On November 29t at 7:23 am, Haverford professor Barak Mendelsohn tweeted a statement which sparked hot debate both on social media and in conversations across campus. He wrote:
Professor Barak Mendelsohn on Twitter
“Saddens me to say this but my own academic institution Haverford College has a Jewish problem. Its student body is led by Hamas apologists and tainted by anti-Semitism. If I’m a parent to a Jewish student I will not send them to Haverford College. #AntisemitismOnCampus”
The first response to Mendelsohn’s tweet from a Palestinian student read,
“Dear Barak Mendelsohn, I urge you to read more about antisemitism vs. anti Zionism. Haverford doesn’t have a place for false accusations of antisemitism. The student body is calling for justice for their Palestinian peers, especially for Kinnan Abdelhamid who was shot 3 days ago.”
Mendelsohn replied, “Maybe you should read more about anti-Semitism before you start Jew-splaining to me … Court in Vermont will give justice for Kinnan (hopefully shooter will never see light of day again). This has nothing to do w/ Haverford. Not being a Zionist doesn’t make one anti-Semitic. But anti-Zionism, the denial of Jews right for self-determination, is anti-Semitism.”
Elizabeth Kolsky, professor of History at Villanova University, replied to Mendelsohn’s response: “This is a completely unprofessional way for a college professor to communicate with a student at his college.”
The barrage of comments that streamed in following the initial encounters ranged from appalled, as with the response, “You are a disappointment to humanity,” to messages of support from those who named Mendelsohn an “invaluable human resource,” and called accusations from others in the comments “nonsensical.”
Mendelsohn’s Perspective
In conversation with Professor Mendelsohn, he told the Bi-Co News, “I’ve seen students complaining about freedom of speech at Haverford for at least 10 years, people complaining about bullying for not being sufficient in Liberal because how the college is a liberally situation where the fights are over how far left you are … so what we’re seeing now is just another incident of the regular, long term now, trends of suppression of free speech and of bullying of anybody that is not sufficiently progressive … I’m as far left as you can be in Israel without being anti-Zionist. If I’m sounding the alarm, you know that something is really going wrong.”
When asked why he felt moved to bring this conversation to Twitter, Mendelsohn immediately asserted that otherwise, “It would not have had any effect. It’s easily ignored. I thought, we’re in a time of crisis and that needs to be shared. And I’ve gotten responses from Jewish professors around the country saying, ‘We are seeing the same thing.’”
In regards to the “Jewish problem,” and antisemitism on campus, Mendelsohn told the Bi-Co News of a small meeting of Jewish students that he had attended. To see the sadness and fear on their faces, he said, was deeply affecting. “My sense of the last eight weeks was that while Palestinian students were grieving with rage, most of the Jewish students were grieving silently in the corners, completely isolated and terrified. I don’t know whether or not [people] understand the collective trauma [of Jews].” Mendelsohn was sure to mention that he cannot speak to the experience of Muslim students, though he does his best to reach out to his Muslim students and check in on them.
“Palestinians too have collective trauma and nothing in what I’m saying should suggest that antisemitism is a worse problem than islamophobia. We have to fight both. But … I mean everything became so politicized, I felt that as the demands were so outrageous, including the targeting of a group of specifically named students … I think it was important that I finally express my position.”
The “outrageous” nature of the demands and various student statements that Mendelsohn noted are found, he says, in their one-sidedness. For instance, “[one] statement completely ignored the role of Hamas …. I mean, apartheid in Gaza? … [calling Israel’s actions in the West Bank] apartheid, [I can understand.] But in Gaza? In order for that to be apartheid, Israel would need to control Gaza, and Israel does not control Gaza.”
Mostly, though, Mendelsohn adds, he objects to student statements because they only seem to make demands of Israel, neglecting to demand anything of Hamas. This is where the accusations of “Hamas apologism” Mendelsohn made in his original tweet stem from. He says, “They could have called for the college to declare that Hamas is an organization engaged in terrorism and that the best way to stop the violence is for Hamas to release all the hostages and surrender, and that would stop the violence … Why wasn’t any of that considered as an option? Because, I guess, what Hamas did was not that bad, or didn’t require that they make any kind of demands from Hamas. That’s Hamas apologism.”
