“The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.” – Dante, “Inferno” Canto 3
The almost incomprehensible barbarism committed by Hamas is an abomination at a level the world has seldom seen. And it is absolutely sickening to witness their supporters cheer them on, especially when it occurs on college campuses, places that are supposed to uphold our highest ideals.
It is time to take names — of those who stand with the Jewish people and of those who do not.
As a college president for over two decades, I can assure you that figuring out what to say and do in a crisis is more complicated than you might imagine. Anything you write will elicit a storm of reproach: “You are stifling free speech when you take sides”; “You, as president, have no right to speak for the students, faculty, staff, and alumni”; “Your statement is merely performative, without any real substance.”
Yet some academic leaders have been brave enough to call out what was so clearly a breach of basic humanity. Princeton’s President, Chris Eisgruber, wrote: “Even in a world wearied and torn by violence and hatred, Hamas’ murder and kidnapping of hundreds of Israelis over the past weekend is among the most atrocious of terrorist acts.” Ben Sasse from the University of Florida wrote: “Sadly, too many people in elite academia have been weakened by their moral confusion that, when they see videos of raped women, hear of a beheaded baby, or learn of a grandmother murdered in her home, the first reaction of some is to ‘provide context’ … In other grotesque cases, they express simple support for the terrorists.” According to the TAP Into New Brunswick website, President Jonathan Holloway of Rutgers, attending a rally to support Israel and condemn the horrific attacks, “stood somber on the steps, surrounded by students.” Does that make a difference? In the same story, Rabbi Mendy Carlebach of Rutgers Chabad said “it’s very reaffirming … It means that the president stands with the Jewish people, with Israel, and that means a lot.”
You learn more about a person from an immediate response than one written later by a crisis communication team.
These heroes, and some of their counterparts, deserve to be celebrated. Especially when contrasted with so many of their presidential peers who put out inane statements that amounted to little more than President Trump’s “good people on both sides” drivel. Pushback has forced some of them to update their initial responses, but obviously you learn more about a person from an immediate response than one written later by a crisis communication team.
And for others, it is a deafening silence. It would serve them well to recall Dante’s quote above, or this one from Albert Einstein, himself a refugee from Nazi Germany, who in the wake of the Shoah wrote that “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.”
Here is what I hope to see going forward:
THAT Presidents Eisgruber, Sasse, Holloway, and the smattering of other heroic college presidents, be rewarded rather than cancelled.
THAT those who are in a position to influence public opinion, reassure their communities, and keep them safe, stop hiding behind the facade of “encouraging free speech” when confronted with verified crimes against humanity.
THAT when we select people and organizations to support with our time and our financial resources, we remember how they acted when we needed them most.
THAT groups consumed by their hatred watch their coalition of extremists implode. In the words of the 18th century political journalist, Jacques Mallet du Pan: “Like Saturn, the Revolution devours its children.”
THAT we unite with a powerful and resounding voice, drowning out the antisemites who are all too numerous throughout the world.
THAT we recognize the necessity for a strong and vigilant Israel, a nation that is prepared to go its own way on the global stage if forced to be. The future of the Jewish people is in our hands.
And, THAT the next chapter in Jewish and Israeli history be marked by strength, dignity, and adherence to the ideals that have sustained our people in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds for thousands of years.
Morton Schapiro is the former president of Williams College and Northwestern University. His most recent book (with Gary Saul Morson) is “Minds Wide Shut: How the New Fundamentalisms Divide Us.”
