Israeli speaker sparks campus debate

By Benjamin Engle

Today, Thursday, January 14, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will be giving a lecture in Memorial Chapel at Union College. Olmert is the first head of state to visit Union, according to the Schenectady Gazette, since former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson's visit in 1967.

The event, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., will only be open to the campus community, plus one guest per Union College ID cardholder. The doors will open at 5:45 p.m.

According to a campus-wide email sent on January 8 by Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Stephen Leavitt, Campus Safety personnel will be checking IDs at the entrance and those without college ID will be required to show a driver's license or passport, as well as be accompanied by someone with a Union ID card.

Olmert, who is sponsored by Union's Speakers Forum club, is visiting the campus despite being a controversial figure around the world. His detractors allege that the Prime Minister and his government committed war crimes against the Palestinian people.?Meanwhile, his supporters are equally passionate in their assertion that his actions and those of his government were taken in the defense of their country.

"We thought this opportunity was too amazing to pass up," said Will Friedman, '10, President of Speakers Forum. "Unlike other world leaders, Olmert does not require to see his questions in advance. He has been a very controversial leader and I thought this could be a very good opportunity for students and faculty to ask him about some of his actions while in office.

Olmert, the twelfth Prime Minister of the State of Israel, became the acting Prime Minister on January 5, 2006, but stepped down as Prime Minister and leader of the Kadima Party in 2008 under pressure over numerous corruption investigations.

While indicted for three counts of corruption, Olmert has pled not guilty at the Jerusalem District Court to charges of illegally accepting funds from an American supporter and double-billing Jewish groups for trips abroad. He has also been blamed for inappropriately handling the 2006 war with Hezbollah in Lebanon and attacks in the Gaza Strip.

As a result of Olmert's controversial history, many students and faculty on campus are against the former Prime Minister's visit.

Presented to Speakers Forum on September 29th by Friedman, an offer to Olmert was verbally agreed to on October 8th.

According to Dean Leavitt, two faculty members, Professors Motahar and Loeb, first approached Leavitt to discuss the terms of Olmert's talk. The meeting, which took place November 23rd, resulted in the discussion of the conditions on which the former Prime Minister was coming to campus. The two professors suggested that Friedman consult with Speakers Forum to consider bringing in speakers with contrary points of view.

"Some people who oppose Prime Minister Olmert have reached out to me regarding their hope that Speakers Forum would follow this event by inviting a Palestinian speaker," Friedman said. "I have not discussed any specifics about that just yet with my club, but I plan on bringing that up at the next meeting."

However, after Leavitt's meeting with Motahar, Loeb, and Friedman, Leavitt received a letter from nine faculty members opposing Olmert's visit to Union. The group, who according to Leavitt, had issues with bringing in someone who was morally offensive to them, met with Leavitt on December, 11th.

"The group outlined their concerns and I listened to them," Leavitt stated. "I was sympathetic to the fact that they would be genuinely hurt if he came to campus."

Leavitt understood that the group had a real moral issue with Olmert's visit and that they would feel violated by the college.

Computer Science Professor Valerie Barr, a faculty member who has a moral issue with the visit, was part of the group who contacted Leavitt, as well as Union College President Stephen Ainlay to express her objections.

"I am against Ehud Olmert coming to Union. I believe in free speech and free exchange of ideas, and I am not opposed to Union inviting a speaker who would present a Zionist perspective. However, I think Olmert is a very bad choice for the college," Barr stated.

While Barr "was raised with unquestioning support for Israel and all its actions," she would rather see Union be in the news for inviting a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, such as former United States President Jimmy Carter rather than Olmert.

In addition to complaints by professors, students, such as Omar Hassib '11, have been critical of Union's administration for allowing Olmert's visit to campus.

"Olmert's visit is huge for Union College. To the layman mind, one would think that the visit would be ok, however, there is the underlying issue of the man himself and his decisions while in office," Hassib said. "By paying him, on top of inviting him, Union is now supporting him and his defense fund."

Hassib believes that the event was scheduled on January 14 because protests would be limited since other nearby campuses are not yet in session and the potential for poor weather conditions. However, according to Friedman, the date was not chosen for any particular reason other than the fact that Memorial Chapel was available and the date worked with Olmert's travel schedule.

As the Concordiensis went to press, a petition urging the Union Administration that the event be cancelled began to circulate through an email.

"We reject the argument that Mr. Olmert's visit is simply that of a 'controversial' individual. We reject the logic that validates such a position, and hold it to be irrational and inconsistent with the intellectual climate we hope to create," the petition stated. "Mr. Olmert's appearance at Union does not contribute to the free exchange of ideas."

Despite the moral controversy emerging on campus, Leavitt realized the problem of security at the event would be an issue in having Olmert give his lecture at Union.

"I learned about Olmert's history of speeches at other schools and the significant security concerns that the other schools dealt with," Leavitt said.

During the former Prime Minister's time in the United States, he has given lectures at various colleges and universities including the University of Chicago, University of Arkansas, University of Kentucky, and Tulane University. Each visit has brought numerous protesters to each respective campus.

