Stanford University has relieved an instructor of teaching responsibilities while the establishment conducts an examination into allegations that the instructor minimized the Holocaust and singled out students during a discussion about the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas. The accused instructor, who does not hold faculty status and remains unnamed, is reported to have targeted students based on their backgrounds and ethnic identities.
Without taking sides prematurely, Stanford regards the incident as a serious concern. The university reiterated in a recent statement that academic freedom does not excuse identity-based discrimination against students.
Tensions have undeniably escalated beyond the boundaries of the Middle East due to recent hostile engagements involving Israel and Hamas militants, with many Jewish individuals in the U.S. expressing their fear of being victimized amid broader reports of rising antisemitism. Last year saw nearly 3,700 antisemitic incidents in the country, representing the highest recorded number since 1979.
Executive director of Stanford’s Jewish community center, Rohr Chabad House, Rabbi Dov Greenberg, reported that the students involved in the incident were deeply disturbed. After speaking with the affected students, Greenberg revealed that they were emotionally distressed and fearful of potential backlash or intimidation on campus.
Greenberg recounted that the tense exchange began when the instructor seemingly defended the actions of Hamas, followed by a query to the students about the number of Jewish lives claimed during the Holocaust. Subsequent to a student’s response of “6 million,” the instructor controversially compared this figure to those purportedly killed by colonizers, labeling Israel as one such colonizer.
The instructor then allegedly asked certain students to move to the rear of the classroom as a physical representation of his interpretation of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. This created a sense of marginalization, isolation, and even attack among the students.
Rather than confront the instructor, the students retreated, expressing feelings of trauma and disbelief to Greenberg. The Rabbi empathized, commenting on the vulnerability of these young students experiencing their first time away from home and the associated emotional challenges they face in grappling with such sensitive incidents.
During two class sessions on Tuesday, the Stanford instructor’s contentious comments were presented to a total of 18 students, under the guise of a lesson on colonialism. As per the Jewish student leaders in this College 101 class – a mandatory class for freshmen – the instructor allegedly asked Jewish students to identify themselves before separating them from their personal belongings. This action was presented as a simulation of what the Jews were doing to the Palestinians.
The instructor has allegedly continued his contentious arguments by bringing up the 19th-century colonization of Congo by Belgium’s King Leopold II, in which more people were killed than during the Holocaust. Students from both classes state that the instructor categorically asked about their ancestral origins, labeling them as either the “colonizer” or the “colonized”.
Stanford University has reiterated that it stands clearly against hate crimes or discrimination on grounds of religion, race, ethnicity, national origin, or otherwise. The university wanted to reassure everyone of this stance, especially Jewish and Palestinian students who have been subjected to rising antisemitic incidents and threatening messages, respectively. The collective focus remains on ensuring the safety and sense of belonging for all students.
