A group of over 230 Jewish scholars has signed an open letter expressing concern ‘about the current ideological environment in the US and elsewhere and the increasingly censorious culture in many institutions of higher learning.’ The original letter can be viewed and signed here.
Dear Friends,
We, the undersigned Jewish scholars and academics, are concerned about the current ideological environment in the US and elsewhere and the increasingly censorious culture in many institutions of higher learning. Although we are acutely aware of the illiberalism and threats to academic freedom emanating from the political right, and in no way downplay these dangers, in this letter we focus our attention on, and express our deep concern about, a dangerously intolerant ideology on the political left that has taken
hold in academia.
We firmly believe that the purpose of education is to teach students how to think, not what to think. A liberal education, by definition, should present students with different approaches to important questions so they can appreciate the complexity of issues and at the same time attempt to formulate their own opinions. Too often, however, universities and campus communities have veered away from their core missions and have propagated—among both faculty and students—a set of moral and intellectual attitudes that restrict critical inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and intellectual openness. We regard such inquiry and openness as bedrocks of any liberal, democratic society. As taught in the Ethics of Our Fathers, “Who is wise? He who learns from every person, as it is said: ‘From all who taught me have I gained understanding.’”
Moreover, the suppression of unpopular opinions impinges on society’s ability to address problems. What happens in academia rarely stays in academia. Shutting down scholarly inquiry ultimately limits the range of popular discussion on social issues, including sensitive topics such as race and gender identity, and makes it difficult, if not impossible, for intellectual and political leaders to formulate sound policy, promote advances in science, and resolve social tensions. Good scholarship, which cannot thrive if it is blinkered by ideological demands, bureaucratic restrictions, and groupthink, can and must inform the public conversation.
The ascendency of an ideology that reduces people to “oppressed” and “oppressors” and categorizes individuals into monolithic group identities poses a particular threat to the Jewish people. In this stark, neo-Manichean worldview, Jews are frequently grouped with the privileged, and Israel is dogmatically singled out as an oppressor-state–a shallow dichotomy that foments new variants of antisemitism and reinforces old ones.
As scholars, we stand for the principles of free inquiry in our educational institutions. As Jewish scholars, we remind the Jewish community and others of the dangers of any ideology that diminishes the free exchange of ideas. Instead, we encourage leaders and educators to stand up for our deeply held liberal principles and our own tradition of “argument for the sake of heaven.”
Signatories:
Carlos Abadi, Senior Fellow, Samawal Foundations
David Abrams, Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Rachel H. Adler, Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Rachel Altman, Associate Professor, University of Simon Fraser University
Hymie Anisman, Professor, Carleton University
Tom Armbruster, Ph.D., San Marino High School, retired
Gordon Aronoff, Ph.D., Vanier College
Hadar Aviram, Professor of Law, University of California Law
David Balsamo, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of Chester
Fred Baumann, Professor, Kenyon College
Jason Bedrick, Research Fellow, Heritage Foundation
Avi Bell, Professor, University of San Diego School of Law
David Ben Moshe, Writer and Speaker
Dr. R. Benach, Retired
Ilan Benjamin, Distinguished Professor, University of California, Santa Cruz
Jay Bergman, Professor of History, Central Connecticut State University
Yoav Bergner, Associate Professor, New York University
Stephen M. Berk, Professor, Union College
Russell Berman, Professor, Stanford University
David E. Bernstein, Professor, George Mason University
Michael Bernstein, Assistant Professor, Brown University
Israel B. Bitton, Author, A Brief and Visual History of Antisemitism, Textbook publisher
Corinne Blackmer, Professor, Southern Connecticut State University
Walter Block, Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair and Professor of Economics, Loyola University
Dr. Diana Blum, MD, Neurologist
Gabriel Noah Brahm, Professor of English and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Zionism, Northern Michigan University, and University of Haifa
Leslie Brisman, Professor, Yale University
David Brodsky, Associate Professor, Brooklyn College, City University of New York
Stephen Bryen, Ph.D.
