Case president criticized for calling students antisemitic over Israel divestment push

The debate continues on Case Western Reserve University’s campus after a resolution was passed by the undergraduate student government Wednesday calling on the university to divest from companies and organizations that provide support to Israel's military, industry and prisons. The resolutions says that the nation is engaging in apartheid and human rights abuses against Palestine.

President Eric Kaler responded forcefully to the resolution in a letter to the campus community, condemning it as “profoundly anti-Israel and profoundly anti-Semitic,” and arguing that a vote for the resolution was an “aggression toward the Jewish members of our community.”

“While the resolution calls for disinvestment in a naïve list of companies that they view as oriented to the military or in support of corporate correction prisons, undoubtedly it promotes anti-Semitism,” Kaler said.

Kaler’s letter itself drew a similarly strongly worded response from the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ national organization and its Cleveland chapter, calling it “dishonest, dangerous and defamatory,” according to a press release.

“President Kaler conflates the legitimate grievances of the Palestinian people with antisemitism and hate,” the council wrote. “In doing so, he commits the logical fallacy of attacking a straw man. Moreover, he dismissively erases the perspective of the Palestinian students on campus, many of whose immediate families are directly impacted by the Israeli occupation.”

The resolution argues that the university, through the act of possessing “holdings in companies that contribute to occupation and apartheid,” is directly culpable for the “oppression of the Palestinian people.”

It asks the university to investigate to see if it has investment holdings in a variety of companies, from arms maker Lockheed Martin to Sabra Hummus, and divest from those companies. It was approved 31-15 by the student governmental body, CWRU student newspaper The Observer reported.

The resolution is similar to a resolution approved by Ohio State University’s student government earlier this year. They echo the broader Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement that has proven controversial in the U.S. in recent years.

Zack, a Case Western Reserve student who asked that his last name not to be used for fear of retribution, said Kaler effectively alienated much of the student body with his statement.

“The fact that he calls it antisemitic is just a slap in the face to actual antisemitism,” Zack said.

He also said Kaler has not been supportive of Palestinian students on campus who also might face backlash from Kaler’s statement accusing the students of antisemitism.

“He has given the bill itself infinitely more attention than if he just ignored it,” he said. “He also chose to meet with Jewish students and the Hillel Organization, yet completely ignored talking to any Muslim/Middle Eastern students or associations.”

A Case Western Reserve spokesperson declined to respond to these assertions and declined to respond to the CAIR statement.

Zack said he was present during the undergraduate student government’s debate. He said the debate was heated but civil, noting that some Jewish students raised concerns about being targeted on campus. He said there was some discussion about antisemitic incidents rising on campuses that have passed similar resolutions, and said that’s “terrible” and should be called out when seen. He said he has seen some antisemitic language recently on campus on some social media platforms, like the anonymous app Yik Yak.

Jared Isaacson, executive director of the Cleveland Hillel Foundation, said in an email obtained by Cleveland Jewish News, that the resolution serves to drive a wedge between students on campus instead of helping them understand each other’s positions.

“The resolution attempted to hide anti-Israel rhetoric within broader language opposing the ‘military-industrial complex, and the prison-industrial complex,’” he wrote. “In effect, the legislation falsely smears Israel, Israelis, and many Jews as anti-peace, and last night’s debate – like so many before it here and on other campuses - rested on familiar and repeated antisemitic tropes.”

Kaler previously has been outspoken in his opposition to the BDS movement, with The Observer first noting this connection locally. In 2013, then-Univeristy of Minnesota President Kaler sent a letter arguing BDS movements “undermine academic freedom” in response to the American Studies Association voting to boycott Israeli academic institutions.

International non-governmental watchdogs like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have argued Israel has committed the crime of apartheid against Palestinian people, while the Anti-Defamation League decries BDS efforts as anti-Semitic and an attempt to de-legitimize the state of Israel. The U.S. House overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning the BDS campaign as well in 2019.