Letter to Dean of Columbia Law School Regarding Statement on Prof. Katherine Franke
Anne Herzberg, J.D., Columbia Law School, 1998
Naftali Balanson, M.A., Graduate School of Arts and Science, 2004
Olga Deutsch, School of International & Public Affairs, 2002
Becca Wertman, M.A., Graduate School of Arts and Science, 2016
NGO Monitor
Thu May 17 2018
Gillian Lester
Dean and the Lucy G. Moses Professor of Law
Columbia Law School
Dear Dean Lester,
As alumni of Columbia University graduate programs, including the Law School, we were disappointed to read your statement in support of Katherine Franke.
In your statement, you refer to the vital importance of “the global exchange of ideas and viewpoints” and object to “efforts to restrict such exchange.” We wholeheartedly concur.
Yet, we suggest your sentiments should be directed to Prof. Franke herself. Prof. Franke has been a vocal proponent of an academic boycott of Israel, as part of her broader support for comprehensive BDS (boycotts, divestment, and sanctions) against the State. As staff members at NGO Monitor, a Jerusalem-based research institute, we have documented the chilling impact of these campaigns on free speech and expression, as well as the inherent discrimination that accompanies such activities....