Dr. Daniel Burston, Duquesne University
Deidre Butler, Associate Professor, Religion, Carleton University
Ellen Cannon, Professor of Political Science and Jewish Studies, Northeastern Illinois University
Jeffrey Carmel, M.D., Adjunct Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine
James Carmine, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Carlow University
Bruno Chaouat, Professor, University of Minnesota
Julius Chapiro, Associate Professor of Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine
Phyllis Chesler, Emerita Professor of Psychology, Author, College of Staten Island, City University of New York
Mark T. Clark, Emeritus Professor of Political Science, California State University, San Bernardino
Marc Cogen, Professor of Law, Free University of Brussels
Adam B. Cohen, Professor of Psychology, Arizona State University
Barry Cohen, Clinical Associate Professor of Psychology (retired), New York University
Thomas Cohen, Professor of Physics, University of Maryland
Zvi Cohen, Ph.D.
Robert Costrell, Professor of Education Reform and Economics, University of Arkansas
Seth Cropsey, Yorktown Institute
Henri Darmon, James McGill Distinguished Professor, McGill University
Dr. Judith Davis
Joseph Davis, Professor of Jewish Studies, Gratz College
Alan Dershowitz, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University
Donna Divine, Morningstar Family Professor of Jewish Studies and Professor of Government, Emerita
Shawna Dolansky, Associate professor, Humanities, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Joanne Donsky, MSW, Associate Clinical Professor (retired), University of California San Francisco, School of Medicine
Stanley Dubinsky, Professor, University of South Carolina
Randy E. Barnett, Professor of Constitutional Law, Georgetown University Law Center
Arthur Edelman, Associate Professor, State University of New York at Buffalo
Samuel Edelman, Professor Emeritus and former Dean, CSUCHICO and American Jewish University
Dan Eisenberg, Associate Professor, University of Washington
Mark Eisenberg, Professor of Medicine, McGill University
Gabriel Elkaim, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz
Jessica Emami, Professorial Lecturer, American University
Richard England, Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of New Hampshire
Jonathan Epstein, Adjunct Associate Professor, John Jay College, CUNY
Daniel Everett, Professor, Bentley University
Dr. Miriam F. Elman, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University
Naomi Farber, Ph.D., MSW, University of South Carolina
Douglas J. Feith, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
Jack Feldman, Professor Emeritus, School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology
Dov Fischer, Adjunct Professor of Remedies, Advanced Tort Law, and Civil Procedure, University of California at Irvine and Loyola Law School of Los Angeles
Alan Fisher, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University
Dr. Alexandra Fishman, Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Adjunct
Luis Fleischman, Ph.D, Co- president, Palm Beach Center for Democracy and Policy Research
Jeffrey Flier, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University
Seth Forman, Professor of Social Science, Suffolk County Community College
Rosa Freedman, Professor of Law, Conflict and Global Development, University of Reading
Rachel Freeman, Senior Research Fellow, University College London
Michael Frenklach, Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
Jesse Fried, Professor, Harvard Law School
Michael Friedman, Lecturer, University of Maryland, College Park
Gershon Frisch, Assistant, Professor of Medicine, McGill University
Adam L. Fuller, Associate Professor, Youngstown State University
Cheryl Fulton, Associate Professor, Texas State University
William Galston, Professor, University of Maryland and University of Texas
Joshua Garroway, Professor, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion
Azriel Genack, Distinguished Professor, City University of New York
Stephen Gilson, Professor, University of Maine
Michael Glogauer, Professor, University of Toronto
Michael Gold, PhD, Adjunct Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Miami-Dade College
Mark Goldblatt, Professor, Fashion Institute of Technology/SUNY
