The following letter was written and submitted by Robert Huebscher ’76 and is in response to Professor Andrew Pessin’s letter addressing issues about Israel and the recent Board of Trustees’ decision opposing divestment.
I write in response to Professor Andrew Pessin’s letter addressing issues about Israel and the recent decision by the Board of Trustees not to divest from companies labeled as inconsistent with the college’s mission by “ccstudentsforpalestine.”
As a 1976 Connecticut College graduate, I still cherish the education I received. But I am deeply troubled by the school’s response to the war in Gaza. At a time when academia should champion critical inquiry, Connecticut College has quietly slid into ideological bias and unchecked antisemitism. Nearly one-third of its faculty signed a letter that openly embraced antisemitic views, signaling a worrying erosion of our liberal arts values.
I have published a detailed article in the Times of Israel on this topic, and I encourage everyone to read it. This letter is a summary of that article.
The descent into bias
The troubles began in early 2023 when then-President Katherine Bergeron held a fundraiser at Palm Beach’s Everglades Club – a venue with a history of discriminatory policies that, though later corrected, led some faculty to demand her resignation on antisemitic grounds. Bergeron was replaced by interim President Les Wong, previously at San Francisco State University, whose tenure there was also marred by failures to address anti-Zionist disruptions. Wong’s subsequent email to the college community falsely accused Israel of “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza, equating its defensive measures with the atrocities committed by Hamas.
On May 2, 2024, a letter signed by 95 faculty and staff (about 28% of the faculty) appeared on the college newspaper’s website. The letter, which meets the IHRA definition of antisemitism, accused Israel of apartheid and genocide while denying the Jewish basis for Zionism. Additional faculty likely share these views privately. One faculty member, Andrew Pessin, wrote a powerful response to that letter, which you can read here.
Webinars and a one-sided curriculum
Following this, the college organized 13 so-called “educational” webinars on the Israel-Palestine issue – sponsored by the dean of faculty’s office. In these sessions, numerous false accusations were made against Israel, including claims of war crimes and ethnic cleansing, without any critical analysis or acknowledgment of Israel’s defensive efforts. This biased presentation extends into the curriculum, notably in the “Israel and Palestine” course (GOV 360) taught in the government department. Its reading list is heavily one-sided, relying on sources that demonize Israel and ignore the complexities of the conflict.
The role of leadership and DEI
Two factors lie behind this troubling shift. First, the college’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) since 2019 – while a laudable goal – appears to have coincided with the hiring of faculty with an anti-Israel agenda. Second, the leadership, from successive presidents to the board of trustees, has enabled the spread of this rhetoric while failing to address its consequences. Despite my outreach to Presidents Wong and Chapdelaine and attempts to discuss these issues, my concerns went largely unanswered.
A warning for academia
Connecticut College’s decline is not only a tragedy for its Jewish students but also a cautionary tale for all academic institutions. When universities abandon open debate in favor of ideological conformity, they cease to educate and instead become platforms for activism. Alumni, trustees, and educators must demand a return to balanced discourse if the true spirit of liberal arts is to survive.
Robert Huebscher is a resident of Lexington, MA, and a 1976 Connecticut College graduate, magna cum laude.
