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NAIS must immediately correct the record and issue an apology to Dr. Suzanne Barakat and Prof. Ruha Benjamin.
We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, call on the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) to correct the record and issue a public apology to Dr. Suzanne Barakat and Prof. Ruha Benjamin, who have been unfairly smeared for their remarks at NAIS’s People of Color Conference (PoCC). NAIS President Debra Wilson jeopardized the safety of the speakers and undermined the conference’s commitment to equity and justice by irresponsibly framing their remarks as “divisive” and mischaracterizing their credibly-cited critiques as antisemitic. These failures have emboldened those who weaponize intimidation and hate to silence differing views, and reduced the public reporting on the PoCC to a reflection of the very injustices it was created to confront.
Dr. Barakat is a physician, humanitarian, and advocate for social and human rights. She has dedicated her career to combating all forms of hate, including Islamophobia and antisemitism, while promoting equity. Her efforts have earned her national recognition from U.S. presidents, including President Biden’s Uniter Award for her tireless work against hate in all of its forms. Prof. Benjamin, a professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, is widely recognized for her groundbreaking contributions to the intersection of race, justice, and technology, earning her a 2024 MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Fellowship. Her work has been lauded by respected organizations, including the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Following Dr. Barakat’s presentation, NAIS President Debra Wilson, along with an audience of over 7,000 educators of color, courageously stood up in applause to affirm that every child, regardless of race, religion, gender, or nationality, deserves fundamental freedoms and human rights. In wide-ranging remarks covering many different aspects of understanding and combating hatred and discrimination, Dr. Barakat and Prof. Benjamin referenced the genocide in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. Their reference to genocide — a term also used by UN experts, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other international legal experts to describe the situation in Gaza — has been used to falsely accuse them of antisemitism, one of the forms of hatred that they denounced in their remarks and have worked to combat. Criticism of actions taken by the Israeli government has often been conflated with antisemitism, usually in an effort to silence such criticism. The relationship between attitudes toward Israel and antisemitism is heavily contested, with Jews who identify as Zionists and anti-Zionists opposing the conflation of a religion with the policies of a nation-state.
President Wilson’s statements mischaracterized Dr. Barakat and Prof. Benjamin’s remarks. Even if President Wilson did not agree with the arguments presented, she should have defended her speakers’ right to freedom of speech, a cornerstone of democracy and one of the most cherished values in the United States. President Wilson’s words emboldened anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism, a form of bigotry that has become alarmingly prevalent — and disturbingly normalized — within our schools. To marginalize truths and deem those who communicate them as unwelcome has a silencing effect on our students and educators.
Since President Wilson’s statement, Dr. Barakat and Prof. Benjamin have been subjected to a ruthless smear campaign. Dr. Barakat has received numerous death threats that have left her fearing for her life, and at risk of the same tragic fate that her family experienced nearly 10 years ago, when her brother, his wife, and her sister were tragically murdered in an Islamophobic hate crime. As educators, it is our duty to answer Dr. Barakat and Prof. Benjamin’s call to action by fostering inclusive and protective spaces for all students, including Arab and Muslim students.
Given NAIS’s dedication to education and the pursuit of understanding, we implore NAIS to denounce the conflation of antisemitism with criticism of Netanyahu’s disastrous policies—policies that have resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians and have failed to secure the release of hostages — thereby fueling further hate. As a diverse coalition of educators, Jewish organizations, and human rights advocates, we stand firmly against all forms of antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, and anti-Palestinian racism.
We urge NAIS to uphold its own values by addressing this injustice, championing human rights, equality, freedom for all, and safeguarding the fundamental rights of future speakers.
Signed,
Gloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin-Madison*
Freedom of speech is a fundamental tenet of democracy. We cannot be bullied or intimidated by those who have decided they are the only ones with rights of free speech.
Bettina Love, Teachers College*
We must safeguard the fundamental right to freedom of speech, ensuring that every voice can be heard without fear of repression or censorship. In doing so, we carry the responsibility to speak truth to power, challenging injustice and holding those in positions of authority accountable.
Maxine Fookson, Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council*
I stand in support of all who speak out for human rights for all. It is our duty.
Alice Rothchild, Harvard University*
The conflation of antisemitism with criticism of Israeli policy is wrong on many fronts and only used to silence critics.
Anne Fausto-Sterling, Brown University, Emerita*
Criticism of the STATE of Israel is not automatically anti-semitic.
Jeanne Theoharis, Brooklyn College of CUNY*
Chenjerai Kumanyika, Assistant Professor of Journalism*
Judy Richardson, SNCC Legacy Project Board Member*
Noah Tamarkin, Cornell University*
Trude Bennett, Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council*
Kamala Visweswaran, Rice University*
Nathalie Arnold Koenings, Hampshire College*
Susan Reverby, Wellesley College*
Rachel Rubin, Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council*
Chelsey Carter, Yale University*
Amy Alpert, Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council*
* for identification puposes only
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