An art student taking a mandatory course at the University of Michigan has expressed outrage after attending what she called an "overtly anti-Semitic lecture" by former Black Panther and anti-Israel activist Emory Douglas on Thursday.
Student Alexa Smith wrote on Facebook that Douglas was giving the lecture as part of the university's Penny Stamps Speaker Series when he projected an image of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the caption "Guilty of Genocide" superimposed on their foreheads.
"In what world is it OK for a mandatory course to host a speaker who compares Adolf Hitler to the prime minister of Israel?" Smith wrote.
She said she was "horrified at the hatred and intolerance being spewed on our campus."
She said she felt "smeared."
Smith also said Thursday's lecture was not a one-off experience. She said that two years ago, another lecturer in the Penny Stamps series – a required course for B.A. in Art and Design students – called Israel a "terrorist state" and said that Israeli soldiers were "unworthy of being represented as actual human beings in his artwork."
Smith said the University of Michigan administration "is repeatedly failing to forcefully respond to anti-Semitism."
When contacted by the Jewish Daily Forward, which reported the story, university spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said the lecture series is "intentionally provocative."
Fitzgerald said the speakers are "diverse and dynamic" and the university does not "control or censor what they say."
In a message on the university's website, President Mark S. Schlissel wrote: "Incidents of anti-Semitism do not represent the overall sentiment of the U-M campus. … The university addresses incident as soon as we become aware and take appropriate action whenever possible."
In the same message, Schlissel objected to the Jewish website Algemeiner placing the University of Michigan on its list of "Worst Colleges for Jewish Students," pointing out that other Jewish organizations have given the university high marks for Jewish life.
Schlissel said the Algemeiner based its assessment on a 2017 decision by the university's student government to divest from companies that do business with Israel.
"Members of the U-M Board of Regents in December 2017 declined to appoint a committee to investigate such divestment," he wrote.
Still, BDS currents do seem to flow freely among the student body and faculty. Last month, Professor John Cheney-Lippold refused to recommend a study program in Israel for student Abigail Ingber, saying he could not recommend the program because he supports an academic boycott of Israel, although he said he was not an anti-Semite.
The university issued a statement opposing boycotts of Israeli academic institutions.
