When a university disinvites a commencement speaker because of views on Palestine, it sends a chilling message about academic freedom and moral courage. That is what happened to biotech CEO Rami Elghandour, who says he was removed as a graduation speaker at Rutgers University over his public stance on Palestinian rights.
Commencement is meant to celebrate inquiry, diversity of thought, and the courage to speak truth. Silencing a speaker for expressing concern about Palestinian lives betrays those very principles. Universities should be places where difficult conversations are welcomed, not punished.
We once ignored the horrors of Jewish suffering during the Holocaust. Let us not repeat that moral failure by turning away from the suffering of Palestinians today.
Disinviting a speaker over political views is not neutrality — it is capitulation to pressure and fear. If students are taught that speaking about Palestine comes at a professional cost, what lesson are we really imparting?
A university that cannot tolerate dissent in a speech cannot claim to prepare students for a democratic society.
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