Photo taken from University of Michigan’s website.
The University of Michigan’s president faced backlash from anti-Israel activists after he committed to speak at an event addressing anti-Semitism.
President Santa J. Ono is listed as a speaker for the “Never is Now” conference hosted by the Anti-Defamation League. The conference is scheduled to take place from March 3-4, and will feature talks on how to “Advocate Against Antisemitism on College Campuses” and “Strengthen Holocaust and Antisemitism Education in your School Community,” among other subjects.
Ono’s decision to speak at the event has met with pressure from certain anti-Israel activists.
[RELATED: University of Michigan appoints Title VI coordinator amid campus anti-Israel protests]
The group TAHRIR Coalition at the University of Michigan, which “act[s] in solidarity with freedom fighters in Palestine and revolutionaries everywhere working to dismantle global imperialism, capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchy,” expressed its disapproval of Ono’s commitment.
The group issued a statement criticizing the decision, blaming Ono of “valu[ing] the voices of pro-Israel donors, regents, and government officials over the multiracial, multifaith grassroots movement at the University of Michigan calling for divestment from israel [sic].” TAHRIR Coalition urged Ono to “cancel his talk and disassociate himself from the anti-Palestinian ADL.”
Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ chapter at Michigan, recognized that anti-Semitism is a problem but added that Ono “has been willfully negligent in addressing Islamophobia on his campus.”
The University of Michigan has been at the center of several controversies related to anti-Semitism in 2024.
In December, it was discovered that a top Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion staffer for the university, Rachel Dawson, was fired after she previously said that the school is “controlled by wealthy Jews,” among other anti-Semitic comments.
[RELATED: UMich hit with civil rights complaint by CAIR over mishandling of ‘Islamophobia’]
The school’s student government was also taken over by a group called the Shut It Down Party, which routinely obstructed business to promote its mission of pressuring the school to divest from Israel. The gridlock was eventually broken with the help of Leadership Institute-trained students, and the leaders of the Shut It Down party were removed from their positions after a successful impeachment vote.
On Nov. 19, anti-Israel activists invaded a lecture given by Jewish Studies professor Marc Dollinger from San Francisco State University, disrupting the event and threatening him: “Dollinger, you can’t hide! Zionism is a crime!”
Campus Reform has reached out to the University of Michigan for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
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