ACF-Claremont Colleges Applauds Pitzer President Oliver for Rejecting End of Study Abroad at Haifa

ACF-Claremont Colleges Applauds Pitzer President Oliver for Rejecting End of Study Abroad at Haifa

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 15, 2019

Contact: Avi D. Gordon, Executive Director Alums for Campus Fairness

917-512-4585, [email protected]

ACF-Claremont Colleges applauds Pitzer College President Melvin Oliver for rejecting a motion that was recommended by the Pitzer College Council to suspend its study abroad program with the University of Haifa. President Oliver noted that “The recommendation curtails the academic freedom of those students who wish to study at the University of Haifa. Among Pitzer’s core values is the promotion of intercultural understanding, much of that achieved through our vibrant study abroad program that enables our students to reach their own conclusions about some of the world’s most vexing challenges through on-the-ground, face-to-face, people-to-people experience. The recommendation runs directly counter to Pitzer’s core value of intercultural understanding.”

Academic boycotts are antithetical to the free exchange of ideas on college and university campuses across the country. These boycotts against Israel have been widely condemned as an unjust target to Israel-a democratic and Jewish state. It should be noted that the Pitzer College Council stayed silent on their other study abroad programs in China, Lebanon, Turkey and others, where democracy and human rights violations are widely condemned around the world-proving the College Council held a double standard toward Israel.

ACF-Claremont Colleges would like to thank President Oliver for his leadership against this biased motion targeting the only Jewish State in the world. With the work of our chapter and our partners, we hope that the Jewish and Pro Israel community at Pitzer and the rest of the Claremont Colleges will continue to thrive.