As professors at the College, we applaud the recent announcement by interim University President Alan M. Garber ’76 of two presidential task forces, one to combat antisemitism and one to combat Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias. Unfortunately, the leadership of the antisemitism task force was immediately attacked by outside political forces, threatening to undermine its work before it even begins.

The appointment of Derek J. Penslar — William Lee Frost Professor of Jewish History and Director of the Center for Jewish Studies — as co-chair of the antisemitism task force was an especially wise choice. Penslar is one of the world’s leading scholarly experts on antisemitism. He has devoted his career to studying Jewish history across the world, to understanding the aspirations and challenges of Zionism, and, importantly, to combating antisemitism.

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