On October 7th, 2023, Hamas, along with several other Islamic paramilitary groups would launch a series of coordinated terrorist attacks on Israeli borders. This attack would begin the (at time of writing) ongoing Israel-Hamas War. These events would result in many faculty at the University of Minnesota, both in their personal lives and on their professional platforms, to express sympathy and support for anti-Israeli organizations. However, these actions have received strong response from others such as University of Minnesota Law Professor Richard Painter, Minnesota Attorney James Dickey, former University of Minnesota Regent Michael Hsu, and Minnesota House Representative Marion Rarick.

Last Tuesday on February 20th, 2024, University of Minnesota student newspaper organization, The Minnesota Republic, was proud to welcome and host this panel of distinguished persons to address antisemitism at the University of Minnesota as well as discussion of other topics related to the University. This event was held at the McNamara Alumni Center and the forum was opened by MN Republic Vice President Luke Rexing.

The forum began with the panel’s personal observations and responses to antisemitic statements and antisemitism from University of Minnesota faculty. Two important qualifications were given at the start of the discussion. One proviso was avoiding becoming bogged down in the discussion of where the current Israeli-Hamas conflict stands and what moral quandaries might be found there. Instead, in any case, antisemitism could not be tolerated. The second important note was that all individuals are naturally able to and afforded the right to hold whatever opinions they like. That is not where the panel’s source of contention lay. Instead, per their experiences with the university, their fight was with staff that openly used their positions within a state institution to endorse politically non-neutral content. More specifically, antisemitic content that the panel felt was being pushed by these individuals and ultimately left unabated by the University of Minnesota administration.

All speakers expressed disappointment in frustration towards the University’s non-acknowledgement of their petitions and appeals. Former University of Minnesota Regent Michael Hsu found the issue disappointing specifically because he believes there are a plethora of tools the University of Minnesota’s code of conduct affords, but remain unused. University of Minnesoat Law Professor Richard Painter admonished what he observed and was concerned was a slide toward antisemitism that has been repeated many times throughout history. Representative Rarick detailed the nuances and difficulties of making change at a legislative level that were impactful. Though, despite these nuances that naturally accompany politics, Representative Rarick was optimistic and confident that she could leverage the Minnesota House of Representatives to transform and change the University of Minnesota’s current administration. Minnesota Attorney Richard Painter gave his legal insight as well, but also guided topic discussion surrounding these subjects.

The panel also discussed, on a different but somewhat related note, the current bureaucracy and bloat of the University of Minnesoat administration. A consistent theme from the speakers was that of administrative bloat. Along with this administrative bloat were insights into spending bloat and less than legitimate spending by administration. On a positive note, there was talk of finding the right President for the University of Minnesota that might be able to steer the University in a more favourable direction. At time of writing, a president has since been selected for the University of Minnesota and this may impact the views and strategies of the speakers.

The panel was held live and online (via Zoom) and many of those who attended expressed support and familiarity with many of the points the speakers had made. Though, despite this familiarity the panel was productive overall and provided new insight into their strategies and recent history of addressing antisemitism at the University of Minnesota.