90 anti-Israel faculty members defend pro-Palestinian activists in open letter to U of Florida
The faculty and staff members sided with those anti-Israel students who were arrested and suspended following their demonstrations during the spring semester.
The group also described Israel’s counteroffensive against the terrorist group Hamas as an 'ongoing genocide.'
90 professors and staff at the University of Florida in Gainesville have published an open letter to the administration, siding with pro-Palestinian students who were arrested and suspended following their protesting during the spring semester.
The university recently suspended students who were arrested at anti-Israel protests on April 29. The decision to suspend the anti-Israel protesters was made by the university’s dean of students, Chris Summerlin.
But now, dozens of professors at the university, who have formed a coalition called “UF Faculty for Justice in Palestine,” are challenging Dean Summerlin’s disciplinary decisions.
“We, as faculty at the University of Florida, must stand in solidarity with students because they are being deprived of educational opportunities without justification,” the faculty group wrote.
The group also described Israel’s counteroffensive against the terrorist group Hamas as an “ongoing genocide.”
“We know that UF values free speech and viewpoint diversity and respect President Sasse’s stated commitment to them,” the UF staff argued. “We are therefore concerned about how students speaking out against the ongoing genocide in Gaza are being treated, escalating to the arrests of 6 U F students peacefully sitting in folding chairs.”
“We, as faculty at this University, respectfully urge that the six students being prosecuted be given a fair hearing and the decision of the Student Conduct Committee be respected,” the group concluded.
The university administration, however, has continually stated that the pro-Palestinian demonstrators knew that their protests were violating the student code, yet conducted them anyway.
“Students who break rules face consequences,” UF spokesperson Steve Orlando said. “UF clearly, patiently and repeatedly communicated existing rules to protesters and then the university enforced those rules — just like we said we would.”
“The University of Florida upholds free speech and enforces the rules,” Orlando continued. “We expect our students to act like adults and take responsibility for their actions.”
University officials in other schools have established similar “Faculty for Justice in Palestine” groups, which are similar to the “Students for Justice in Palestine” chapters that have been implicated in numerous controversies related to anti-Semitism and their disruptive conduct.
The Faculty for Justice in Palestine group at Princeton University, for instance, in a November open letter featured in The Daily Princetonian, referred to the “Israeli siege” and “genocidal assault” on Gaza, as well as Israel’s alleged “apartheid” in the West Bank.
At Harvard University, more than 65 faculty members created their own chapter in January, called Harvard Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine.
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Florida for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
