VMI publication addresses AIM activism against visiting professor
December 29, 2024
Questions raised about antisemitic Peay Endowment professor
As first reported in an October 25, 2024 article by Accuracy in Media (AIM), Philip Crane ‘16, a visiting professor in VMI’s International Studies Department, served as the secretary to the controversial Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (SPIA) Palestine Working Group (PWG) from 2022 to 2024 while studying for his master’s degree. The Palestine Working Group is often associated with broader movements advocating for Palestinian rights, including the Columbia University Apartheid Divest, which calls for the university to divest from companies perceived to be complicit in the Israeli occupation. Critics of these groups argue that their activities and statements can sometimes align with more radical elements within the Palestinian solidarity movement, raising concerns about the potential for extremism in their messaging.
A joint letter signed by PWG blamed Israel for the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack in Gaza stating, “The weight of responsibility for the war and casualties undeniably lies with the Israeli extremist government and other Western governments, including the U.S. government, which fund and staunchly support Israeli aggression, apartheid and settler-colonization.”
The large-scale attack on Israel, resulted in significant civilian casualties. Reports indicated that more than 1,200 men, women, and children were killed. According to the U.S. Department of state this included 46 Americans and citizens of foreign countries. Many girls and women were the victims of sexual assault. As of October 25, 2024 more than 60 living hostages and the bodies of some 35 others are estimated to remain in Gaza according to the Israeli Defense force (IDF). A number of them died in captivity and others remain held.
The letter Crane signed concluded by justifying Hamas’s attack as their right against Israeli aggression. “Finally,” the letter stated, “we remind Columbia students that the Palestinian struggle for freedom is rooted in international law, under which occupied peoples have the right to resist the occupation of their land.” According to media reports and AIM’s investigation, other group leaders later distanced themselves from the letter but Crane did not.