On February 26 the CCCG hosted Dr. Yoram Hazony, Israeli philosopher, biblical scholar, and political theorist, for a lecture titled “Judaism and Free Speech on Campus Post-October 7, 2023.” Hazony, a devout Orthodox Jew, is the author of The Virtue of Nationalism and Conservatism: A Rediscovery. He graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in East Asian Studies and completed his Ph.D. at Rutgers University in Political Theory. Hazony also joined Professor Patrick Deneen’s senior seminar ‘Liberalism and Its Discontents’ for a class discussion as well as participated in a breakfast discussion with the Center’s Tocqueville Fellows.
Hazony’s lecture came at a pressing time in American politics as three Ivy League University presidents have stepped down following anti-semitic campus controversies and the “inability to unequivocally state that calls for the extermination of Jews were a violation of speech and behavior codes.” Hazony stated this was his first time speaking publicly on anti-semitism, simply because it wasn’t something he has had to worry about in his lifetime. “These last few months have been eye-opening,” he said. “They have rattled an awful lot of Jews and an awful lot of non-Jews.”
Since the Holocaust, he explained, most people have seen anti-semitism as distant, removed, and rare in public life. October 7th — when Hamas terrorists began their assault on Israeli civilian communities – “was a rude awakening,” Hazony said. “In the wake of October 7th, American universities have revealed themselves to be the driving force behind the return of open anti-semitism in America.” The public is now aware of the growing subset of students on university campuses willing to argue that the Hamas killing and torture of Jews was justified.
Hazony believes this is a phenomenon we should have seen coming with the rise of neo-Marxist ideologues within university administrations who believe that calls for the mass murder of “oppressors” like the Jews should be allowed on grounds of “free expression.” These are people whose worldview of politics and society see every situation as a battle between the oppressed and their oppressor, and that any means are justified to overthrow that oppressive force.
“[Neo-Marxist] domination of the campuses relies on like-minded allies in the disciplinary apparatuses of the University. The role of these administrators is to make sure that conservatives, nationalists, Christians, Jews, faculty, and students who resist in any public way are charged and convicted of crimes against the university’s community standards for doing so, whereas neo-Marxist — and sometimes even Islamic supremacists faculty and students — who will use tactics of intimidation and abuse to purposefully put an end to free speech and independent thought on the campus are granted de facto immunity in the faces of whatever charges be filed against them.”
What is even more surprising for Hazony are the conservatives, many devout Christians, who have taken the same stance on allowing this type of speech, so long as DEI regulations are thrown out as well. Hazony cited scholars such as Robby George, Stephen Pinker, and Jonathan Haidt, who have essentially taken a position where “it is perfectly fine to call for the mass extermination of any people.”
Hazony proposes an alternative solution: “It’s important, I believe, that none of these leading speakers on the subject has dared to suggest that a reasonable policy should be to not allow exterminationist anti-semites to have faculty positions at universities, or to expel graduate students who organize teach-ins with purposes to justify the extermination of the Jews.”
Rather than arguing for wider free-speech allowance, Hazony reveals the corruption within American academia that must be eliminated. “We are facing a situation in which free speech, freedom of inquiry, and academic freedom have been used for decades in order to give shelter to academics and their students who use this neo-Marxist analytical tool to agitate against, for example, all whites in America,” he says. Academic departments and entire universities are giving shelter to people who used to be considered racist, people who “advocate for the violence and destruction against people who they consider to be oppressors.”
The solution should not be to increase speech so that students and academics may “argue it out” until the truth prevails, but rather to restore mutual honor and respect to academic debates and set objective boundaries on speech – most clearly, to prohibit calls for violence against populations. “An exchange of honors is what makes free speech possible,” Hazony confirmed.
“We are watching the conquest of the most prestigious ideas-producing institutions in America by a group of people who have no interest in participating in a legitimate debate of free speech,” Hazony says. The neo-Marxists within our universities use threats and intimidation to silence anyone who dissents against the prevailing oppressor vs. oppressed narrative. The only way to overcome this is to bestow power on the university presidents to shut down intimidation and threatening speech altogether.”
Hazony’s son, Hadar, is a third year PhD student here at Notre Dame. Of the events, he said: “The events demonstrate that the CCCG and Notre Dame’s Political Theory Program are at the very forefront of intellectual exploration in the world. Our programs host leading scholars engaged in a vital discussion about eternal questions and timely answers. You will find more ideas, and better thought out, than almost anywhere else.”
The talk concluded with a discussion between Hazony and Deneen, who says he believes Hazony is “too soft” on these issues. Asking about the use of political power to pursue these ends, as well as who exactly should be protected in free speech policies, Deneen and Hazony came to an agreement that the use of political power in ways such as Governor Desantis has done in Florida is the only way to save American institutions. Objective guidelines must be made to teach students to respect the humanity of the person within the dialogue, and universities must make efforts to bring in conservative faculty who respect American religious and constitutional traditions.
Watch the lecture and discussion.
This article was contributed by Merlot Fogarty, a CCCG Writing Fellow.