Jewish life at Goucher College goes back more than a century. But in a letter to Goucher’s administration, local and regional Jewish leaders expressed their deep concern about the protection of Jewish students and groups on the Towson campus in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and amid skyrocketing antisemitism at colleges across the nation.
“We appreciate your statement on behalf of Goucher ‘strongly condemn[ing] the unprecedented, deadly attack by Hamas terrorists upon Israel’ and recognizing that ‘there has been a great amount of misinformation, silencing, and worst of all, fear.’ However, campus leadership must do more to protect and support Jewish students at Goucher,” read the Jan. 31 letter sent to Goucher President Kent Devereaux, Vice President Jasmine A. Lee and Provost Elaine Meyer-Lee.
The letter was signed by Marc B. Terrill, president of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore; Baltimore Jewish Council Executive Director Howard Libit; Mark B. Rotenberg, vice president for university initiatives and general counsel at Hillel International; Meredith R. Weisel, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League in Washington, D.C.; and Allison R. Kahn-Pauli, associate regional director of the ADL and a 2007 graduate of Goucher.
The letter cites recent incidents on Goucher’s campus, including:
- An unauthorized student group called Banner of the People that “created a toxic environment for Jewish students,” including “Anti-Zionist demands posted anonymously on Instagram as ‘Goucher Students For Liberation and Justice’ and publicly read on campus on November 17th and circulated in the cafeteria on December 7th; and b) alluding to risk of physical safety for a Jewish student in relation to a protest event on November 9th.
“This group has acted as if it were an authorized campus organization, using campus spaces and advertising events, and despite individuals being held accountable for violations of campus policies such as the demonstration and discrimination policies, the group itself has not been forcefully called out for its actions.”
- Campus displays with antisemitic tropes, calling on Jews to apologize, and employing the slogan “From the River to the Sea,” alluding to Israel’s destruction.
The letter goes on to express concern about attempts by some Goucher faculty members to “sideline” the Hillel chapter as a campus partner. (Nearly 350 Jewish students attend Goucher, approximately 26 percent of the general student population there, according to Hillel International.)
“An email from a faculty member sent on December 7, 2023, entitled ‘Faculty Discussion,’ proposes the formation of a committee to establish guidelines around antisemitism and critique of Israel, while seeking to keep Hillel outside of the discussions,” the letter contended. “Hillel is a vital Jewish organization and resource for Goucher’s Jewish students. No other organization at Goucher is as embedded in Jewish student life as Hillel, and any effort to establish guidelines regarding antisemitism at Goucher that denies Hillel a seat at the table is flatly unacceptable to our community.”
In addition, the letter mentions a teach-in event at Goucher planned for the spring semester on the Israel-Hamas conflict without “taking adequate steps to ensure an open and unbiased atmosphere for Jewish students. …
“How will the campus ensure that faculty stay true to Goucher’s academic mission and offer a real diversity of viewpoints and perspectives on Israel’s war against Hamas, including Jewish and Israeli perspectives? And how will the administration ensure that Jewish faculty — who already report feeling silenced by some of their colleagues in recent months — feel comfortable offering their perspectives during this teach-in?”
The letter praises Goucher’s participation in Hillel’s Campus Climate Initiative more than two years ago.
“This is exactly the time, amid rising antisemitism, for Goucher to lean into the work of that initiative, including the implementation of Goucher’s CCI Action Plan,” the letter stated. “Administrators who have gone through CCI training should be leading the efforts of any task force working on antisemitism and the safety of the Jewish community. Any and all programming and policy decisions related to antisemitism must be grounded in the work Goucher has already done as part of CCI.”
The letter concludes, “We value our longstanding relationships with Goucher’s leadership and would like to request a meeting to further discuss these issues with you as soon as possible.”
In response to an inquiry from Jmore, Devereaux wrote in an email that he has invited Terrill and other Jewish leaders to a meeting to discuss “the alarming rise in antisemitism on college campuses nationwide, and what more we could be doing at Goucher to address it. …
“To be clear, Goucher has not experienced any incidents of antisemitic violence or vandalism on our campus as has occurred on other college campuses.”
Devereaux said Goucher has a long tradition of providing a welcoming milieu for Jewish students and will continue to do so.
“Our work continues to ensure that all our Jewish students, faculty, and staff feel safe from intimidation and comfortable in expressing themselves on our campus,” he wrote. “To this end, over the past three years we have been working with Hillel International, the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies (ICJS), and others to address antisemitism at Goucher College, and we expect to continue this work, and more, going forward.”
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