Michigan canceled the vote on two student government resolutions on Palestine.

Muhlenberg College fired tenured professor Maura Finkelstein for posting an Instagram post criticizing Zionism.

University of Minnesota rescinded the job offer of Raz Segal, an Israeli-American scholar and expert on the Holocaust and genocide, after he called Israel’s actions a “textbook case of genocide.”

University of Pennsylvania Campus police worked with Philadelphia police to raid the off-campus home of several pro-Palestinian students, refusing to show badges or a warrant.

Cornell administration nearly deported a foreign student for participating in a pro-Palestinian protest.

Case Western Reserve University suspended the Students for Justice in Palestine branch for posting leaflets.

Swarthmore College charged 11 students with assault for using a megaphone to amplify chants.

Ironically, such repressive measures do not satisfy these forces, but only encourage those hostile to higher education’s broad mandate to go further. Palestine is the thin edge of the wedge. The attack on free speech has already spread the anti-Palestinian play to other targets, e.g LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive rights.

In addition, responding to external pressures to preserve the reputation of Bowdoin, the foundations, and the donor base proved not to be in the best interests of the administrators themselves. For example, at UPenn, President Liz Magill succumbed to the demands of donors and outside political forces and still couldn’t save herself. Ultimately, the mandate of higher education itself is weakened and deflated.

Fortunately, we at the College have yet to experience the kind of brutal repression that is now commonplace at colleges and universities across the country. But we’re not immune, and given the intimidation and harassment we’ve experienced, we’re concerned that what we’ve seen here could escalate if we don’t speak out.

Due to the current climate, many members of our community have chosen to remain silent about the bullying they have experienced in order not to jeopardize their jobs and education. The result is that many in our community are unaware of the problem.

We also note that there is a disturbing racial dimension to this suppression of pro-Palestinian, anti-antigenocide, and anti-war sentiment. In line with national trends, the primary victims of silencing, harassment, and professional and personal threats here at Bowdoin have been people of color, those with Muslim or Arabic names, and non-Zionist and anti-Zionist Jews. The poisonous mix of racism, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism brewing in this nation’s colleges and universities demands a response from our community.

Protecting informed, pro-Palestinian, anti-antigenocide, and anti-war voices is a key measure of Bowdoin’s commitment to protecting the freedom, integrity, and security of its multi-ethnic, international, and multi-faith community in the face of a dangerous national context and highly contested national elections. It is a measure of whether the College is acting in accordance with its commitments to the common good.

Whatever the outcome of this Tuesday’s election, this troubling nationwide climate of repression is likely to remain. As the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch joined forces to protect the right to protest on campus, we are asking the College to commit to protecting and supporting members of our community. We strongly believe that such a foundation is critical to creating the kind of open and meaningful learning environment that is central to Bowdoin’s mission. As we call on the administration to affirm that the College will protect free speech, reject repression, and resist targeted harassment, we ask for clear answers to the following questions:

How will the administration protect its students, staff, and faculty from targeted harassment?

How will the administration ensure that no records of Bowdoin faculty, staff, or students are used to monitor opinion about political beliefs or activism?

Will the administration issue a clear and unambiguous statement protecting the rights of free speech, assembly, and political activity at Bowdoin College for all students, staff, and faculty?

Will the administration confirm that it will not confuse anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, and can it promise that no student or employee will be reprimanded, suspended or fired for criticizing Israel or Zionism?

Jack O’Brien Associate Professor of Mathematics, Doris Santoro Professor of Education, and Matthew D. Branche Associate Professor of African Studies and Anthropology Bianca Williams are members of the Bowdoin Faculty and Staff of Justice in Palestine (FSJP). For questions, please contact [email protected].