Suspended Stanford lecturer called Israelis ‘colonisers’: What university said

Israel-Hamas War: Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania have also come under criticism for their responses to the Hamas attacks on Israel.

Stanford University suspended a teacher over allegations that students were targeted for their identities amid the Israel-Hamas war. Amid a growing backlash on campuses, the temporary removal came after reports the non-faculty instructor called out individual students based on their backgrounds while addressing recent events in Israel.

Stanford University in Stanford, California, US. (Bloomberg)

“This report is a cause for serious concern,” the university said in a statement, adding, “The instructor in this course is not currently teaching while the university works to ascertain the facts of the situation.”

Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania have also come under criticism for their responses to the Hamas attacks on Israel as students have staged protests in the aftermath of the violence which has killed at least 1,900 Palestinians and 1,300 Israelis.

Stanford University said that it also addressed complaints about offensive signs and message across campus, asserting that controversial speech is legal only if it does not escalate to threats or harassment. Some of the signage was removed because it didn’t comply with rules that limit the time it can be displayed in certain campus locations, the university said.

Harvard student protests

More than 30 Harvard student groups signed a statement of solidarity with Palestine last week, saying responsibility for the violence falls on Israel, sparking criticism from peers and alumni.

Former Harvard president Larry Summers said that he was “sickened” by the university’s hesitance to condemn the “acts of terror" after which the university's leadership including president Claudine Gay issued a letter that acknowledged the “death and destruction unleashed by the attack by Hamas.”

Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer and his wife quit their positions on the Harvard Kennedy School Dean’s Executive Board, citing a “lack of clear evidence of support” toward the people of Israel from university leadership.

University of Pennsylvania controversy

University of Pennsylvania has been mired by accusations of antisemitism after the university hosted the Palestine Writes Literature Festival last month. Penn trustee Vahan H. Gureghian resigned in protest against the school leadership, it was reported.