A pro-Israel Jewish economist and former university president will no longer speak at Georgetown University Law Center’s graduation ceremony next week after stepping down from the role amid student criticism over his views on Israel and campus protests.
Morton Schapiro, who served as president of Northwestern University until 2022, had been announced last week as the commencement speaker for Georgetown Law’s May 17 ceremony. Soon after, students launched a petition calling for his removal.
Students object to Schapiro’s pro-Israel views
“Schapiro is not a lawyer, has no connection to Georgetown, and holds controversial, Zionist, and harmful opinions,” the petition stated. It ultimately gathered 282 signatures.
The petition highlighted a column Schapiro published last year in the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles titled “What I Have Learned Over the Past Two Years About Israel and the World,” in which he criticized progressives, university leaders, and major media outlets for their treatment of Israel during the Gaza war.
Students also referenced comments Schapiro made in 2020 criticizing protesters at Northwestern during clashes over campus activism. At the time, demonstrators referred to him as “Piggy Morty,” a nickname they said referenced his ties to police, while Schapiro argued the term carried antisemitic undertones.
Interim Georgetown Law Dean Joshua Teitelbaum informed the law school community Wednesday that Schapiro had withdrawn from the speaking role after “a number of law students raised concerns” about his selection.
“He was invited to address the graduating class to share his insights about the current moment in US higher education and to inspire our graduates to pursue a life’s work in service of others,” Teitelbaum wrote in an email shared with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
In a separate statement, Schapiro said he did not want his presence “to distract from the day’s festivities.”
Replacement speaker criticized over protest comments
Schapiro later told the Jewish Journal, “Given Georgetown Law’s desire to keep politics out of its commencement ceremony, I am a little surprised by their choice of a speaker to replace me.”
The replacement speaker, David Cole, is a Georgetown professor of law and public policy and former national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Following Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, Cole criticized efforts by the Anti-Defamation League and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law to investigate or penalize pro-Palestinian student organizations over campus demonstrations.
Cole argued at the time that restricting controversial speech would undermine universities rather than protect students.
“Restricting speech may seem like an attractive option for college administrators to quell campus tensions,” Cole wrote. “But efforts to censor speech often prove counterproductive, and undermine the very mission of the university.”
Campus commencement controversies continue
The Georgetown controversy is the latest in a series of disputes surrounding Israel and pro-Palestinian activism at US university commencement ceremonies.
Earlier this week, Rutgers University rescinded an invitation to alumnus Rami Elghandour to serve as commencement speaker, citing social media posts about Israel that the university said conflicted with its values.
Meanwhile, the president of the University of Michigan apologized after faculty senate chair Derek Peterson praised pro-Palestinian student protesters during a commencement address last weekend.
Source:
www.jpost.com
