UW Prof Sasha Senderovich Calls for Netanyahu’s Arrest | Stroum Center Controversy
SENDEROVICH SAYS BIBI SHOULD BE THROWN IN PRISON WITH HAMAS TERROR LEADER, ATTACKS HILLEL FOR SUPPORTING REMOVAL OF PRO-HAMAS ENCAMPMENT
While most of the notoriously anti-Israel academics at the University of Washington’s Stroum Center for Jewish Studies have kept their heads relatively low since the October 7th massacre, Jewish Studies professor Sasha Senderovich has done anything but. A serial Tweeter, Senderovich has accused Israel of war crimes and has pushed a conspiracy theory that the war on Gaza was part of a preconceived and calculated plan to engage in ethnic cleansing.
On May 17th, Senderovich unleashed a full-bore attack on Hillel, a beloved institution and one of the few safe spaces remaining on a campus where Jewish students have been threatened, assaulted, involuntarily detained, and robbed. All with the consent of a quisling University administration. Hillel earned Senderovich’s opprobrium for the crime of calling for the dismantling of the pro-Hamas encampment. In return Senderovich declared he would never again set foot at Hillel, probably one of the few positions on which Senderovich and Hillel can agree.
Senderovich gloated in the wake of today’s announcement that the International Criminal Court was seeking arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister. Said the perturbed Professor, “Netanyahu is, has for years been a war criminal. His place is in The Hague. In a cell adjacent to Putin’s. And Sinwar’s.”
The Stroum program at UW has been plagued by controversy over the dominant anti-Israel and anti-Zionist messaging over the past several years. Instructor Smadar Ben Natan had referred to Hezbollah terrorists complicit in the murder of Israeli soldiers as “pleasant people”. During the last Gaza war, Professor Devin Naar signed and solicited signatures for a screed that delegitimized Israel as engaging in a “settler colonial paradigm” while engaging in antisemitic tropes, such as Israel is engaging in “Jewish supremacy”. Naar and his colleagues’ anti-Israel extremism resulted in the loss of millions of dollars in donor funds.
Students and Philanthropists who disdain Jews and wish harm upon the Jewish state should feel very comfortable with the Jewish Studies program at the University of Washington. However, those prioritizing a safe environment for Jewish students and advocating for a secure Israel might find better alignment for their educational and philanthropic investments elsewhere.
Thank you MichAel.