Thursday, April 18, 2024

Avoiding Conflict

It is widely reported the University of Southern California cancelled a valedictorian's speech by Asna Tabassum - a Muslim - when her online comments supporting the Palestinians in Gaza and calling for the "abolition" of Israel were uncovered. 

The school claimed threats to the safety of attendees were received after her speech was scheduled and her opinions on Gaza revealed. No specifics of these threats were given.

I suspect it is more likely the threats to the private university were threats to withhold large donations by wealthy SoCal alumni, a substantial number of whom are Jewish. For a private university dependent on gifts by successful alums, cancelling her speech is an entirely rational act, if also somewhat embarrassing.