January 25, 2017 President Rev. Joseph M. Mcshane Keith Eldredge

January 25, 2017 President Rev. Joseph M. McShane Keith Eldredge, Dean of Students office of the President 441 East Fordham Road Bronx, NY 10458 Dear President Rev. McShane and Dean Eldredge, As faculty at universities across the United States, Canada, and beyond, we condemn Fordham University’s decision to deny Students for Justice in Palestine student group status. Such an action is both a violation of the spirit of an open university and of the students’ rights to free speech. According to Palestine Legal, the students had to undergo an unprecedented year of meetings with various administrators, interrogations, and delays. The University’s decision to deny them their student group status because of their advocacy of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions offers a very weak set of justifications: such advocacy is considered to be “polarizing” and is said to “present a barrier to open dialogue and mutual learning and understanding.” Many political issues are polarizing. Witness our latest presidential election, or debates about reproductive technology or, in the past, segregation or slavery. The fact that a debate is polarizing is not justification to censor the debate. Indeed, a polarized debate offers the possibility for opposing viewpoints to be more clearly articulated so that greater understanding can be achieved. Censorship, not the open discussion of boycotts, is the greatest “barrier to open dialogue.” The justification given for such an act of censorship reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of what boycotts are, the purpose of a university, and the goals of SJP. Boycotts are a time-honored non-violent mode of political expression and protected as constitutional speech for most of US American history. Engaging in boycotts does not prevent dialogue, but in fact often fosters it, since members of the campus community with different viewpoints must engage with the issue at hand. Students for Justice in Palestine is a grassroots student group that advocates for Palestinian human rights, freedom, justice, and equality. It is a non-violent group committed to dialogue and reflection. We demand that you immediately rescind the rejection of SJP as a student group on campus, apologize to the students affected by this harmful decision, and reaffirm Fordham’s commitment to free speech and academic freedom. Sincerely, Jewish Voice for Peace Academic Council Signed Asim Ali Lecturer, University of Maryland Elizabeth Aaronsohn Associate Professor, Emerita, Central Ct Rebecca Alpert State University Professor , Religion Temple University Houssam Abbas Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Yali Amit Pennsylvania Professor, Statistics University of Chicago Farid Abdel-Nour Professor, San Diego State University Elisabeth Anker Associate Professor , George Washington Rabab Abdulhadi University Senior Scholar/Associate Professor, San Francisco State University Sofya Aptekar Assistant Professor, Sociology Firas Abouseido UMASS Boston Proposal Engineer, Njit Annette Aronowicz Mohammed Abuaysha Professor, Frankin & Marshall College Student , Brookdale Community College Anthony Ashbolt Lena Aburdene Derhally Dr., Politics and International Studies Masters, Fordham University of Wollongong, Australia Fida Adely Elsa Auerbach Associate Professor, Georgetown Professor Emerita, English University of Massachusetts Boston Alan Aja Associate Professor, Brooklyn College Ralph Austen (CUNY) Professor Emeritus of History, U. of Chicago Danya Al-Saleh Bertrand Badie PhD Student, Uw-Madison Unversity Full Professor, Political Science and International Relations Nadine Alaloul Sciences Po Paris Student, Western University Raymond Baker Bernardo Alayza Mujica Professor of International Politics, Master, Surquillo International Studies Trinity College, Hartford, Ct Ammiel Alcalay Professor, Classical, Middle Eastern & Asian Ian Barnard Languages & Cultures Associate Professor, Associate Professor, Queens College English Chapman University Anthony Alessandrini Professor, City University of New York Chris Beall J.D. Candidate, Fordham School of Law Jean Beaman Benay Blend Assistant Professor, Purdue University Retired Professor, History Central Nm Community College Adam Becker Professor, Religious Studies and Classics Steven Blevins NYU Frederick Bohrer Gordon Beeferman Professor, Art History Visiting Adjunct Professor, Music Hood College Binghamton University (SUNY) Alida Bouris Joel Beinin Associate Professor, University of Chicago Donald J. Mclachlan Professor of History, Stanford University Baruch Boxer Professor Emeritus, Uman Kevin Bell Ecology/Environmental Science/Geography Associate Professor, The Pennsylvania State Rutgers University University Daniel Boyarin Naor Ben-Yehoyada Taubmann Professor of Talmudic Culture, Assistant Professor, Anthropology Near