Book Description

Sing for the pro-Palestinian student activists who have, over these past two years, opened our hearts to the injustice and inhumanity of Israel’s war in Gaza.

This single sentence, concluding a brief commencement address by the University of Michigan’s Faculty Senate Chair, ignited a controversy that simmered for weeks. Professor Derek Peterson had praised the work of female, Jewish, and Black activists who had fought for inclusion, ending with a shoutout to students who protested the university’s financial ties to Israel’s war on Gaza.

Hours later, U-M President Domenico Grasso publicly apologized, calling the remarks “hurtful and insensitive.” Peterson faced a barrage of threatening hate mail, alongside demands that he be fired and the university defunded. Conversely, a chorus of passionate dissent argued that a college education should equip students for, not shield them from, sharp controversies.

This volume collects commentary from students, alumni, faculty, and other writers. Most, but not all, defend Peterson’s right to say what he said, reflecting on questions of academic freedom, repressive notions of what is “appropriate,” the institution’s traditions of moral courage, the danger of assuming a monolithic “Jewish community,” and the Palestine exception to free speech.

About the Author / Editor

Rebekah Modrak is a writer and artist who brings a critical eye to brand messaging, consumer culture, and institutional betrayal using a range of media, including reenactments, photography, video, websites, performance and non-fiction essays.

List of Contributors

The Academic Council of Jewish Voice for Peace, AAUP/AFT Labor Leaders, Samuel R. Bagenstos, John Carson, Jonathan Chait, Juan Cole, Gabe Efros, Historians for Peace and Democracy, Gayle Kirshenbaum, Shamai Leibowitz, Rima Mohammad, Derek Peterson, Rogério M. Pinto, Qasim Rashid, Carina Ray, Rabbi Davey Rosen, Lauren Barrett Smith, University of Michigan Central Student Government, Alan Wald, Silke-Maria Weineck, John K. Wilson, Yi-Li Wu, Basit Zafar.

Praise for this Book

“This remarkable volume breathes with the spirit of resistance and resilience embodied by the distinguished activist Chandler Davis, whose lifelong commitments of principle offer an inspiring and daunting model to us all as we strive to stand up against today’s official assault on academic and intellectual freedom.”
-Howard Brick, Professor of History Emeritus, University of Michigan.