A top academic group has passed an \u201cemergency motion\u201d advocating for the protection of college faculty who condemn Israel.<\/p>\n
The Modern Language Association, considered America\u2019s top professional association for language scholars, passed the motion at its annual convention held last week in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
The motion calls on the MLA to \u201ctake immediate steps to urge university administrations to defend from threats, harassment and violence\u201d language department faculty members, students, and staff who have \u201ccondemned the Israeli government for its massive bombardment of the Gaza Strip.\u201d<\/p>\n
It further advocates the protection of faculty who have \u201cargued that recent events in Israel-Palestine must be viewed in the context of the Palestinian Nakba of 1948, Israel\u2019s 56-year-long illegal occupation of the West Bank, and Israel\u2019s 16-year long land, sea, and air blockade of the Gaza Strip.\u201d<\/p>\n
Introduced by MLA\u2019s \u201cRadical Caucus,\u201d the motion was supported by various organizations including the MLA-affiliated Marxist Literary Group<\/a>.<\/p>\n MLA spokesperson Anna Chang declined to comment to The College Fix<\/em> on its approval.<\/p>\n \u201cThis motion is a matter of life and death\u2014and academic freedom,\u201d Huda Fakhreddine, a professor of Arabic literature at the University of Pennsylvania, reportedly said<\/a> while advocating for the resolution, which passed with overwhelming support.<\/p>\n An alternative motion was introduced urging the MLA to defend faculty members \u201cregardless of their positions on the conflict of the Middle East.\u201d That motion was voted down, with just 35 attendees voting for and 80 voting against.<\/p>\n Authored by University of Illinois-Champaign Professor Cary Nelson and former MLA president and Stanford University Professor Russell Berman, the alternative motion advocated for the protection of those in language departments with both pro-Israel and anti-Israel views.<\/p>\n \u201cDisagreements about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have a long history in English and foreign language departments. MLA\u2019s Delegate Assembly itself has a long history of debating relevant motions and resolutions as well,\u201d the failed alternative motion stated.<\/p>\n \u201cRather than press the DA to take sides in these debates, we are urging MLA\u2019s Executive Council to help preserve an educational environment where all feel free to voice their positions and concerns,\u201d it continued.<\/p>\n Nelson told The College Fix<\/em> his motion\u2019s failure speaks to the politicization of the MLA.<\/p>\n \u201cEnraged at Israel, the MLA has decided to discount the attacks on its Jewish members and their students. With this vote, the MLA allies itself decisively with anti-Zionism. Worse still, by considering Jewish students unworthy of equal protection, it crosses the line into antisemitism,” he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether the MLA Executive Council, on which I once served, will decide instead to treat pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli students equally remains to be seen,\u201d Nelson said.<\/p>\n Before voting it down, convention attendees such as Queens College assistant professor Leila Walker argued the alternative emergency motion was the equivalent of saying \u201cAll Lives Matter\u201d amid Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2020, Inside Higher Ed<\/em> reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n The MLA\u2019s approval of the emergency motion comes amid rising anti-Israel sentiment at universities nationwide in recent months.<\/p>\n In October, student groups at Harvard faced intense backlash<\/a> after blaming Israel for the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks that killed more than 1,200 Israeli civilians, including women and children.<\/p>\n In December, University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned<\/a> her position after she refused to say calls for Jewish genocide violated UPenn\u2019s code of conduct while testifying before the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n Magill\u2019s ouster was followed by the resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay in January after her similarly<\/a> controversial House testimony and a subsequent plagiarism scandal.<\/p>\n