The College Fix

Pro-Palestinian students at a New York liberal arts college have organized a “boycott” of a Jewish professor’s classes this semester over his pro-Israel public statements.

The Sarah Lawrence College Divestment Coalition recently announced on social media its members would boycott Professor Samuel Abrams’ classes and called on peers to do the same. As part of their campaign, the activists also privately messaged students on the GroupMe app.

“Sam Abrams is a tenured professor at Sarah Lawrence College. He is also a proud Zionist who advocates for Israel’s right to self-defense in the midst of a genocide,” the statement reads in part.

The group went on to criticize Abrams for associating with the American Enterprise Institute, a right-leaning think tank, and criticizing DEI programs, before encouraging students to altogether avoid Abrams this fall.

“We call on you to disengage from Sam Abrams this year. Do not register for his courses. Do not attend his lectures,” the group stated. “Help us collectively send our leadership the message that racist, misogynistic and genocidal rhetoric is not an essential component of a liberal arts education.”

In a statement to The College Fix on Wednesday, Abrams criticized the group organizing the effort, calling it blatantly antisemitic and a ploy to silence pro-Israel faculty.

“This ‘boycott’ from these students represents a deep failure of the College to instill the values of viewpoint diversity and learning through difference,” he said via email.

“From what I can tell, I have never met any of these students who are supporting a ‘boycott’ and engaging in libelous behavior. So, rather than approach me and talk with me about differences of view, they are attacking my views and me for being Jewish and supporting Israel,” he said.

“They have not learned that in a collegiate setting we discuss differences and try to work through disagreements, we do not call for silencing debate,” Abrams added.

In addition to uploading to Instagram encouraging a boycott of Abrams’ classes, members of SLC Divest also privately messaged students on the chat application GroupMe encouraging them to disassociate from Abrams (pictured, first obtained by Minding the Campus).

“He is a staunch advocate of Israel’s right to self defense even when it includes the murder of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians,” one message sent to a student encouraging the boycott of Abrams said while criticizing him for comparing Hamas to ISIS.

Sarah Lawrence College Divestment Coalition and Sarah Lawrence College media affairs division has not responded to requests from The College Fix seeking comment this week.

William Bryan Paul, a higher education expert with the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, criticized the boycott of Abrams and praised Abrams’ commitment to academic freedom.

“The tragedy is that @SamuelAbramsAEI is the kind of professor who would be most willing to engage these students in open dialogue if they attended his classes in good faith. His commitment to viewpoint diversity is why @goACTA honored him as a Hero of Intellectual Freedom,” Paul posted on X.

Writing in Minding the Campus, Abrams argued the campaign against him is a “dangerous evolution of cancel culture.”

“Despite the misguided and extreme views held by the students who attempted to cancel me for being a Zionist Jew, what has occurred at Sarah Lawrence represents a serious threat to college students and to the broader concept of viewpoint diversity,” he wrote.

“Students can inflict actual harm on their peers by depriving them of opportunities to learn and explore and by destroying their chances of gaining a liberal education. This will be a real challenge to combat and will be harder to address than simply breaking up illegal demonstrations and stopping organized violence.”

Abrams is not the only pro-Israel professor to be targeted by students for his views over Israel.

In April, Columbia professor Shai Davidai was blocked from entering the university’s campus after a group of anti-Israel students set up an encampment to urge the school to boycott Israel. The university claimed this was necessary to preserve the safety of Davidai and pro-Israel students, who were planning a peaceful counter-demonstration.

“Earlier today, @Columbia University refused to let me onto campus. Why? Because they cannot protect my safety as a Jewish professor. This is 1938,” Davidai posted on Twitter following the incident.

In November, Jewish USC Professor John Strauss faced more than 10 formal complaints from students after he said that “Hamas are murderers” while walking by an anti-Israel campus demonstration. In June 2024, the university closed the case against him and took no formal disciplinary action.

MORE: More than 1,000 scholars sign petition against AAUP for supporting academic boycotts

Like The College Fix on Facebook / Follow us on Twitter