‘I feel strongly that the BDS movement demonizes Jewish and Israeli members of our community, whether intended or otherwise,’ top trustee says
The University of Pennsylvania will not be supporting the anti-Israel “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions,” campaign any time soon.
“Penn does not support divesting from, boycotting, or sanctioning Israel,” Board Chair Ramanan Raghavendran told the university’s internal news blog. He said he was sharing the view of President Larry Jameson.
The university has come under federal scrutiny for its response to antisemitism on campus, eventually leading to the resignation of President Liz Magill and its Board of Trustees Chair Scott Bok.
“It is against the law in Pennsylvania In my view, it is anathema to academic freedom,” Raghavendran said. “It degrades Penn’s educational and research missions. And it opposes the idea of an ‘overlapping consensus.’”
An “overlapping consensus” is “what John Rawls defined as agreement on the principles that allow us to live together harmoniously despite differing beliefs,” the board chair said earlier in the interview.
The board chair went on to suggest that BDS “demonizes Jewish and Israeli members of our community.”
He said further:
Much of what I see in the public domain about BDS is about how it infringes on academic freedom. I agree with this objection. But I want to mention something I don’t believe has been sufficiently articulated. I feel strongly that the BDS movement demonizes Jewish and Israeli members of our community, whether intended or otherwise. This is simply unacceptable and suggests a lack of moral clarity. This in no way diminishes the importance of passionate discussion, debate, and disagreement on Penn’s campus. The University welcomes those dialogues.
Raghavendran made other comments suggesting he supports free and open debate. He said he supports “institutional neutrality,” an idea that has gained traction in recent weeks.
“Unfortunately, it’s difficult to find a public square today where people are doing anything other than shouting at each other,” he said during the interview. “This is true everywhere, from X to our political institutions to Thanksgiving dinner with extended family.”
“Penn is trying to be a place where you can engage in a different way,” he said. “We talk endlessly about civil discourse, but there aren’t many good proxies to look at,” he said.
“Penn is forging its own way.”
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IMAGE: University of Pennsylvania with College Fix edits
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