As scholars at Wake Forest University who have dedicated our careers to Jewish Studies, we write with deep concern regarding the upcoming speaking engagement of Sam Fried, an American citizen who served in the Israeli Defense Forces. The Office of Jewish Life‘s decision to sponsor this event shows a profound lack of consideration for the broader campus community and misrepresents the diversity of Jewish perspectives on this conflict.
The invitation of Mr. Fried at this particular moment represents more than just a speaking engagement –– it signifies an institutional choice to amplify voices directly connected to military actions that have drawn international condemnation. We are especially troubled by the timing: scheduling this talk on Feb. 11, a date that marks the anniversary of devastating Palestinian casualties in Rafah, demonstrates either a disturbing lack of awareness or a callous disregard for many members of our university community.
Our opposition stems not from a desire to limit discourse, but rather from our commitment to meaningful academic dialogue. When Wake Forest previously canceled Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi’s scholarly presentation, the administration cited concerns about campus climate. Now, faced with a speaker without any relevant academic credentials and whose military service connects directly to actions that human rights organizations have extensively documented as violations of international law against genocide, the university has abandoned these same concerns in the name of protecting free speech.
The core mission of a university is to foster critical thinking and ethical engagement with complex issues. This event threatens to transform our campus from a space of learning to one of advocacy for military actions that have resulted in well-documented civilian casualties. The invited speaker is a well-known provocateur, posting on his own social media account instances of confrontation and harassment of Muslim students.
As the former directors of Jewish Studies at Wake Forest, we are particularly conscious of how this decision may be viewed as representing Jewish academic perspectives, and we are especially concerned about how a Jewish Life-sponsored event will affect our students and colleagues who remain traumatized by the war in Gaza. We emphatically reject this assumption and stress that support for genocidal violence cannot and must not be conflated with Jewish identity or scholarship.
We urge the administration to demonstrate leadership by reaffirming its commitment to creating an academic environment where rigorous debate can flourish without compromising our ethical obligations to all members of our community.
