Michigan professor’s pro-Palestinian remarks spark controversy

A University of Michigan professor’s remarks on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during a commencement speech have sparked controversy. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., posted Tuesday that the Ann Arbor school should be stripped of federal funding. Academic groups, faculty, and alumni defended the professor, while University of Michigan leadership condemned him.

Derek Peterson, a professor of East African history and the outgoing chair of the faculty senate, said in his remarks that pro-Palestinian student activists “opened our hearts to the injustice and inhumanity of Israel’s war in Gaza.” YouTube initially blocked the Saturday commencement video, citing music copyright issues according to the university, but later reposted it.

What was the context of Peterson’s remarks? He made the statement while challenging graduates to remember the school’s first women students, its first Jewish professors and students, the students of the Black Action Movement, and the pro-Palestinian student activists. He said the convictions of past student activists have historically pushed the university toward more just decisions. Peterson said in a post on social media his remarks were made about the long history of student activism.

Who denounced Peterson?

• Sarah Hubbard, a U-M regent, said his remarks were troubling and she hinted at possible discipline for the professor.

• U-M President Domenico Grasso said Peterson’s remarks were hurtful and insensitive to many members of the school’s community. They were inappropriate and did not represent its institutional position, Grasso said in a Saturday statement.

• Prominent American-Israeli investor Adam Milstein said Jewish people should halt donations to the university.

• The advocacy group StopAntisemitism labeled the remarks as sickening.

Who has defended Peterson?

• The American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers said in a joint letter the professor’s remarks were protected faculty speech. Calls to discipline Peterson threatened academic freedom, the letter said.

• More than 1,500 U-M faculty, students, and staff signed an open letter calling for the university president to withdraw his statement.

• Nearly 800 U-M alumni signed another open letter with similar remarks.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report on a man accused of driving a truck into a Michigan synagogue.