Selection of Oren as commencement speaker ignites protest on campus
Brandeis University, a school known for both a history of liberal protests and a large Jewish population, has found a surprising new focus for its activism: Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren.
Brandeis’s administration announced this week that Oren would deliver the keynote address at the university’s commencement ceremony, scheduled for May 23. A group of students, in turn, has protested the selection on the grounds that Oren—as a representative of the Israeli government—embodies one side of a divisive conflict and will bring that division to commencement. Some have gone as far as calling Oren a “war criminal” due to his implicit support of Israeli policies in the West Bank.
Students who oppose the selection of Oren have organized an online petition asking the university to rescind its invitation to him. They hope to make other students aware of what they see as the implications of a speech by Oren and assemble those who oppose his speaking at commencement.
“Commencement was supposed to be about us. However, with the selection of Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, commencement has been hijacked to serve as part of a debate about Middle
Eastern politics,” reads the petition’s opening. “Brandeis commencement is a stage for partisan politics, not a celebration of graduating seniors.”
Other students believe either that Oren is an exciting choice for speaker or that graduates will not care about the political implications of his appearance at commencement. Heddy Ben-Atar, who serves in the Brandeis Zionist Alliance, notes that before 2009, Oren was a fellow at the conservative Shalem Center think tank in Jerusalem, where he worked as a historian and academic.
Ben-Atar, a junior, also serves as a student representative to the university’s board of trustees and is on the honorary degree selection committee. She claims, however, that she had no part in Oren’s selection, as she recently joined the committee and honorary degrees are selected far in advance of the announcement.
“He’s a deserving choice as an honorary degree recipient based on academic credentials, and he’s going to be amazing,” Ben-Atar said. “He’s a wonderful speaker. He’s really engaging.”
The organizers of the anti-Oren petition say that the ambassador’s selection reflects two trends on campus: that the administration favors Israel in the debate over the Middle East conflict, and that the board of trustees does not care about student opinion.
“We felt it alienating that our school is so strongly connected to one side of the Israel-Palestine conflict,” said junior Jon Sussman, one of the petition’s organizers. “We, institutionally, are constantly bringing speakers from Israel. We’re much less likely to hear voices from other perspective on the conflict.”
The petition’s organizers, however, do not plan to contact the board of trustees directly with their request, as Sussman says that its members “simply don’t listen to students.” Instead, several groups are coordinating a protest tomorrow to bring together students who oppose the Oren invitation. Lisa Hanania, president of Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine, hopes the protest will empower students who disagree with positions Oren holds.
“I was surprised by the number of students who have approached me and complained,” said Hanania, a junior. “A lot of people in Brandeis are afraid to speak up and say how they feel. But it’s a nonsectarian university and if here we can’t speak, where can we speak?”
Students who support the selection of Oren think Sussman and Hanania are overreacting to Oren’s coming speech. Adam Ross, a senior, has begun a counter-petition meant to show the administration that some students support its decision.
“The [pro-Oren] petition came as a response to anxiety expressed because Michael Oren is a controversial speaker,” Ross said. “At the same time, another group of students started saying that he’s a war criminal, that he’s a radical right-wing politician. Those are very disputed.”
Ben-Atar added that Oren is not the first divisive politician to speak at the school’s commencement.
“There’s no precedent for there being a uniting speaker [at commencement],” she said. “Should this be any more divisive than any other politician? No. The idea that there might be protests is not surprising for a commencement speaker and it’s not unique to Brandeis.”
Oren made headlines on campus in February when students from the Muslim Student Union disrupted a speech of his at the University of California, Irvine by standing up and shouting slogans from the crowd. The students were arrested and escorted out of the event and now face legal charges.
Neither Sussman nor Hanania expects Brandeis students to launch such a protest at commencement, saying that such conduct would be disrespectful. Hanania added, however, that Oren’s appearance also signifies disrespect to families of Palestinian graduates.
“There are Palestinian families coming from Palestine to listen to this,” she said. “If he wants to speak at a different event, he can come and say whatever he wants to say. I don’t think graduation is the right time to bring out the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
While both the pro-Oren and anti-Oren factions stress that commencement is a time for celebration and unity, neither side has made significant efforts to reach out to the other. Hanania has said, “I don’t see the purpose of dialogue,” while Ross stated , “My concern is not to battle these people.” Sussman singled out Ben-Atar for “willfully disregarding our motives,” though he admitted that he has never attempted to contact her.
For her part, Ben-Atar says such activism characterizes the school’s political climate.
“This is Brandeis,” she said. “We love to protest.”
