Ivy League Schools Get Heat After Pittsburgh Statements Don’t Mention Jews
Two Ivy League universities got called out about their statements addressing the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, as they failed to mention the tragedy was an act of anti-Semitism.
The leaders of Columbia University and Dartmouth College shared vague statements with their students earlier this week regarding the shooting, where 11 people were killed at prayer by a gunman who reportedly said, “All Jews must die.” Neither mentioned that it was a hate crime against Jews — or mentioned Jews at all.
Columbia University revised its statement following outrage from students past and present, the Columbia Spectator reported. The first sentence went from, “We are deeply saddened by the senseless violence at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue on Saturday morning,” to “We are deeply saddened by the horrific antisemitic attack on Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue on Saturday morning.”
Classic @Columbia to send an email about the #TreeOfLifeSynagogue shooting and mention anti-LGBT and anti-black hatred but NOT ANTI-SEMITISM. The world has gone mad , I’m embarrassed today to call myself an alumnus & regret having donated to @CC_Columbia this year. #Columbia
— Zachary Neugut (@ZacharyNeugut) October 29, 2018
To be fair Columbia College privately DM’d me an apology and revised their statement here: https://t.co/orlMzrlW9I
To also be fair they shouldn’t make this mistake in the first place and their new statement is barely better
Conflating anti-semitism with other hatreds is idiotic
— Zachary Neugut (@ZacharyNeugut) October 29, 2018
Both universities lumped attack together with other alleged crimes. Dartmouth President Phil Hanlon sent an email to students with the subject, “Recent National Events.” He wrote that events across the country, which he didn’t specify, have been “targeting people for who they are,” listing religion among political views, gender and race.
The editorial board at the university’s newspaper, The Dartmouth, took note, slamming the vague letter.
The letter was “astounding in its vagueness and passivity,” they wrote. “One would assume that the purpose of such an email would be to condemn the violence of the attacks and provide support for students who feel threatened or who are in mourning. But if this was Hanlon’s intention, then he utterly botched the execution.”
Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30