Saying “I stand with Israel” is un-Kalven. Physically standing with Israel is…super-Kalven??
We learned Friday that President Paul Alivisatos had a meeting with Israeli Consul General in the Midwest Yinam Cohen on January 23. In a post on Twitter, Cohen described the meeting as intending to “further enhance the partnership between UChicago and Israeli research institutions and to make sure that every Jewish or Israeli student feels safe on campus.” Is this meeting not a violation of the Kalven principles?
We suspect this is a craven move to reassure donors who feel the University has not said enough in support of Israel. Just this past week it was shared on a panel about the Kalven Report that key in its original motives was the need to protect the University from donor interference. Is caving to that pressure not a violation of the Kalven principles?
Though Alivisatos might have “said” nothing in this event or post, he quite clearly is standing with Israel. This is a “stance” (verbal or otherwise), and it does massive damage to the safety and academic freedom of students and faculty. Are we to take from this that Alivisatos thinks the Kalven report is a hypocritical cover behind which the University can continue business as usual?
We drew up this helpful chart for Alivisatos or any other members of the administration who were confused about what constituted a “political statement.”
