PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Reactions to the Israel-Hamas war continue to stoke tensions on American campuses. Just this week, a film screening at the University of Pennsylvania led a professor to resign from the university's Middle East Center and put a Jewish student group on track toward potential disciplinary action.
At issue was the university's decision to stop a student group from screening the film "Israelism," a documentary produced by two American Jewish filmmakers who are critical of the way the Israeli government treats Palestinians.
Senior Jack Starobin, of the Jewish student group Penn Chavurah, says the administration threatened disciplinary action if the screening went forward.
"Half an hour before our screening, I got a phone call from the vice provost threatening disciplinary action," Starobin said. "It was unclear if it would be against Penn Chavurah or students for organizing if we went forward with our screening."
The Penn chapter of the American Association of University Professors issued a statement on Tuesday opposing the university's decision to prevent the screening:
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms any pressure by administrators, donors and trustees to prevent the Middle East Center from reserving a room to screen a documentary film that falls squarely within the Center's area of expertise."
The statement also expressed grave concern over "reports that administrators … have allegedly informed Penn Chavurah that the group might lose its status or funding if tonight's screening occurs."
Amid the tension, Harun Küçük, a history professor specializing in the Ottoman Empire, submitted his letter of resignation as faculty director of the Center.
The AAUP has previously called for a defense of academic freedom on campus, citing harassment, intimidation and threats of violence against faculty who have spoken out about the conflict.
Earlier this year, the AAUP issued a warning that the actions of the trustees, donors and university president have "impaired the basic academic functioning" of the university and "publicly devalued" and "endangered the lives of Palestinian, Arab and Muslim members of our community."
The screening ultimately happened Tuesday night with the assistance of the Middle East Center — Küçük had, by then, resigned his post — which Starobin said was successful and well attended.
"It was a group of people — students and faculty — jewish students, non jewish students, Palestinian students — coming together to engage in a good faith dialogue," he said.
Asked for comment, a university spokesperson issued the following statement Thursday:
"The University's first responsibility remains the safety and security of our campus community. With that in mind, we postponed the film screening until February, communicated this decision to the student organizers prior to the Thanksgiving break, and asked the student organizers multiple times to provide us with potential dates for a future event. The student organizers disregarded the University's direction and secured a different space to show the film."
The spokesperson said the university is investigating whether the students violated the code of conduct by screening the film against administrators' wishes.
Küçük, who remains a professor of history, could not be reached for comment.
Penn is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for its handling of antisemitism on campus and has faced backlash from major donors for not taking a more forceful stance supporting Israel. University leaders have also come under fire for not supporting Palestinian, Muslim and Arab student communities.
