As an alum of NU, to say that I’m extremely disappointed is a grave understatement. Instead of shuttering the vile and antisemitic hate speech the protesters have spewed, instead of acknowledging their incitement of violence toward Jews with slogans such as “Death to Israel” and “Free Palestine from the River to the Sea,” instead of educating them with real history — not revisionist history littered with falsehoods, which an esteemed institution like NU should be doing — administration chose to provide room for this to propagate.
They chose to fold to the mob instead of standing up for what is right, though it may be unpopular. They even extended the liberty of participating in these protests to faculty and staff. I understand that free speech should be protected, but what we’ve witnessed is hate speech. Substitute another minority for Jews or Israel, and I believe the circumstance would be completely different.
I’m also sure this is obvious to most, but Jews are a small minority. It is difficult to combat racism with numbers. Introducing a forum for antisemites to voice their opposition to investing in and having partnerships with Israel will likely yield disastrous results for the University’s endowment, for the pursuit of academic advancement through research and for Jewish life on campus.
One must question the motive. Why is Israel myopically focused on year after year for boycott, divestment and sanction? Why are the same antipathy and outrage not reserved and expressed for the Islamic Republic of Iran, China, Myanmar or Syria? These countries are egregious perpetrators of the abhorrent crimes of which Israel is accused. The motive is clear. This is pure and unadulterated antisemitism cloaked under a veil of anti-Zionism.
Moreover, one must question why the University administration struck this conciliatory stance.
Could it be because NU receives a large amount of money from foreign donors, such as Qatar? Between 2001 and 2021, the Qataris donated $402 million to the University, according to the DoE report published on October 13, 2023, and Northwestern received over $600 million in funding to establish a journalism branch in Doha in 2008.
Or could it be because the administration fears alienating a larger group at the expense of a smaller one?
Regarding inclusivity, fully funding two Palestinian professors per year for two years and five Palestinian students for their undergraduate studies for the sake of diversity seems counter to upholding the values NU aims to foster.
Is NU going to oversee the curriculum and classes to ensure antisemitic tropes and misinformation about Israel are not being taught? After all, thoughtful education must be the solution to antisemitism.
Are Jews — who make up around 2% of the US population and less than 0.2% of the global population — afforded the same generous scholarships? Contrary to what is being peddled, not every Jew is white, wealthy and grew up with privilege.
Ensuring all students’ physical safety should be paramount. Ensuring all students, regardless of race, national origin, gender orientation and religion, can freely use all of NU’s facilities should also be a priority.
The question remains: What means does the administration plan to take to safeguard Jewish students’ rights, who are the targets of hate all too often? And what are the consequences for breaching the school code of conduct?
Alyse Vishnick (WCAS ’99) is an NU alum. She can be contacted at CAS [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.
