When Georgetown Law School announced recently that Dr. Morton Schapiro, Professor and President Emeritus of Northwestern University, would be its commencement speaker, Interim Dean Joshua C. Teitelbaum noted that Schapiro is “highly informed about the challenges facing colleges and universities today,” and that “there are few who can speak to it with as much clarity and insight as he can.”
How prescient that was.
Indeed one of the challenges facing universities today is a growing intolerance for free speech, especially speech that is supportive of Israel.
In his Jewish Journal column, Schapiro has written about a range of subjects, including the need for hope and optimism and improving the public discourse. But he has also expressed supportive views of Israel.
That was a bridge too far for a group of law students.
“Since April 2023, Schapiro has written a column discussing faith, politics, and Jewish identity for The Jewish Journal,” the campus paper the Voice reported. “Students who spoke to the Voice took issue with some of the articles Schapiro has written, specifically focusing on Israel and its relationship to Judaism and U.S. universities.”
Some of the complaints related to Schapiro’s lack of a legal background, but the thrust of the outrage was connected to his support for Israel.
“The selection of Morton Schapiro as our commencement speaker is an absolute shame,” a student named Mari Latibashvili wrote to the Voice. “His views on the genocide of Palestinians are despicable and disqualifying; instead of holding Israel accountable for the horrors it has perpetrated, he blames the media and universities for allowing people to speak the truth.”
Faced with a petition by protesters decrying his invitation, the opposition became loud enough that Schapiro could only imagine what would be reserved for him on the day of the address. So, as he told me, he felt he had little choice but to withdraw.
In his announcement this morning, Teitelbaum wrote:
“In the past week, a number of law students raised concerns about Dr. Schapiro as commencement speaker, due primarily to opinion essays he published on Israel and Palestine in the aftermath of October 7, 2023…After independently learning of the students’ concerns, Dr. Schapiro informed me that he regretfully has decided to decline our invitation to speak at commencement.”
In his letter, Schapiro wrote: “I have presided over 28 commencements as a president and dean, and those ceremonies are about celebrating the graduates and their supporters. I was looking forward to giving a talk about humility and gratitude, but I don’t want my presence to distract from the day’s festivities.”
Teitelbaum announced that Schapiro will be replaced by David Cole, Professor in Law and Public Policy at Georgetown and former National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. Cole has been outspoken in recent years, in particular for defending the right to express antisemitic views.
“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,” Schapiro told me.
Earlier this year, Georgetown announced that Elizabeth Magill, the former President of the University of Pennsylvania, will be the new dean of Georgetown Law. Magill resigned from Penn on December 9, 2023, following her controversial testimony during a House Committee hearing on campus antisemitism. When asked whether calling for the genocide of Jews constituted bullying or harassment, Magill responded that it was “context-dependent.”
This is a developing story.