Stanley Goldfarb, MD, University of Pennsylvania
Rafael Goldchain, Professor – Retired, Sheridan College
Elaine Goodfriend, Lecturer, Religious Studies and Jewish Studies, California State University, Northridge
David Gordon, Senior Fellow, Ludwig von Mises Institute
Alyssa Gray, Professor, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
Kenneth Hart Green, Professor, University of Toronto
Blu Greenberg, Author
Jay Greene, Senior Research Fellow, Heritage Foundation
Haskel Greenfield, Distinguished Professor, University of Manitob
Sergio Grinstein, Professor, University of Toronto
Marlene Grossman, Professor, Vanier College
Jonathan Haidt, Professor, New York University Stern School of Business
Aviad Haramati, Ph.D., Georgetown University School of Medicine
David Hazony, Ph.D., Editor, Jewish Priorities
Robert Hirsch, Director, Light Research
David Hirsh, Senior Lecturer, Goldsmiths, University of London
Daniel Horwitz, Doctor of Jewish Studies
Timothy Jackson, Full Professor of Music Theory, and University Distinguished Professor, University of North Texas
Dr. Charles Jacobs
Rebecca Joseph, Professor, California State University, Los Angeles
Lee Jussim, Professor, Rutgers University
Olga Kagan, Professor, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Dr. Michael Kalin, McGill University
Stuart Kamenetsky, Professor, Teaching Stream, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga
David Kareken, Professor, Indiana University
Efraim Karsh, Emeritus Professor, King’s College London
Nathan Katz, Distinguished Professor, Emeritus, Florida International University
Eric Kaufmann, Professor, Birkbeck and University of London
Reuven Kimelman, Professor of Classical Judaica, Brandeis University
Morton Kissen, Professor Emeritus Derner Institute, Adelphi University
Sergiu Klainerman, Professor, Princeton
Cary Kogan, Professor, University of Ottawa
Alex Kozinski, Judge (Retired), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Lawrence Krauss, Retired Foundation Professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University
Emily Kuriloff, Clinical Psychologist, Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst and Author, William Alanson White Institute of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Psychoanalysis
Roberta Rosenthal Kwall, Raymond P. Niro Professor, DePaul University College of Law
Melissa Landa, Ph.D., Montgomery County Public Schools
Naya Lekht, Ph.D.
Robert Levine, Professor, The Ohio State University
Holli Levitsky, Professor of English and Director of Jewish Studies, Loyola Marymount University
Victor Lieberman, Raoul Wallenberg Distinguished University Professor of History, University of Michigan
Max Lieblich, Professor, University of Washington
Alexander Lisyansky, Professor of Physics, Queens College of the City University of New York
Adam Lovinger, Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University
Joseph Manson, Professor Emeritus, UCLA
Ora Matushansky, Research Director, The French National Centre for Scientific Research
Ethan Miller, Professor Emeritus of Computer Science & Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz
Scott Minkoff, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, State University of New York at New Paltz
Evan Morris, Professor, Yale University
Jerry Muller, Professor of History, Catholic University of America
Joseph Nalven, Ph.D., JD
David Narrett, Professor of History, University of Texas at Arlington
Geoffrey Nathan, Professor Emeritus, Wayne State University
Cary Nelson, Jubilee Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Eli M. Noam, Professor, Columbia University
David Oler, Ph.D.
Joseph Olmert, Adjunct professor of Middle East Studies, University of South Carolina
Monica Osborne, Ph.D., Editor at Large at The Jewish Journal of Los Angeles
Dr. Pamela Paresky, Network Contagion Research Institute
Dr. David Patterson, University of Texas at Dallas
Judea Pearl, Chancellor Professor, University of California Los Angeles
Andrew Pessin, Professor, Connecticut College
Juliana Geran Pilon, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization
Steven Pinker, Professor, Harvard University
Daniel Pipes, President, Middle East Forum
Annette Poizner, MSW, Ed.D., RSW
Michael Poliakoff, President, American Council of Trustees and Alumni
William Poser, Ph.D.
