Academic freedom or antisemitism?
Emails from students decrying instructors. Canceled film screenings. Art exhibitions taken down.
As the Israel-Hamas war continues, colleges and universities across the U.S. face pressure from school communities, politicians, political organizations and donors to restrict or punish speech that they deem controversial or discriminatory.
In the latest such case, a research center at Rutgers Law School that focuses on civil and human rights of Muslims, Arabs and South Asians is at the center of a debate over academic freedom amid the fight in Gaza.
A group of Republican U.S. senators has launched an inquiry into Rutgers' program, saying it promotes antisemitism. The lawmakers pointed to comments and social media posts from instructors and the center that refer to Palestinian resistance as a response to years of Israeli occupation and violence, and that call Israel a settler colonial state.
But advocates say the senators' claims are a politically motivated attack that threatens academic freedom.