Received Nov. 19, 2023.

We take the Clark University mandate to “challenge convention; change the world” seriously. We condemn every aspect of the ongoing Palestinian genocide: including the complete siege of vital resources and aid, racist violence, home demolitions, land grabs, cultural erasure (1, 2) , and the ongoing displacement of Palestinian families— which has generated one of the largest refugee crises in modern history. We stand with Palestinians facing state sanctioned violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, racism in the global diaspora, and genocide in Gaza — which is the world’s largest open-air prison. We grieve for Israelis killed on October 7th while rejecting the collective punishment of Palestinians.

We implore the administration to defend campus free speech and protect students from doxxing. The current rise of free speech suppression on college campuses is distressing and a hearkens back to McCarthyism. All struggles are linked; historically, no liberation movement has stood against Palestinian self-determination.

Concerning the November 8th administration letter, we reject the notion that the slogan “from the river to the sea” is an antisemitic call for the removal of Jews. Instead, it calls for the end to the oppression of all Palestinians — in Gaza, the West Bank, and within the Green Line. This false narrative makes your campus physically unsafe for protesting students, no matter ideology. According to Dr. Maha Nassar, the phrase means, “’I identify with my ancestral home in Palestine, even if it’s not on a map today.”

Therese Claxton, ’07, co-organizer of the Clark Alumni Letter for Palestine