The Faculty Council at DePaul University passed a resolution condemning professor of philosophy Jason Hill after he wrote an article in The Federalist in support of Israel and condemned Hamas.
Hill wrote that “Israel has the moral right to annex all of the West Bank (even Area C) for a plethora of reasons.” The article offended Muslim students and some faculty, which caused protests and a demand for censure.
Hill didn’t state anything incorrect in his article, especially about the Palestinian Authority (PA):
Since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) have enjoyed joint rule by Israeli military government and the Palestinian Authority with around 98 percent of the Palestinians living in areas under jurisdiction of the PA. In such areas, the PA has destroyed the freedom Palestinians enjoyed under Israeli rule and their economy through kleptocracy, corruption, nepotism, and authoritarian forms of governance subject to none of the checks and balances that characterize Israel’s Knesset.Jewish exceptionalism and the exceptionalist nature of Jewish civilization require an unconditional space for the continued evolution of their civilization. What’s good for Jewish civilization is good for humanity at large. Jewish civilization is an international treasure trove that must be protected.
He stressed that “[N]ot all cultures are created equal” since [S]ome are abysmally inferior and regressive based on their comprehensive philosophy and fundamental principles—or lack thereof—that guide or fail to protect the inalienable rights of their citizens.”
This includes the PA considering its voting record shows that they want the destruction of Israel and have sided with terrorist groups like Hamas.
He’s also correct that “Israel has every right to defeat terrorists.” How many times a day do we hear about attacks from Hamas? People receive candy and treats after terrorists kill Israelis. The PA even rewards family members of terrorists who die after they attack and kill Israelis.
Hill spoke to The Daily Caller:
Hill told The Daily Caller that he has faced death threats since his article and now needs security when he walks around campus. But in spite of the threats, the philosophy professor says he felt compelled to speak out on his support for Israel, and what he sees as a growing trend of campus anti-Semitism. (RELATED: Liberal Groups Get 160X More Money That Conservatives At University of Oregon)“I just got sick and tired of the blatant anti-Semitism being tolerated on campus,” Hill told the Caller.Hill has been disturbed by the increasing hostility toward Israel on the Left, with some left-wing activist groups referring to the Jewish state as an “apartheid” state. Anti-Israel ideology and anti-Semitism have increased on college campuses in recent years. At DePaul, in particular, a Jewish student said in 2014 that she did not feel safe on campus after students voted to divest from Israeli companies.“I just reached a point where I really got tired of seeing the narrative of Israel as an apartheid state,” Hill said. “I have gone on record speaking out against the unfair attacks on Israel.” (RELATED: Should Rep. Ilhan Omar Apologize For 9/11 Comments?)Hill also said that the attacks on him represent an orchestrated character assassination and an attempt to silence him.“I see this as defaming my character, I see this as damaging my reputation,” Hill said. “It’s an agenda to shut down free speech.”
Hill told Tucker Carlson on Fox News Wednesday night that no one will silence him. He made it clear that the censure is because he took “a very positive pro-Israeli stance in a very anti-Semitic culture on college campuses that are pushing for BDS movement and divestment against Israel and I’m a conservative independent who speaks his mind very clearly and will not be silenced.”
This isn’t the first time Hill has expressed his so-called controversial thoughts. Hill lashed out at universities in an op-ed in The Hill in July 2018:
Our universities risk losing their status as learning sites and becoming national security threats. We need to defund them, disband and rebuild them with conservative principles — that is, values advocating individualism, capitalism, Americanism, free speech, self-reliance and the morality of wealth creation.When the term “Western civilization” is equated with racism, cultural superiority and pervasive oppression, and students in my political philosophy class refuse to study the works of John Stuart Mill or John Locke (or any other white thinker) because they consider them white supremacists, there is no lower level of educational hell. The manifest destiny of the humanities and social science professoriat is to have politicized knowledge supersede truth, objectivity, facts and genuine learning.
The protesters “demanded that the university formally censure Hill, require him to take ‘racial sensitivity training,’ and him to publicly apologize for writing that Israel has a ‘moral right’ to annex the West Bank because it is territory it won during a war initiated by enemies who believe Israel and Israelis should be wiped from the earth.”
The students presented a petition on Change.org:
We, the students of DePaul University call upon the administration to censure Professor Hill for his heinous statements against marginalized communities. His comments create unsafe and uncomfortable spaces for everyone, especially Palestinian and Muslim students who now all refuse to enroll in a class that is taught by Professor Hill. We are not only seeking censure, but for Professor Hill to commit to racial sensitivity training and to release a public apology for his immoral conduct.It is imperative for DePaul University to condemn Professor Hill in order to reaffirm and reinstitute our mission. Regardless of whether the DePaul administration takes comprehensive action, we will continue to fight for justice and equality for all marginalized communities on campus.
Student Hadiya Afzal vented that the protesters haven’t called DePaul to fire Hill, but that they want the administration “to say this was unacceptable.” Afzal also whined that she no longer feels safe on “as a Muslim student knowing that someone like this is on our campus” and that her tuition money “is going to the salary of an Islamophobe, of a transphobe, of a very sexist man.”
The newspaper tweeted late Wednesday night that the council “passed a resolution” to condemn Hill “by a vote of 21-10-0 with amendments.” It did not provide any details but told people to look “for the full story Friday with the updated resolution’s text” on its website.
DePaul President Gabriel Esteban sent out an email to remind the students that the university “supports academic freedom and free speech for tenured faculty.” He explained that faculty has permission “to express a provocative position,” but the university also “aspires to be a community marked by mutual respect, always aware of the potential impact of our words and actions.”
The Faculty Council voted on Wednesday whether to censure Hill. Faculty Council President Scott Paeth explained that the resolution against Hill is “not in any formal sense a motion of censure.” From the school newspaper The DePaulia:
“It’s intended to express our support for the principle of academic freedom generally speaking and particularly in the case of Jason Hill,” Paeth told The DePaulia. “On the other hand, it is intended to express our condemnation of the content of what was written in that article.”The resolution itself, scheduled to be debated and voted on during the council’s meeting at 4:10 p.m., states that “Faculty Council nevertheless affirms that Professor Hill’s article failed to exercise adequate concern for accuracy, restraint, or respect for the opinions of others[…]As such, this article represents an abuse of his academic freedom.”
Once I find out more information I will provide the update.
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