A Stanford University instructor has been removed from teaching duties, following claims of segregating Jewish students by forcing them to stand in the corner.
Rabbi Dov Greenberg, the director of the Chabad Stanford Jewish Center, revealed that three students informed him about the incident that took place during an undergraduate “Civil, Liberal, and Global Education” course. According to the students, the instructor initially asked Jewish and Israeli students to identify themselves. When several students did, the instructor told them to stand in a corner of the classroom, attempting to draw a connection to Israel’s actions towards Palestinians by telling the students, “this is what Israel does to the Palestinians.”
The instructor went on to ask how many Jews were killed in the Holocaust. When a student answered, “six million,” the instructor responded, “colonizers killed more than six million. Israel is a colonizer.” The instructor allegedly stated that Hamas is a “legitimate representation of the Palestinian people” and that they are not a terrorist group but rather “freedom fighters” performing legitimate actions.
Stanford President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez promptly addressed the situation, confirming that the instructor had been removed from teaching. The instructor’s name has not been disclosed.
Greenberg highlighted that the students who reported the incident were initially hesitant to speak out due to concerns about potential grade-related repercussions. Their concern comes after the fact that several Stanford officials authored a letter arguing that the university’s faculty has been too neutral on the conflict between Hamas and Israel. The president and provost have since released a second statement outwardly condemning Hamas.
This incident occurred in the context of ongoing discussions and protests regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the Stanford campus. According to a report by The Stanford Daily, banners with various slogans condemning Israel have recently been displayed on Campus, including one that reads “The Illusion of Israel is Burning” and another saying “The Land Remembers Her People” with a Palestinian flag drawn beside it.