Kenneth Price, Kenneth P Price, Ph.D., Author: “Separated Together”
Daniel Prober, Professor, Yale University
Richard Prystowsky, Retired, Professor and Provost
Robert A. Harris, Professor of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages, Jewish Theological Seminary
Marc Rachmuth, Student/Academic, Ventura County Community Colleges
Joel Ray, Professor of Medicine, Obstetrics, and Epidemiology, University of Toronto
Stephen Reich, MA candidate, University of Toronto
Sam Richardson, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Religion, Piedmont Virginia Community College
Harvey Risch, M.D., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Yale School of Public Health
Pierre Ritchie, Professor Emeritus, University of Ottawa
Jessica Robins, University of Michigan
Ira Robinson, Professor Emeritus, Concordia University
Neil Rogachevsky, Assistant Professor, Yeshiva University
Rebecca Roiphe, Joseph Solomon Distinguished Professor of Law, New York Law School
Dr. Asaf Romirowsky, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME)
Thane Rosenbaum, Distinguished University Professor, Touro University
Alvin Rosenfeld, Professor of English and Jewish Studies, Indiana University
Catherine Ross, Professor Emerita, George Washington University Law School
Joel Roth, Professor Emeritus, Jewish Theological Seminary
Andrew Sabl, Professor, University of Toronto
Hilel Salomon, Professor Emeritus, University of South Carolina
Philip Carl Salzman, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, McGill University, Canada
Jeffrey Saperstein, Faculty Lecturer, San Francisco State University
Leor Sapir, Fellow, Manhattan Institute
Jonathan Sarna, University Professor and Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Brandeis University
Sally Satel, Lecturer, Yale University School of Medicine
Bryan Schwartz, University of Manitoba
Ellie Schwartz, Adjunct Professor, New York Institute of Technology
Michael Sesnowitz, Professor Emeritus, Virginia Commonwealth University and Kent State University
Ilya Shapiro, Director of Constitutional Studies, Manhattan Institute
Edward Shapiro, Professor of History Emeritus, Seton Hall University
Ira Sheskin, Professor, University of Miami
Barry Shrage, Professor, Brandeis University
Maxim D. Shrayer, Professor of Russian, English, and Jewish Studies, Boston College
Dr. Brandy Shufutinsky, Jewish Institute for Liberal Values
Harry Shulman, Dr Harry Shulman, Professor (retired), University of Toronto
Vivian Shulman, Associate Professor, College of Staten Island, CUNY
Michael Singer, Clinical Psychologist
Robert Silverman, Lecturer, Shalem College
Frank Sloan, J. Alexander McMahon Prof. of Health Policy & Management and Professor of Economics Emeritus, Duke University
Steven Sloman, Professor, Brown University
Melanie Soderstrom, Professor, University of Manitoba
Christina Sommers, Senior Fellow Emeritus, American Enterprise Institute
Philip Spencer, Emeritus Professor in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Kingston University
Wilfred M Steinberg, MD FRCSC, University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine
Nadine Strossen, Professor Emerita, New York Law School
Stephen Sussman, Co-Founder & Co-President, Palm Beach Center for Democracy and Policy Research
Izabella Tabarovsky, Fellow, London Center for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and ISGAP
Jarrod Tanny, Associate Professor of History, University of North Carolina Wilmington
Dr. Howard Tenenbaum, University of Toronto
Ari Trachtenberg, Professor, Boston University
Gil Troy, Professor, McGill University
Jeremiah Unterman, Resident Scholar, Herzl Institute
Elina Veytsman, PhD, Postdoctoral Psychology Fellow, UCLA Semel Institute
Alan L. Wagner, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.I.C.S., F.A.S.R.S., A.M.E., Associate Professor, Eastern Virginia Medical School
Daniel Weiner, Professor, University of Connecticut
Eric Weinstein, PhD, Mathematician, Host of the Portal Podcast
Barry Wiener, Ph.D.
Margaret E. Winters, Professor Emerita, Wayne State University
Ruth Wisse, Professor Emerita, Harvard University
Michael Zemel, Professor Emeritus, University of Tennessee