An Important Message About Marc Lamont Hill!

GREATER PHILADELPHIA

Shalom ZOA Members, Friends and Supporters of Israel, As of this writing, Temple University has refused to take action against Professor Marc Lamont Hill, Temple’s Steve Charles Chair in Media, Cities and Solutions at the Lew Klein College of Media and Communication. Please continue to call and email Temple’s president and Temple trustees. Last Wednesday, Hill spoke at a United Nations forum on “Palestine” advocating violence against Jews and Israel as well as boycotts, sanctions and divestment against Israel and the replacing of Israel with “Palestine” “from the river to the sea.” See video on Hill’s speech here (fast-forward to 135:00): http://webtv.un.org/search/special-meeting-of-the-committee-on-the-exercise-of-the-inalienable-rights-of-the-palestinian-people-in-observance-of-the-international-day-of-solidarity-with-the-palestinian-people/5972788893001/?term=&lan=english ZOA continues to call for Hill to be fired. See our statement later in this email.  Temple President Richard Englert issued a statement about the episode late in the day on Friday (see below) that does not fully address what Hill did. Englert fails to condemn Hill nor apologize for Hill’s remarks. Instead, he wrote, Hill’s “comments sparked strong responses from those who were offended by his language.” He apparently fails to grasp exactly what Hill did, or that it does much more than “offend.” It greatly concerns us that, for example, someone would call for violence against Jews or the destruction of the home to seven million Jews and an important ally of the United States. The statement is not on the university’s Twitter feed nor on its Facebook page.   Greater Philadelphia ZOA Board Member Bart Blatstein issued a clarion call about what Temple University should do. It was published by Philly.com. See immediately below. Temple should take action after Marc Lamont Hill’s Israel comments By Bart Blatstein  Especially after the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre of 11 Jewish worshippers, universities must refuse to employ professors who call for anti-Semitic violence and destruction of the Jewish State of Israel. It is outrageous that Marc Lamont Hill is still employed as the Steven Charles professor at Temple University, after Hill showed himself to be an Israel-hating anti-Semite by maliciously and ignorantly calling for Israel’s destruction and genocidal violence and destruction of the Jewish state during Hill’s November 28 rant at the United Nations.  CNN appropriately fired Hill. However, shockingly, Temple University failed to express any concern regarding Hill’s violence-inciting speech, or about the harmful impact Hill’s statements will have on Temple University’s and Steve Charles reputation and Temple students. Instead Temple defended Hills’ supposed constitutional “right . . . as a private citizen” to make these hateful statements. But Hill’s statements were not private; they were made in a major public forum. As the voice of the university, professors have a duty to speak responsibly when they speak publicly.       Temple University’s current Board must show leadership by immediately condemning Hill and demanding his dismissal, or at a minimum removing him from holding the Steven Charles Chair.        Among other things, Hill declared that “we must offer more than just words,” and that instead Palestinian-Arabs must be allowed to engage in “revolts,” “resistance” (euphemism for Palestinian-Arab terrorism and murder) and “tactics otherwise divergent from Dr. King and Mahatma Gandhi” (obviously meaning violent tactics). Hill also called Israel’s reestablishment seventy years ago the “Nakba – the great catastrophe” and “tragic”; and advocated for Israel’s total elimination and replacement with a Palestinian-Arab (terror) state, by invoking the infamous genocidal chant screamed during Jew-hating anti-Israel demonstrations. Free Palestine from the river to the sea” which means destroy all of Israel. Hill’s speech was filled with other propaganda falsehoods against Israel. Temple University’s current Board must show leadership by immediately condemning Hill and demanding his dismissal, or at a minimum removing him from holding the Steven Charles Chair. Temple’s leaders must take this moral and honorable stance against hatred and anti-Semitism. Doing anything less will only add to the shame and harm that Marc Lamont Hill has already brought upon Temple University and to Steven Charles. Bart Blatstein is president and Chief Executive Officer of Tower Investments, Inc. This article was published by the Philadelphia Inquirer and may be found here. Greater Philadelphia ZOA’s statement: The Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the Zionist Organization of America is outraged by the remarks that Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill made at the United Nations on November 28. We believe that Temple University should fire Hill for his support of the racist anti-Israel and anti-Jewish Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS); for his endorsing Palestinian-Arab violence against Jews if the non-violence tactics of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and India’s Mahatma Gandhi are not working; and for his use of the slogan “A free ‘Palestine’ from the river to the