Yet one student who had engaged with Mendelsohn’s online statement rejects this idea of pro-Palestinian advocates’ call being harmfully one-sided: “We could speak of the fact that there was no mention of Palestinian suffering before October 7th,” he said, “which is indicative that this is an unbalanced issue. There is no balanced outlook relating to ‘Palestinians and Israelis are suffering,’ there was no narrative about Israelis suffering before this because they simply weren’t being harmed by Hamas before October 7th. Only when there was something that could potentially harm them did they care about the issue even though Israel was constantly bombing palestinian land and people for a very long time.”
This student, who wished to remain anonymous, had been shut down by Mendelsohn in their online conversation after calling the professor “a disappointment to humanity,” to which Mendelsohn replied, “You are talking on behalf of humanity? You have some illusions of grandeur. Trying to take advantage of tragedy and use emotional manipulations to push anti-Semitism may work on some, but not on me. Muslims must be safe, but though it may be uncomfortable for you, so [must] Jews.” This student has since reported the conversation to their dean, who referred the matter to the provost.
In conversation with the Bi-Co News, Mendelsohn said of the interaction, “I should definitely have spoken with much less passion, and I am sorry that I got somewhat carried away. At the same time, I never initiated any of those interactions, and when students interact with me I expect that they will interact with respect and not with these kinds of microaggressions. If you do not ask me questions with respect, I’m gonna [not respect] you right back. Now, I shouldn’t have answered any of the students, and in the future I will do my best not to because it was unnecessary, and yes, unprofessional. I should not have done that. The fact that I did do so can tell you about the strength of the feeling, and I gotta say also that I am much less tolerant of any signs of Hamas apologism or antisemitism. I’m sorry, but I don’t think that you would expect a person of color to get that kind of response from white people [and not react].”
Mendelsohn found it important to express these views online, however, the way in which that position was expressed found a great deal of opposition among pro-Palestine students who have been doing advocacy work across the Bi-Co.
An Email Dispute
One student emailed Mendelsohn soon after his first tweet, writing,
“I am a religious Jewish student at Haverford College. Regarding your tweet which was posted today, I find it to be incredibly insensitive and ignorant considering the current campus climate. I would like, in Haverfordian fashion, to open a dialogue with you directly in person. It is the Haverford way to have conversations in which we do not agree in person …”
In response, Mendelsohn wrote,
“Sorry, my time is precious and in short supply. And I don’t talk to people who call me ignorant before they got the milk off their lips … Grow up, learn to respect people that have learned a whole lot more than you, and perhaps avoid defending Hamas apologists and conveyers of anti-Semitism, and I may find time for you in a few years.”
The student said their reaction was primarily of surprise: “I feel like it was a little bit naive of me, but first I was shocked and I believe it was naive to think that he would reply differently. The people that I have spoken to have told me that the email I sent to him was very…professional and measured and appropriate, and I also have the expectation as a Haverford student that my professors are going to abide by and exemplify Haverfordian values.”
The student has asked to remain anonymous in this article, saying that they’re sure the Haverford community knows who they are, but does not want their identity to be spread to a much larger audience. Fifteen minutes after receiving the email response from Mendelsohn, they walked to the office of Dean Mcknight and told him about the incident. “They’ve actually taken it incredibly seriously, and I felt very lucky in that …It feels like the deans are embarrassed and ashamed that one of their colleagues would speak in such a manner, and feel that they are able to conduct themselves in such a way to a student. The provost was incredibly sympathetic and seemed to be very displeased by what has happened to me and so it seems like an investigation is taking place rather quickly.”
The student has created a document with highlighted sections of the Haverford Faculty Handbook displaying where they believe Mendelsohn has violated its rules. Sections three and five specifically, they say, are where it’s made clear that he stepped out of line: Section five states that “faculty members are expected to conduct themselves as scholars and professionals in their interactions with students and colleagues. This includes public venues and their classrooms and meetings, and more private exchanges… faculty are strongly discouraged from sending communications that are malicious, obscene, threatening or intimidating or that might constitute harassment or bullying.”
