OPINION - The war on student activists and the disappearance of academic freedom in the US

• Universities remain one of the few institutional spaces where the systemic racism, classism, imperialism, and other forms of oppression upon which their power rests can be named, studied, and challenged through rigorous scholarship
• The false equation of criticism of Israel with antisemitism ultimately undermines genuine efforts to combat antisemitism

The author serves on the Academic Council of Jewish Voice for Peace and the Advisory Board of the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism. He holds the Rubin Presidential Chair of Jewish History at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, USA.

ISTANBUL

Mahmoud Khalil, Yunseo Chung, and Rumeysa Ozturk are just some of the international students who are currently facing deportation due to their political expression on US campuses. Their abductions are not isolated incidents but the initial implementation of a systematic campaign of political repression by the Donald Trump administration. In recent weeks, hundreds of student visas have been preemptively revoked without due process, based solely on political views expressed in support of Palestinian rights. This unprecedented assault on campus speech signals a frightening new phase in the suppression of dissent in American higher education.

These actions originate from the Heritage Foundation's "Project Esther," [1] released on Oct. 7, 2024. Taking a page directly from the fascist playbook, this initiative reframes any form of critical inquiry that challenges its political positions as inherently subversive – not merely disagreement, but an attack on the state itself that constitutes a national security threat requiring immediate suppression.

As a group of scholars has revealed in a new report, "Rejecting Project Esther", [2] behind this new attack stands an alarming alliance of right-wing interests, led by self-identified Christian Nationalists whose support for Israel stems from End Times theology. Why are they targeting higher education with such unprecedented fervor? The answer is both simple and profound: They do not fear us as isolated individuals, but as a collective force capable of challenging systemic power, dedicated to exposing injustice and cultivating critical thinking. Universities remain one of the few institutional spaces where systemic racism, classism, imperialism, and other forms of oppression upon which their power rests can be named, studied, and challenged through rigorous scholarship.

Myth of ‘Hamas Support Network’

Project Esther's most disturbing feature is its fabrication of a shadowy "Hamas Support Network" allegedly operating throughout American institutions. This fictional network supposedly encompasses virtually all pro-Palestinian organizations, student groups, academic programs, and individual activists. This fabricated narrative mirrors antisemitic conspiracy theories that have targeted Jews throughout history, deploying the same rhetorical structures found in the notoriously antisemitic text from a century ago, "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," [3] but redirecting them toward Palestine solidarity activists – many of whom are Jewish themselves.

The consequences are already evident. International students face deportation not for any criminal activity but for political expression on American campuses. By targeting those with the most precarious legal status first, Project Esther tests the boundaries of what the American public will tolerate, creating precedents that can later be expanded to target citizen activists, faculty members, and entire academic programs. While claiming to combat antisemitism, Project Esther diverts attention from the actual sources of anti-Jewish violence in America today. In reality, white supremacist and Christian Nationalist movements pose the greatest threat to Jewish communities today. Ironically, these are the same ideological camps from which the Heritage Foundation has emerged.

The receptivity of many university administrations to these tactics stems partly from the corporatization of higher education. Our universities have been reconfigured according to market logic – prioritizing revenue generation, brand management, and donor relations over their educational and social missions. This creates institutions more concerned with rankings and reputation than with their moral responsibilities to foster critical inquiry and protect academic freedom. At the same time, the systematic suppression of Palestinian voices reflects a deeply entrenched narrative of Jewish exceptionalism that makes it nearly impossible for many to reconcile Jewish historical victimhood with current Israeli state violence. This framework creates an intellectual paralysis: legitimate criticism of Israeli policies is reflexively labeled as antisemitism. As a result, it becomes almost unthinkable to consider that a Jewish-led state can engage in systemic violence.

Decline of academic values

The implementation of Project Esther's vision transforms universities from sites of learning into instruments of ideological enforcement. This fascist-inspired logic reframes dissent as a direct threat to national security, justifying immediate repression. By criminalizing certain forms of political expression, purging faculty who hold dissenting views, and creating an atmosphere of surveillance and fear, this approach fundamentally contradicts the mission of higher education in a democratic society. Moreover, the false equation of criticism of Israel with antisemitism ultimately undermines genuine efforts to combat antisemitism. By focusing resources on suppressing pro-Palestinian activism rather than addressing actual antisemitic threats, Project Esther leaves Jewish communities more vulnerable while simultaneously eroding civil liberties and academic freedom for everyone. In rejecting this approach, we must insist on universities' responsibility to protect spaces for the full range of scholarly inquiry and political expression. This includes ensuring that Palestinian histories, experiences, and perspectives have a place in our classrooms, research agendas, and campus discussions.

While institutions like Columbia, Harvard, and Pomona have capitulated to political pressure, others are charting a different course. Universities such as Wesleyan, Tufts, and Brown have demonstrated that resistance is possible, defending academic freedom rather than facilitating repression. These universities provide alternative models for how institutions can respond to these challenges without abandoning their core educational mission. The struggle for Palestinian voices on campus is ultimately a struggle for the soul of the university itself. It poses fundamental questions about who has the right to speak, whose suffering merits attention, whose history deserves to be taught, and what limits, if any, should be placed on critical inquiry.

We are being attacked because we are feared. The truth we speak threatens powerful interests that would prefer our silence. This moment calls for moral courage – to protect the most vulnerable among us, to stand with those whose voices are being systematically silenced, and to take risks in speaking out against injustice. In times of institutional failure, it falls to each of us to defend academic freedom and human dignity against this unprecedented assault.

[1] https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/report/project-esther-national-strategy-combat-antisemitism

[2] https://contendingmodernities.nd.edu/global-currents/jvp-rejecting-project-esther/

[3] https://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/museum-exhibitions/a-dangerous-lie-the-protocols-of-the-elders-of-zion

*Opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Anadolu's editorial policy.