sea” – a classic chant used at anti-Israel/anti-Jewish rallies and protests for decades. The slogan means that the Jewish State of Israel would be destroyed and replaced with a majority-Arab state of “Palestine” where Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly said that no Jews will be allowed to live. Professor Hill’s outright lies, distortions and slanders about Israel and the Jewish People during the “Special Meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People” have the potential to incite hatred and resentment of Jews in America and elsewhere, create a hostile environment for students on the Temple University Campus, and have the potential to result in violence against Jews. Until today, Hill had been a contracted commentator on CNN. CNN reportedly ended its relationship with Hill due to his remarks at the UN. Please contact CNN officials (see below) to thank them for taking the appropriate action. Hill’s remarks can be heard in their entirety at the link immediately below. Fast forward to 135:00. http://webtv.un.org/search/special-meeting-of-the-committee-on-the-exercise-of-the-inalienable-rights-of-the-palestinian-people-in-observance-of-the-international-day-of-solidarity-with-the-palestinian-people/5972788893001/?term=&lan=english We call on all people of good conscience to call or write to Temple University President Richard Englert and to contact members of Temple’s Board of Trustees. See information below. By retaining Hill as a Temple professor, the university sends a clear message to students and other faculty that Jew-hatred, calls for violence, and distortions of contemporary situations and history are acceptable. In a climate of rising Jew-hatred and increased attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions – this is unacceptable. We must make it clear that institutions have a responsibility to enforce a zero-tolerance policy against open and brazen hate and the unambiguous incitement to violence and terrorism. If you call or write to anyone about Hill, or whenever engaged in pro-Israel advocacy, always be polite and civil. See below contact information for Temple’s president and the names of its board of trustees. Richard M. Englert President of Temple University Second Floor, Sullivan Hall 1330 Polett Walk Philadelphia, PA 19122 215-204-7405 (phone) 215-204-5600 (fax) president@temple.edu Temple trustees: Dennis Alter Leonard Barrack, Esq. Stephen G. Charles Joseph F. Coradino Paul G. Curcillo Theodore Z. Davis The Honorable Nelson A. Diaz, Esq. Ronald R. Donatucci Patrick J. Eiding Judith A. Felgoise Richard J. Fox Lewis F. Gould, Jr., Esq. Lon R. Greenberg Tamron Hall Sandra Harmon-Weiss, M.D. Marina Kats, Esq. Drew A. Katz Patrick V. Larkin, Esq. Solomon C. Luo, M.D. Joseph W. Marshall, III, Esq. Anthony J. McIntyre Christopher W. McNichol J. William Mills, III Mitchell L. Morgan, Esq. Leon O. Moulder, Jr. Patrick J. O'Connor, Esq. Bret S. Perkins Daniel H. Polett Charles E. Ryan Michael H. Reed, Esq. Phillip C. Richards, '62 Jane Scaccetti, '77 Michael J. Stack, III (S)* Honorary Life Trustees: Alan M. Cohen Peter D. DePaul Lacy H. Hunt Sidney Kimmel Ex-Officio Trustees: The Honorable Thomas W. Wolf, Governor, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania The Honorable James F. Kenney, Mayor, City of Philadelphia The Honorable Pedro A. Rivera, Secretary of Education, Pennsylvania Department of Education Statement by Temple President Richard Englert: “EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT To the Temple community, Earlier this week, Temple University was thrust into the media spotlight after the remarks of one of our faculty, Marc Lamont Hill, during the United Nations International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The story has been covered widely, including this story from Friday’s Philadelphia Inquirer. As you can see, his comments sparked strong responses from those who were offended by his language. I have spoken with some; I have heard their concerns; and understand their reactions to the “river to sea” reference, a phrase many associate with a perceived threat. Let me be clear: Professor Hill does not represent Temple University, and his views are his own. Further, Professor Hill’s right to express his opinion is protected by the Constitution to the same extent as any other private citizen. It is also vitally important to remember our values: Temple condemns in the strongest possible terms all anti-Semitic, racist or incendiary language, hate speech, calls to violence, and the disparagement of any person or persons based on religion, nationality, race, gender, sexual orientation or identity. The university, in the best interest of its community, will take necessary and proper action to protect these values when they are threatened. At the same time, we pride ourselves on our diversity, in all its forms. We will always be a place where divergent points of view will find a home. These are the values the Temple community embraces. Thank you for your commitment to Temple’s ideals, which have withstood the tests of more than 130 years. And thank you for all you do to make Temple the welcoming community it is. Sincerely, Richard M. Englert President Executive Office of the President 1330 Polett Walk Sullivan Hall, 2nd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19122"