Last Friday a University of Texas at Austin faculty member overstepped a boundary as he physically intimidated and used force against protesters.
The incident occurred November 13, when University of Texas at Austin Institute of Israeli Studies hosted an event called “The Origin of a Species: The Birth of Israeli Defense Forces’ Military Culture.” In response to the event, 12 members of the Palestine Solidarity Committee disrupted the event and were immediately met with physical intimidation. A video of the altercation was posted on a youtube.
In fact Professor Pedazhar can be heard saying:
“You are students. You know nothing,”
I can understand the professor’s distaste for the situation, but his goal should be to encourage learning among students and the betterment of their education, not the repression of free speech of individuals at public university. The choice he made is disturbing and he should be subject to punishment for his acts.
Thankfully, the college is erring on the side of caution by releasing this statement about a pending investigation:
“The University of Texas at Austin strives to be a campus where people with different viewpoints can debate issues —including the Israeli – Palestinian conflict — openly and respectfully.Our Institute for Israel Studies has always strived to do that and, on Friday, invited an esteemed scholar to deliver remarks and engage in critical debate.The university has existing protocols for protesters to voice their points of view and be heard effectively. We are trying to determine if they were followed in this case.Responding to a call from the event, University Police spoke with all the parties involved on Friday. My office will do the same. We are gathering more information and looking for ways to improve the constructive dialogue on campus.”
The moral of the story is that the college’s professor wasn’t wrong for asking them to leave, he was wrong for laying his hands on the individuals when he should have called campus police or security to remove the individuals. It’s disturbing that the situation escalated and how poorly the professor handled it.
Featured image screengrab from the video.