Section three, under “Other Harassment” states, “for the purposes of this policy, other discriminatory harassment is defined as verbal or physical conduct that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion towards an individual because of their race, color, gender, religion, or age.” Many of the comments Mendelsohn made towards the student were age-based. Further, the student added, “in speaking to the provost it also became clear that this directly impacts my access to education, as, in the end of his email he said that he ‘may find time for me in a few years,’ and under the faculty handbook he cannot say a statement that would negatively impact my educational opportunities at the college. I was considering a political science double major, though I feel completely deterred from the department due to the extreme form of harassment and bullying that I have experienced from a member of faculty. Because of this I feel like I can no longer access the political science department at this school and more specifically, anything that he teaches.”
When asked about this exchange, Mendelsohn admitted that he regrets some of the language he used: “I’m sorry when I respond more impulsively … I should not have done that. At the same time, it’s about time that students learn to respect their professors… The point with that email was that students also need to learn respect. If you come at somebody disrespectfully, don’t expect that you’re gonna get a different kind of response. And I’m sorry, but we’re also human beings, and I want to emphasize that I’ve been under antisemitic attacks on campus and outside campus for eight weeks now. I don’t have patience for that kind of stuff.”
Mendelsohn was adamant too that he finds it most efficient to be able to address the largest group of people possible on issues like this, in forums where he can impart the knowledge of his expertise on people who are receptive to learning. For example, soon after the October 7th attack, a teach-in on the situation between Israel and Hamas was held in the VCAM, where Professor Mendelsohn addressed a packed theater. He stated then, and he reaffirms now, that he was there to provide an analysis of the situation without moral judgment.
Some students received his presence differently, assuming that the teach-ins were structured around pro-Israel sentiments. Referencing a similar teach-in at Swarthmore on October 24, held about two weeks after Mendelsohn’s initial teach-in, the professor stated, “It was pretty ridiculous, at Swarthmore, at the beginning of the first demonstration against me, someone had a long list of complaints. [They also said] I was also responsible for the murder of a kid in Chicago about a month ago, again, a horrendous crime – anybody that knows me would know that there is no way I would ever see that as [a legitimate act]. But the part that was really funny was that that woman’s [list of complaints] started with ‘you are starting with the events of three weeks ago when you should have started with 1948.’ After they finished and left, the first line of my talk? ‘In 1948…’ But nobody listens. Nobody cares. They didn’t wait to hear what I had to say.”
“Flirting” with Controversy
Despite Mendelsohn’s assertions that his place as a professor is one based purely on engaging with students in order to give insights into the topics on which he has expertise, some students find that his teaching style is not conducive to such an environment of intellectual inquiry.
MK, a senior at Bryn Mawr, also engaged in conversation with Mendelsohn following his first post, asserting, “As a Jewish community organizer, I feel safe and loved. I have met my best friends through Jewish Voice for Peace. Our student body is powerful!”
She found the response highly unsettling. It read, “very powerful, especially the anti-Semitic part of it with which you flirt with pleasure.” Elizabeth Kolsky replied to this tweet as well: “This sexualized language (“flirt with pleasure”) of a male professor with a female student at his college is inappropriate and unacceptable. Have you no shame?”
MK added, “Barak’s misogyny here is a microcosm of his pedagogical approach— he is the all knowing and his pupils are receptacles for his enlightenment. Disagree with him and he will put you down as if it’s a petty Twitter argument.” Other commenters on the thread pointed also to Mendelsohn’s Twitter bio, which includes the line, “usually right,” referring to himself.
Going Forward
Returning to the topic of Mendelsohn’s email response, when asked if he thought it might have been a teaching opportunity similar to those he is given when asked to speak at a teach-in, Mendelsohn responded, “No. Not with the anti-Zionists. Their language did not indicate good faith.” He explained that he thinks the knowledge American students have of the “world outside” is not sufficient, and these are the people he cares to inform, who are open to learning.
In light of student complaints being lodged against Mendelsohn, the Bi-Co News asked if he felt at all worried that his statements might cause the college concern about his position as a professor. “[They] might,” he shrugged.
“At the same time, I hope the administration will handle that in the most appropriate way, but you know, it’s not in my hands … I can just say that I’m not alone here. There are a lot of people who are supporting me. Their [silence] is evidence of the campus climate. I get emails from students saying, ‘Thank you for what you are doing, we hope that you understand why we cannot publicly support you.’ That’s the climate at Haverford.”
