The resignation of Mohammed S. Dajani Daoudi, a professor at Al-Quds University who triggered a storm of criticism after taking a group of students to Auschwitz, has refocused international attention on issues of tolerance and academic freedom at Al-Quds University, a Palestinian institution on the outskirts of East Jerusalem.
In November, Brandeis University suspended a decade-long partnership with Al-Quds (“Jerusalem” in Arabic) over disappointment at the university’s response to a campus rally where students flourished fake automatic weapons, gave Nazi-style salutes, and appeared to lionize suicide bombers.
“It is disappointing that Professor Dajani felt he had to resign from the faculty at Al-Quds,” Frederick M. Lawrence, the president of Brandeis, wrote in an email to The Chronicle. “His scholarly and teaching activities are one example of the type of activities in pursuit of better understanding between Palestinian, Israeli, and American students and faculty that the Brandeis-Al-Quds partnership was designed to foster.”
For now, the joint program between the two institutions remains in limbo. “While there are no formal discussions about reinstating the relationship, the lines of communication are open and we continue to monitor the situation,” said Ellen de Graffenreid, a Brandeis spokeswoman. “Professor Dajani’s resignation and the institution’s acceptance of his resignation is not a positive sign, but we will pay attention to all developments at Al-Quds University.”
Mr. Dajani submitted his letter of resignation last month, shortly after he was expelled from the staff and faculty union and fiercely denounced in a statement issued by student political groups at Al-Quds.
In a statement, the students described Al-Quds as “the university of steadfastness, the sextant of jihad for our struggling, steadfast people, in the center of conflict and the tip of its warhead.” They denounced Mr. Dajani as a “parasite” and warned him against entering the campus.
Mr. Dajani met with Sari Nusseibeh, the retiring Al-Quds president, and Imad Abu Kishek, the incoming president and head of the political-science department, who told him that both the faculty union and the student groups had been persuaded to rescind their statements and asked that he reconsider his resignation, according to Mr. Abu Kishek. The university authorities also assigned two security guards to accompany the professor on campus. But Mr. Dajani insisted that the university publicly reject his resignation in an open show of support. They declined to do so.
In a written statement, the university said it had not known about or authorized the Auschwitz visit and felt it was being asked to take a political position about an extracurricular activity. It also rejected charges that it was not protecting the professor’s academic freedom by not supporting his trip publicly. “‘Academic freedom’ was not an issue in Professor Dajani’s case in any way, shape or form,” the university stated.
But one of Mr. Dajani’s students at Al-Quds, who asked to remain anonymous because of continuing tensions, described the statement as “completely wrong.”
“This was an educational trip closely associated with our studies on campus,” said the student. “I’m profoundly sorry about his resignation. He achieved many goals for our campus.”
External Tensions
Mr. Abu Kishek told The Chronicle that academic freedom is a high priority for Al-Quds. “From the first day we started building this university, we said we need to have a very safe environment of tolerance that guarantees freedom of choice and freedom of speech,” he said. “Maybe we didn’t reach the ideal point, but at least we are making sure that we will always have this environment in this university.”
Mr. Abu Kishek said he regretted Mr. Dajani’s resignation and hoped he would still reconsider. He said campus reaction had been exacerbated by the breakdown of peace talks with Israel.
“We are very concerned about this, but we connect it to other things. It’s not related to the university at all. It’s related to the bigger environment. It came after the end of the nine months of peace talks when everyone was playing a blame game,” he said.
Mustafa Abu Sway, a philosophy professor at Al-Quds, also said the furor was not an issue of academic freedom. He said Mr. Dajani’s initiative was irrelevant in the context of Palestinian powerlessness under occupation. The Al-Quds campus is adjacent to Israel’s 400-mile-long security barrier that severs the university from Jerusalem and can add hours to the daily commute for students and professors. The university buildings are pockmarked with bullet holes from several incursions by Israeli troops who have fired tear gas, rubber bullets, and live ammunition into the campus.
“I have no problem visiting Auschwitz myself or taking Palestinian students to Auschwitz on my own terms,” said Mr. Abu Sway. But, he added, “being an educated person about the Holocaust does not end the occupation.”