Stanford professor singles out Jewish students in classroom, asks Holocaust questions and then does THIS

Amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, a Stanford University lecturer has come under scrutiny for allegedly singling out Jewish and Israeli students during mandatory undergraduate classes on Tuesday (Oct 10), media reports said. This is yet another controversy that erupted days after Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman asked Harvard to release the names of their 30 students who signed a letter blaming Israel solely for the terror attacks by Hamas that took place over last weekend.

Reports from Jewish student leaders at the California university revealed that this instructor identified students based on their backgrounds and identities during a class named "civil, liberal, and global education."

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According to Rabbi Dov Greenberg, director of the Chabad Stanford Jewish Center, who spoke to three of the 18 students present, the lecturer directed these students to stand apart and purportedly made the statement, "This is what Israel does to Palestinians," as relayed by students to Greenberg.

The situation further escalated when the instructor asked about the Holocaust's death toll.

When a student replied, "six million," the lecturer allegedly responded, "Yes. Only six million," and went on to assert, "Colonisers killed more than six million. Israel is a coloniser."

Leaders of Stanford's Israeli Student Association spoke with students who were in the classroom and collected additional details regarding the incident.

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According to their accounts, the lecturer began by attributing blame for the conflict to Zionists and attempting to justify Hamas'actions as part of a legitimate resistance movement.

The lecturer downplayed the tragic loss of Jewish lives during the Holocaust by claiming that colonisation had caused more casualties than the Shoah(a Hebrew word that is often used to refer to the Holocaust).

Furthermore, it was reported that the instructor asked students to disclose their ancestral origins and labelled them as "colonisers" or "colonised" based on their responses.

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When a student stated they were from Israel, the lecturer purportedly retorted, "Oh, definitely a coloniser."

In response to the situation, Stanford President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez issued a statement acknowledging the "serious concern" raised by these reports.

He noted that the lecturer has been suspended from teaching duties pending an investigation and that academic freedom does not allow for the targeting of students based on their identities.

(With inputs from agencies)

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