Stanford won't continue employment of instructor who allegedly put Jews in a corner during class exercise: Report
Stanford won't continue the employment of Amir Loggins, who allegedly put Jewish students in a corner during a class exercise.
Stanford University will not continue the employment of an instructor who allegedly put Jewish students in a corner during a class exercise, according to a report.
During an October 10, 2023 class session, an instructor allegedly asked Jewish students to stand in a corner of the classroom and used them as an example, according to The Forward. Reports at the time identified the instructor in question as Ameer Loggins. This identification is corroborated by recent coverage from the Stanford Daily.
Citing several student accounts with individuals who he had spoken to, Rabbi Dov Greenberg, director of the Chabad Stanford Jewish Center, told The Forward that the instructor asked Israeli and Jewish students to identify themselves, then told them to grab their belongings and stand in a corner, stating, “This is what Israel does to the Palestinians.”
“How many people died in the Holocaust?” the instructor asked. “Six million,” a student allegedly responded.
“Colonizers killed more than 6 million. Israel is a colonizer,” the instructor said.
According to Greenberg, the instructor allegedly said “Hamas is a legitimate representation of the Palestinian people. They are not a terrorist group. They are freedom fighters. Their actions are legitimate.”
The Jewish News of Northern California reported on Wednesday that the instructor will not return.
Stanford spokesperson Dee Mostofi told the outlet that the university has “no plans” to hire Loggins further.
In a statement following the incident, Stanford said that the instructor wasn’t teaching while the incident is under investigation, as Campus Reform reported.
”We have received a report of a class in which a non-faculty instructor is reported to have addressed the Middle East conflict in a manner that called out individual students in class based on their backgrounds and identities. Without prejudging the matter, this report is a cause for serious concern. Academic freedom does not permit the identity-based targeting of students. The instructor in this course is not currently teaching while the university works to ascertain the facts of the situation,” the university said.
Campus Reform reached out to Stanford for comment.