Eastern Studies and Rhetoric Columbia University University of California Berkeley Judith Berlowitz Naomi Braine Adjunct Assistant Professor, Mills College Associate Professor, Sociology Brooklyn College Elizabeth Bernstein Professor, WGSS/Sociology Angel Bravo-Salgado Barnard College/Columbia University Visiting Assistant Professor, Miami University Stephen Biggs Assistant Professor, Iowa State University David Bremenstuhl, Education Laureate Education Laureate, Education Laureate Martin Billeter Retired Educator Em Professor, Dr. Sc. Nat., Institute of Molecular Life Sciences (IMLS) Steve Breyman University of Zurich, Switzerland Science and Technology Studies Cyrus Bina Howard Brick Distinguished Research Professor, Division Louis Evans Professor of History, History of Social Sciences University of Michigan University of Minnesota (Morris Campus) Gary Brooks Jennifer Birkett Retired, Tulane University Emeritus Professor, University of Birmingham UK Bernadette Brooten Professor, Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, Patricia Blanchette Women\'S, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Professor, University of Notre Dame Religious Studies, Classics Brandeis University Carole Browner Professor David Chadwick Professor, UCLA Professor, Computer Science Kent, Uk Rachel Buff Professor, History/Comparative Ethnic David B. Chandler Studies Professional Math Tutor, Mathematics University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Widener University Emily Burns Wendy Chapkis Dr Emily Burns, Nhs Professor , University of Southern Maine Independent Researcher-Medical Trainee Barbara Chasin Richard Burt Professor Emerita, Sociology Professor, University of Florida Montclair State University Charles Butterworth Deborah Chassler Emeritus Professor, Government & Politics Senior Academic Researcher/Lecturer, University of Maryland Social Work Boston University Mary Baine Campbell Professor, Brandeis University Swati Chattopadhyay Professor, UC Santa Barbara Jonathan Cant Assistant Professor, University of Manouba Matt Chew Instructor, Arizona State University Julie Carlson Professor, English Eric Cheyfitz UC Santa Barbara Professor, English Cornell Joel Carlson Ba, Wsu Allan Christensen Professor Emeritus, English Jessica Carr John Cabot University, Rome Berman Scholar of Jewish Studies, Religious Studies Isaac Christiansen Lafayette College Adjunct Professor , Sociology Dmacc Aminah Yaquin Carroll, Mpa Aminah Yaquin Carroll, Ba Fordham Leigh Clark Religious Studies, Mpa CUNY Baruch, Iel Department Chair, English Fellow. , SUNY Buffalo, Fordham U., School of Engineering and Design Columbia Universityand Teachers College, New School for Social Research, CUNY Richard Clark Baruch, Iel Fellow NYU Professor, Integrative Biology and Pharmacology Rand Carter University of Texas Health Science Center, Professor of The History of Art, Hamilton At Houston College Ilise Cohen Part Time Instructor, Agnes Scott James Cohen Professor, Universite Paris 3 Sorbonne Chandler Davis Nouvelle Professor Emeritus, Mathamatics University of Toronto Bruce Cohen Prof. Emeritus, History Allegra De Laurentiis Worcester State University Associate Professor, Philosophy SUNY-Stony Brook Merrill Cole Professor, English Herman De Ley Western Illinois University Emeritus Professor, Philosophy and Moral Science John Collins Ghent University (Belgium) Professor, St. Lawrence University Anne-Marie Debbané Rebecca Comay Assistant Professor, Geography Professor, Philosophy San Diego State University University of Toronto Lara Deeb Eric Covey Professor, Scripps College Visiting Assistant Professor , Miami University Benjamin Delee Assistant Professor, History Robert Cressy SUNY Cortland Emeritus Professor, Finance, Business School Claude Denisse University of Birmingham, Uk Associate Professor , Agroparistech Elyse Crystall Linval Depass Senior Lecturer , English & Comp Lit Drug Development Course Unc At Chapel Hill Alaina Desalvo Edward Curtis Graduate Student, Higher Education Millennium Chair of The Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Religious Studies Indiana University-Purdue University Michael Desch Indianapolis Professor, Notre Dame Martin Cutler James Dickins Ba Hon, Open University, Uk Prof. of Arabic, Dept. of Arabic, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Glen Dalakian Ii University of Leeds Student, Fordham School of Law Anna Dirienzo Ribhi Daoud Professor, University of Chicago Professor of Economics, Economics Sinclair Community College Arif Dirlik Knight Profesor of Social Science, Lawrence Davidson History/Anthropology Professor Emeritus, History U. of Oregon, Retired West Chester University Estelle Disch Wendilyn Emrys Professor Emerita, Sociology -Emerita Doctoral Student, Mythological Studies UMASS Boston With Depth Psychology Pacifica Graduate Institute Linda

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