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University of Michigan Professor Derek Peterson is defending his commencement speech on Saturday in Ann Arbor at the Big House that praised pro-Palestinian activists, triggering a backlash from the Jewish community and the Michigan Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
Peterson, who teaches history and African studies and is chair of the Faculty Senate, gave praise during the speech to pro-Palestinian student activists, "who have over these past two years opened our hearts to the injustice and inhumanity of Israel's war in Gaza."
"I urge those offended by the short clip circulating online to review the address I actually made at Saturday's commencement," he wrote in a statement to Deadline Detroit on Monday. "I was speaking about the long history of student activism at UM."
"As for the notion that the speech was 'anti-Semitic,' those who take the time to listen to the whole speech will notice that my comments about pro-Palestinian protestors were framed in relation to a longer historical context. I spent considerable time talking about Moritz Levi, the first Jewish person to be made a faculty member here at UM. As I said on Saturday: Michigan has since the early 20th century been a refuge for Jewish people fleeing from the anti-Semitism of East Coast universities. I made a point of honoring this legacy in Saturday’s talk.
"Should I have made a point of mentioning the events of October 7, 2023? Perhaps I should. Like most people, I am absolutely repelled by Hamas’s attack on innocent people, and I mourn with those UM students who lost loved ones on that terrible day. If I had known that some Jewish colleagues and students would take personal offense at my speech, I would have found some way of saying that."
On Sunday, Elyssa Schmier, regional director of the Michigan ADL, issued a critical statement, echoing sentiments of some in the Metro Detroit Jewish community.
"A graduation ceremony should be a moment of joy, accomplishment, and celebration for every student and family in attendance. After being exposed to years of harassment, social ostracism, and discriminatory rhetoric, Jewish students at the University of Michigan were once again made to feel othered when the Chair of the Faculty Senate used a commencement speech to praise anti-Israel protesters and demonize Israel.
"That is inappropriate, divisive, and deeply unfair in a setting that is supposed to honor the achievements of all graduates."
In response to the ADL comments, he wrote:
"The ADL holds that politics does not belong in graduation ceremonies. That view is specious. Michigan is not a finishing school for polite young men and women. Our students are not wilting flowers. They have just finished their degrees at the foremost public university in the country. They can handle controversy. They do not need sentimental, cloying nostalgia. They need encouragement to face a flawed and unjust world head on, using the tools we’ve given them: critical reasoning, careful research, sympathy for the oppressed."
On social media, some blasted Peterson, while others defended him.
University President Domenico Grasso issued a statement after the speech apologizing for Peterson's remarks.
"At today’s U-M spring commencement ceremony, our outgoing Faculty Senate Chair made remarks regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict that were hurtful and insensitive to many members of our community. We regret the pain this has caused on a day devoted to celebration and accomplishment. For this, the university apologizes."
The Michigan Daily, the school publication, reported that several faculty members wrote an open letter demanding Grasso retract his statement and apologize to Peterson.
The letter said "nothing in Professor Peterson’s statement warrants any apology. To the contrary, it is President Grasso’s statement for which the University should apologize...It bears emphasizing that nothing Professor Peterson said was inappropriate to the occasion."
Peterson began his speech by talking about a young woman named Sarah Burger, who applied to U-M but was rejected in 1858 because she was a woman. The school had no women at the time. She tried again the following year, this time by getting more than 1,000 women to apply. But Peterson said it wasn't until 1870 that the university admitted women.
"So the next time you sing Hail to the Victors, our fight song, sing for Sarah Burger and sing for the thousands of other students who have dedicated themselves to the pursuit of social justice over the course of centuries," Peterson said.
"Sing for Moritz Levy, the first Jewish professor at the University of Michigan, appointed professor of French in 1896. He was to open the doors of this great university to generations of Jewish students who found Ann Arbor a safe haven from the antisemitism of the East Coast universities. Sing for the students of the Black Action Movement, whose members demanded a curriculum that would reflect the experience and identity of Black people in this country."
"Sing for the pro-Palestinian student activists who have over these past two years opened our hearts to the injustice and inhumanity of Israel's war in Gaza."
In his Monday statement to Deadline Detroit, Peterson went on to say:
"In short: UM’s position as the defining public university rests on the courage and energy of people like Ms. Burger, who refused to accept the settled consensus of their time. They caused offense, made provocations, organized people, and got things done. Whatever you think about their methods, the pro-Palestinian activists are part of a long tradition here at Michigan. On a day dedicated to honoring our students’ accomplishments, it is right that we would honor the student activists as much as we honor our student athletes."
Professor Derek Peterson
Professor Peterson on Saturday.
