Henry Abbott

As faculty and staff members at the College committed to ending the Israeli genocide, we have recently come together to form a chapter of Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP). In this capacity, we have been taking stock of the situation at the College as well as the broader landscape of U.S. higher education for students, staff and faculty who speak up against war and genocide, or who support Palestinian rights. We write this letter because we are increasingly alarmed by the attacks and acts of intimidation that supporters of Palestine have been experiencing, including on our own campus.

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

One professor, for example, was harassed over email and on social media after signing a faculty letter of support for free speech on campus. In another instance, a pro-Palestinian professor was physically accosted on campus. A professor was also uninvited to guest lecture in a class after the co-instructor learned that they are pro-Palestinian. Other professors have had formal complaints made against them for speaking publicly about Palestine.

On the student side, the Student Affairs office prohibited students from hosting their name-writing event in the main room of Smith Union, instead relegating them to an upstairs room with much less visibility. We have been told that last year, administrators disposed of student art installations for Palestine and that the administration told the then-leaders of the Native American Student Association not to mention Palestine in their inaugural powwow.

We could cite many more examples of intimidation and repression—some of them considerably more egregious—but we have chosen not to do so out of concern for the safety of the targets, many of whom are some of the most vulnerable members of our community. We also want to point out that repression comes in many mundane forms as well. All serve the same purpose to repress freedom of expression.

These events at the College do not exist in a vacuum. They are part of a broader climate of repression of speech against those committed to Palestinian liberation. Students, staff and faculty around the country and beyond have been doxxed, intimidated, harassed, physically assaulted and inundated with death threats.

Most disturbingly, many administrators have willingly aided these campaigns, clamping down on protests, removing and arresting protestors, and firing people from their jobs. To name only a few examples:

The University of Maryland banned all “expressive” events that are not approved by the campus administration.

Florida’s state university system has given itself the right to screen courses and syllabi for “anti-Israeli bias.”

The University of Michigan canceled voting on two student government resolutions on Palestine.

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

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

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

Cornell’s administration nearly deported an international student for participating in a pro-Palestine protest.

Case Western Reserve University suspended the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter for posting fliers.

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

Ironically, far from satisfying these forces, such repressive measures have only encouraged those hostile to the broad mandate of higher education to go further. Palestine is the thin edge of the wedge. The assault on free speech has already extended the anti-Palestine playbook to other targets, such as LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive rights.

Moreover, responding to outside pressure in order to preserve Bowdoin’s reputation, endowment and donor base has not proven to be in the best interest of administrators themselves. At UPenn, for example, President Liz Magill caved to demands from donors and external political forces and still could not save herself. In the end, the mandate of higher education itself is weakened and hollowed out.

Thankfully, we at the College have not yet faced the ferocious levels of repression that are now commonplace at colleges and universities across the country. But we are not immune, and given the intimidation and harassment that we have experienced, we are concerned that what we have seen here may escalate unless we speak up.

Due to the current climate, many members of our community have chosen to stay silent about intimidation they have experienced, lest they jeopardize their jobs and their education. The result is that many in our community have no idea that the problem even exists.

We also note that there is a disconcerting racial dimension to this repression of pro-Palestinian, anti-genocide and anti-war sentiments. In keeping with national trends, the primary victims of silencing, harassment and professional and personal threats here at Bowdoin have been people of color, those with identifiably Muslim or Arab names, and non-Zionist and anti-Zionist Jews. The toxic combination of racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism that is taking shape at colleges and universities in this country demands a response from our community.

The protection of informed, pro-Palestinian, anti-genocide and anti-war voices is a key measure of Bowdoin’s commitment to protecting the freedom, integrity and safety of its multi-ethnic, international and multi-faith community amid a perilous national context and a highly contentious national election. It is the measure of whether the College acts on its commitment to the common good.

Whatever the outcome of the election this Tuesday, this troubling nationwide atmosphere of repression will likely remain. Echoing the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch’s joint call to protect the right to protest on campus, we ask the College to make a commitment to protecting and supporting the members of our community. We feel strongly that such a foundation is crucial to enabling the kind of open and meaningful learning environment that is so central to Bowdoin’s mission. As we urge the administration to confirm that the College will defend free speech, reject repression and resist targeted harassment, we ask for clear responses to the following questions:

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

How will the administration ensure that no recording of a Bowdoin faculty or staff member or of a student is used to surveil opinion about political beliefs or activism?

Will the administration issue a clear and unequivocal statement defending the right to free speech, assembly and political activism at Bowdoin College for all students, staff and faculty?

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

Associate Professor of Mathematics Jack O’Brien, Professor of Education Doris Santoro, and Matthew D. Branche Associate Professor of Africana Studies and Anthropology Bianca Williams are members of Bowdoin Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP). For inquiries, please contact bowdoinfsjp@proton.me.