David Myers Wins Support Of 500 Jewish Studies Professors Amid Attack

Image by Wikimedia Commons

By Josh Nathan-Kazis September 7, 2017

Nearly 500 people, most of them Jewish studies scholars, have signed a petition supporting the David Myers, the head of the Center for Jewish History, amid calls for his ouster over ties to liberal groups.

The petition comes days after public relations executives Ronn Torossian and Hank Scheinkopf launched a campaign against Myers over his leadership role at the New Israel Fund, a dovish pro-Israel group.

The petition calls the campaign “scurrilous,” accusing Myers’ opponents of “the worst kind of McCarthyism.”

“David Myers is a distinguished historian of Jewish civilization, with a stellar reputation of academic leadership in North America, Israel, and throughout the world,” the petition reads. “With a proven track record of dynamic leadership, institution building, and community outreach, he is the ideal person to direct the Center for Jewish History. Calls for his ouster based on ad hominem charges on purely political grounds must be rejected.”

Prominent signatories include New York University’s Hasia Diner, Susannah Heschel of Dartmouth College, Michael Walzer of Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study, Deborah Lipstadt of Emory University, and Steven M. Cohen of HUC-JIR.

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected] or on Twitter, @joshnathankazis.

Josh Nathan-Kazis is a staff writer for the Forward. He covers charities and politics, and writes investigations and longform.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO