San Jose State University professor resigns over university's support for Israel
A San Jose State University professor, Rochelle McLaughlin, announced her resignation effective Dec. 20, citing ethical objections to the university’s perceived support of Israeli actions in Gaza, which she described as “genocide.”
McLaughlin criticized the institution for its ties to the military-industrial complex and called for divestment from what she termed the "Zionist occupation."
A pro-Palestine San Jose State University (SJSU) professor recently resigned over the university’s position during the Israel-Palestine conflict and what she sees as the school’s support for “genocide” in Gaza.
Rochelle McLaughlin, who has been a professor at SJSU for two decades, will resign effective Dec. 20, according to KRON.
It’s a tremendous loss and it took a lot of deep and morale [sic] reckoning to make the decision,” McLaughlin stated, explaining her decision to resign. “I do see why there are faculty who do believe it’s a genocide, but they remain silent because they could lose everything.”
In an article posted on Dec. 15 to Mondoweiss, McLaughlin described her anti-Israel standpoint and condemned the university for not totally eliminating support for the Jewish state.
“I have been teaching here for the past 20 years and I can no longer ethically or morally consent to use my labor in any way that supports an institution that is explicitly manufacturing consent for the unrestrained, illegal, ‘apocalyptic’ ongoing series of ‘calculated’ genocides to destroy the people of Palestine,” McLaughlin stated in the article.
“I believe that neither our tax dollars nor students’ tuition ought to be funding genocides,” the professor continued. “Over the last 14 months, SJSU students and faculty along with our local community have been trying to hold up a moral and ethical compass for our university to stand up for humanitarian law, to speak up against killing innocent people, and to disclose and divest from war and weapons.”
McLaughlin urged that “SJSU’s complicity and material support of the military-industrial complex and the Zionist occupation of Indigenous land” be immediately terminated.
According to a recent study, about a third of U.S. adults who were polled described anti-Semitism in the country as a “very serious problem.”
Other studies have found the percentage to be even higher. “We’ve found that 44% of Americans at least somewhat agree that antisemitism is a serious problem,” Matt Williams, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Vice President of Antisemitism Research, told Campus Reform in a statement.
“With antisemitism, these specific results showing an increase in awareness is a positive development since many Jews find themselves gaslit with phrases like ‘antisemitism isn’t a real thing,’” Williams continued.
Earlier this year, ADL found that there was an incredible 477% increase in anti-Israel incidents following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
“This marks the highest number ever documented by ADL,” the report stated. “These incidents included both blatant acts of antisemitism, as well as anti-Israel activity, which is not always antisemitic.”
Campus Reform has contacted San Jose State University and Professor Rochelle McLaughlin for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.