Georgetown Law students succeed in getting pro-Israel commencement speaker to drop out
Former Northwestern University President Dr. Morton Schapiro withdrew from his planned Georgetown Law School commencement speech after facing backlash from students Because of his pro-Israel views.
Interim Dean Joshua C. Teitelbaum announced last month He said Schapiro will speak at the ceremony on May 17, citing Schapiro’s “uniquely informed perspective on American society and the challenges facing colleges and universities today.”
Schapiro quickly faced backlash from students who opposed his selection because of his lack of affiliation with the law school and his “harmful” views.
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Georgetown Law School was one of many college campuses accused of tolerating anti-Israel protests.
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“It is an absolute disgrace that Morton Schapiro was chosen as our commencement speaker,” student Matt Latibashvili wrote to Georgetown Law. student assignment The Voice on Friday. “His views on the genocide of Palestinians are despicable and disqualifying; instead of holding Israel accountable for the horrors it has committed, he blames the media and universities for allowing people to tell the truth.”
after a while petition was distributed Schapiro withdrew from the ceremony Wednesday to remove him.
“As president and dean, I have presided over 28 commencement ceremonies, and these ceremonies are held to celebrate graduates and those who support them. I was looking forward to giving a speech about humility and gratitude, but I did not want my presence to distract from the festivities of the day.” Schapiro wrote.
Schapiro has previously written about a variety of topics for the Jewish Journal; these include criticism of universities for their failure to suppress anti-Semitic protests. Israel-Gaza war.
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Morton Schapiro has previously criticized anti-Semitism on campus and universities’ failure to control protests.
“University administrators have ignored the countless excesses committed by both students and faculty when the humanities embrace a political agenda or when student affairs staff become more interested in excusing behavior that violates school rules than in preparing students for the world,” Schapiro said. wrote in October. “The police played with pronouns while the university was burning.”
Fox News Digital He reached out to Georgetown Law School and Schapiro for comment.
After Schapiro gave the commencement address, Georgetown Law School replaced him with Georgetown law professor and former ACLU National Legal Director David Cole.
Last year, Cole released a statement He criticized a congressional hearing on rampant antisemitism on college campuses, arguing that defending “Hamas’ right to respond” could not be described as antisemitic.
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New Georgetown Law inaugural spokesman David Cole has previously written that defending Hamas fighters’ “right to fight” is not, in itself, antisemitic.
“Most criticism of Israel is not antisemitic; in fact, many Jews are deeply critical of how Israel responded to the terrorist attacks of October 7 and how Israel has managed its long-term conflict with the Palestinian people. Just as it is not Islamophobic to defend Israel’s bombing and killing of civilians in Gaza, it is not antisemitic to defend Hamas’s right to fight antisemitic even when it attempts to justify its acts of terrorism,” Cole said. he wrote.
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Schapiro expressed surprise at the selection of the new speaker.
“Given the Georgetown Law Firm’s desire to keep politics out of the commencement ceremony, I was somewhat surprised that they chose a speaker to replace me,” Schapiro said. He told the Jewish Magazine Wednesday.
Original article source: Georgetown Law students manage to get pro-Israel graduation speaker to leave school
