ST. LOUIS — A Washington University professor said Wednesday he has received threats over a social media post supporting an anti-Israel protest that led at least one alumni donor to pull donations and the university to issue a statement distancing itself from the faculty member’s comments.
“Let those who enable mass murder not live in peace,†Bret Gustafson wrote on Nov. 25 in response to a Thanksgiving Day political protest outside the Los Angeles home of the president of the lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
The LA protest, which reportedly involved fake blood and smoke devices, is being investigated as a possible hate crime. Gustafson, a professor of sociocultural anthropology, told the Post-Dispatch he will retract his if there are hate crime charges.
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The backlash to his post, which was shared by the New York group Stop Antisemitism, is a “tactic to silence anybody who dares to criticize Israel or its backers in the U.S.,†Gustafson said.
“People are conflating AIPAC with Judaism and all Jews, which is in itself antisemitic,†he said. “If that had happened in front of a synagogue, I would denounce it. I most certainly do not condone violence against Jews.â€
“I am very much opposed to the current policies of the United States and Israel and their current actions in Gaza, specifically to the killing of some 15,000 people. That does not make me a bigot. I was equally horrified that Israeli civilians were attacked on Oct. 7,†Gustafson said.
A Washington University spokeswoman said in a statement Wednesday that “the opinions expressed by this faculty member as an individual do not represent the university’s position. We do not condone intimidation and we will not tolerate discrimination, harassment or threatening behavior.â€
Rob Levine, a 1998 graduate of Washington U., said in an email to the Post-Dispatch that he has suspended his annual gift because of Gustafson’s “virulent anti-Israel comments.â€
“We are experiencing hate from the left and right and college campuses are a tinder box. Gustafson lit the match at Washington University and Chancellor (Andrew) Martin’s inaction is enabling the flames,†Levine said.
The president of WashU Hillel, which serves Jewish students at the university, said the group has heard numerous concerns from the community about Gustafson’s “anti-Israel bias.â€
“We believe his latest post is contrary to the values of Washington University in ºüÀêÊÓƵ and our campus community. We have also conveyed our deep concerns to the administration,†said Jackie Levey in a statement.
The concern over Gustafson’s social media post is misplaced, said Michael Berg, a local member of Jewish Voice for Peace, a group of Jewish-American activists supporting Palestinian protests.
“This is so insignificant compared to mass displacement and mass killing of people,†Berg said. “Israel is being correctly condemned for brutalizing a captive population. That’s what we should keep our eye on instead of this nonstory on one person’s take on a nonviolent protest.â€
The dust-up is the latest campus controversy in ºüÀêÊÓƵ as universities nationwide have become a hotbed of student protests and free speech conflicts related to the Israel-Hamas war.
Last month, another Washington U. professor posted to X that the attacks by Israel on Palestine were a “much needed cleansing, yes, but not an ethnic one. Israel is not targeting humans.†Seth Crosby, who is still listed as an assistant professor of genetics, said in subsequent posts that he was referring to Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that launched attacks into Israel on Oct. 7.
The student body president at ºüÀêÊÓƵ University was ousted earlier this month following a dispute over his views on the Israel-Hamas war. Marquis Govan was removed after he forced the former student vice president to resign over the disagreement, according to the executive board of the university’s Student Government Association.
In response to the rising calls to suppress speech, the American Association of University Professors issued a statement condemning what it calls a “sustained attack†on academic freedom in the wake of the war.
“Institutional authorities must refrain from sanctioning faculty members for expressing politically controversial views and should instead defend their right, under principles of academic freedom, to do so,†the statement reads in part. “The AAUP rejects the characterization of pro-Palestinian speech or critiques of the Israeli state as invariably antisemitic.â€
Many Jewish students have demanded strong condemnation from universities after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas militants, who stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns, killing and abducting civilians and soldiers.
Meanwhile, Muslim students and their allies have called for a recognition of decades of suffering by Palestinians in Gaza, plus condemnation of the response by Israel. After the Hamas attack, Israel launched a total blockade of Gaza; airstrikes have flattened buildings and homes, killing civilians and forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate.
College officials, already under pressure to allow conservative opinions on campus, have been trying to preserve free speech and open debate. But the conflict has presented an excruciating challenge.
“This is an incredibly difficult free-speech moment on campuses, where both sides have deeply passionate, entrenched, intractable views,†said Alex Morey, director of campus rights advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which is recommending that colleges try to remain institutionally neutral. “We want to create an ideal climate for debate and discussion on campus, and the only way we can do that is if we step out of the debate.â€
The Associated Press contributed to this report.