After Leavitt's meeting with the professors opposing the former Prime Minister's visit, Leavitt discussed the security concerns with Chris Hayen, Director of Campus Safety on December 16. As a result of Hayen's conversations with the FBI and Secret Service, Leavitt made the decision to cancel Olmert's visit.

"Olmert's people wouldn't tell [Hayen] the necessary security measures until 2 days before the event, which made him uncomfortable," Leavitt said.

Although President Ainlay was traveling during Leavitt's conversations with Campus Safety, according to Leavitt, he was kept briefed on the issue.

"The President was concerned about security and wanted the campus to be safe," Leavitt said.

On December 18, Leavitt broke the news that the event was cancelled to the committee of administrators, faculty, and students who were planning the event. Because Leavitt had not signed a contract with Olmert's agent, the College's attorney told Leavitt that it was legal to cancel the invitation.

Stephen Berk, the Henry and Sally Schaffer Professor of Holocaust and Jewish Studies, a member of the organizing committee, was upset at the decision of Leavitt to cancel.

"It is always important when high ranking officials of an important country that is closely tied with the United States and involved in one of the world's greatest conflicts comes to speak, people can hear the views of himself and his country," Berk said.

Berk believes that free speech is important and if it can't be on a university campus, it can't be observed anywhere.

"Union has a long record of hosting controversial speakers, and I hope that continues in the present," Berk added.

According to the Union College Encyclopedia, many invitations have been given by the College's International Relations Club to controversial speakers, including German-American Bund leader Fritz Kuhn, a well-known Nazi agitator, in 1937; Owen Lattimore, a scholar whom Senator McCarthy called "the top Soviet espionage agent in the United States," in 1950; American communist Herbert Aptheker in 1964; and Arab League spokesman Clovis Maksoud in 1984.

However, after the decision to cancel the visit was made, President Ainlay called Leavitt to make sure that this was the correct action to take. After speaking to campus safety officials at other universities where Olmert had spoken, Hayen compiled a safety report. Based on the report, Leavitt determined that the logistics of bringing Olmert to campus were possible to handle and notified President Ainlay of this knowledge.

The final decision to not cancel the event, according to Leavitt, was decided by himself and President Ainlay.

Hayen believes the Campus Safety Department is prepared for the Prime Minister's visit. Leavitt says that the campus is prepared for demonstrators and that there will be a special area set up for that purpose across from the venue.

"I believe we have done a thorough job and will provide a safe environment on behalf of the Speakers Forum for this student-sponsored event," Hayen said. "Our goals will be to preserve the continuity of essential college functions, continue the goal of Union College in providing for a liberal education that is best attained as one learns about other cultures and one's own, and provide a secure venue for positive programming that strives toward a better understanding about the situation in Israel."

Due of the sensitive nature of the event, Hayen did not want to release specific security information. However, a campus-wide email by Leavitt stated that metal detectors will be posted at the entrance of Memorial Chapel. Speakers Forum will not be paying for security measures for the event.

In advance of the Prime Minster's visit, on Tuesday, Hillel hosted a conversation on Israel with Professor Berk and on Wednesday, Campus Action hosted "Day of Dialogue: Ehud Olmert and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict," a panel discussion made up of Professor Berk, Professor Feffer, and Professor Tadros.

According to Campus Action President, [Campus Action President Name Redacted] '11, the organization is not anti-Israel or pro-Palestine, but exists to present education to the campus. Outside of the club, however, [Campus Action President Name Redacted] predicts demonstrations will take place.

"Campus Action does not support any disruptive actions during the speech," [Campus Action President Name Redacted] said. "I do predict there will be individuals who will do this. There will be demonstrations outside, but they have the right to present their thoughts."

[Campus Action President Name Redacted], who believed that it was not Campus Action's mission to take sides and therefore will not distribute information at the event, believes that people outside of the group will distribute pamphlets to help facilitate discussion.

"By not organizing everyone into a group such as Campus Action, they are free to act on their own beliefs and not obligated to adhere to a collective message," added [Campus Action President Name Redacted].

While the event will take place, Leavitt, who will be attending the lecture, admits that he did not handle the situation well.

"I would apologize to those hurt," Leavitt said. "Feelings will be hurt by bringing in controversial speakers."

Going forward, Leavitt plans to create a set of procedures to decide who comes to campus to talk through issues such as morals and security.

"There is a strong emphasis at Union to foster free speech, it is everything the whole academy is based on" Leavitt commented. "People are free to protest, but people also have the right to speak. It is a slippery slope when you just start canceling things."

Friedman, despite the controversial decision to invite Olmert to campus, stands by his decision 100%, "If Speakers Forum did not bring controversial speakers to campus, then I would not be doing my job."

As of going to press, the details of the Question-and-Answer portion of the lecture had not been finalized.

"I am truly sorry that people are upset with my club for deciding to invite Prime Minister Olmert to Union," Friedman added. "That being said, I encourage everyone who is upset to come listen to Olmert's speech and then submit a question challenging him on some of his actions throughout his term in Israel."

Originally published in Union College's Concordy on 1/14/10. Original article archived at Concordy.com & Union College Schaffer Library.

Note: The Campus Action President's name was redacted upon personal 2014 request.