If you need any more convincing that the leaders of most of America's institutions are craven cowards, look no further than Brown University.
This week, Brown held a vigil for Hisham Awartani, a student at Brown and one of the victims in the horrible shooting of three Palestinians in Vermont over Thanksgiving weekend. Brown University president Christina Paxson, prior to speaking at the event, published her remarks in advance on the university's website.
Then the actual vigil and speech took place and it was marred by protesters demanding that Brown divest completely from Israel. What followed was sheer cowardice from Paxson.
Brown University president Christina Paxson planned to say "every student, faculty and staff member should be able to proudly wear a Star of David or don a keffiyeh on the Brown campus, or to cover their head with a hijab or yarmulke." After pro-Palestinian protesters heckled…
— Zach Kessel (@zach_kessel) November 30, 2023
The full tweet from Kessel reads:
Brown University president Christina Paxson planned to say "every student, faculty and staff member should be able to proudly wear a Star of David or don a keffiyeh on the Brown campus, or to cover their head with a hijab or yarmulke." After pro-Palestinian protesters heckled her, she cut references to Jewish students from her remarks.
Wow. Just ... wow. So, students aren't free at Brown to proudly display their Jewish religion? Is that what Paxson is saying here?
This is almost unreal. The president of Brown University made these edits, in real time, while delivering her speech.
— David Zweig (@davidzweig) November 30, 2023
She cut "Star of David" and "yarmulke" from her remarks. Instead, she said students and faculty should only be able to proudly wear a keffiyeh or hijab. https://t.co/0fSkHmlH3A pic.twitter.com/tkHTsVJFQB
Paxson's cowardice was caught on video:
Here is the video of Paxson being heckled by the pro-Palestinian students and moments later omitting references to Jewish students and staff who wear the Star of David or a yarmulke.pic.twitter.com/FT6iZOCMVK https://t.co/HJS213Taja
— Joseph A. Wulfsohn (@JosephWulfsohn) November 30, 2023
PATHETIC.
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) November 30, 2023
And it gets even worse. This is the response that Brown University gave to National Review when asked about the event:
'The remarks on the website are those prepared for delivery, as noted on that page. At the point students began to disrupt the remarks, President Paxson began to abbreviate them with the hope of being able to finish. It’s not unusual for there to be some deviation between remarks as prepared and remarks as delivered, and certainly that was the case here given the disruption.'
Just come out and say that Brown University and its president are too scared to stand up to bullies. It would be a shorter and more accurate statement.
That craven bint. And, no, bint is not the word I really want to use but I try not to use the truly bad words when quoting others. https://t.co/L8AMEZz2hS pic.twitter.com/vgBi4HYfUm
— alexandriabrown (@alexthechick) November 30, 2023
Yeah, we had a few choice NSFW words we wanted to use too.
This is cowardly and pathetic.
— Physics Geek (@physicsgeek) November 30, 2023
She does not have the fortitude to continue as President if she can not stand up to Bullies on her own campus. How does she expect Brown to be a safe space for Jews to express their voice if she can’t even do it?
— reuben e katz (@rekatz) November 30, 2023
A resignation definitely sounds in order here.
As I learned with Georgetown, academic leaders generally aren’t woke radicals themselves, they’re spineless cowards. https://t.co/TjMSxlKZr2
— Ilya Shapiro (@ishapiro) November 30, 2023
If anyone would know cowardice, Ilya Shapiro would after what Georgetown University put him through.
I’ve come to understand that those in positions of leadership, holding real power and influence, are the least leader-like among us.
— Jennifer Sey (@JenniferSey) November 30, 2023
They traded any spine or chutzpah they may have had for the title, prestige and money.
Pathetic. https://t.co/4o39BeKr2Y
Jennifer Sey, formerly of Levi-Strauss, also knows whereof she speaks here.
Christina Paxson, President of @BrownUniversity, allowed hecklers to intimidate her out of showing the smallest amount of support for the rights of Jewish students.
— Abigail Shrier (@AbigailShrier) November 30, 2023
Dr. Paxson,
Your campus, your community needs leadership. Find your spine. https://t.co/jlvnc2yac2
She'd have to have a spine first to be able to find it.
Because that’s what cowards do…. https://t.co/j3jvosNAq7 pic.twitter.com/tOoBtlnWR7
— ♞Paladin♞ (@Glorfindel1951) November 30, 2023
And here's the cherry on top of this entire debacle ...
Christina Paxson is a converted Jew. Holy cow, she won’t even stand up for them with that in her background. https://t.co/Khqb6NanHE
— The Turquoise Temptress (@heartsabustin) November 30, 2023
Again, we say ... just wow.
How do you think Jews feel on the @BrownUniversity campus if the president of the school can't even mention Jewish pride in her speech? https://t.co/Q6eWtMrGPJ
— Joel M. Petlin (@Joelmpetlin) November 30, 2023
If their university won't protect them, and their university president won't even mention them? Yeah, we're guessing they feel pretty damn scared.
Now we know how Germans allowed the Holocaust.#NaziWatch https://t.co/ch04n9mRRD
— E__Strobel (@WitCoHE_Bak) November 30, 2023
Yup. When the only thing standing in the way of evil is cowardice, there is nothing standing in the way of evil at all.
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