Pro-Palestine Vanderbilt students and alumni activists accused the university and its chancellor of “supporting genocide” in an Instagram post on Monday, nearly three months to the day after the deadly surprise attack by Hamas on October 7.
The Instagram accounts for the Vanderbilt Alumni for Palestine and the Vanderbilt chapter of the Students for Justice in Palestine jointly posted a series of graphics in response to an email that the groups claim Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier (pictured above) sent to students.
The two organizations criticized Diermeier’s alleged statement that “Unless required by law, Vanderbilt will not boycott or divest from companies for doing business in or with any specific nations, including Israel.”
The Tennessee Star requested a copy of the email from Vanderbilt University pro-Palestine activists say was sent to students, but none has been forthcoming as of press time.
“This seems to confirm that Vanderbilt is currently invested in Israel and/or Israeli companies, something they have tried to cover up through hiding their investment profile,” the post read. “Diermeier claims this is part of institutional neutrality, when in reality these investments are active investments in Israel and its genocidal actions.”
In the post, Vanderbilt SJP and Alumni for Palestine encouraged others to share the Instagram post and use the hashtags “#GenocideChancellor,” “#DiermeierSupportsGenocide,” and “#VanderbiltSupportsGenocide” among others.
“We affirm our support for Palestinians, everywhere, to resist as they see necessary,” the activists wrote. “No justice, no peace!”
The post also featured a series of hashtags, including “#fromtherivertothesea.” “From the river to the sea” is a phrase many interpret as a call for the termination of the nation of Israel. Hamas’s 2017 revised charter uses the same language.
“Vanderbilt unequivocally considers calls for violence or genocide against any member of the Vanderbilt community to be evil, repugnant and violative of university policy,” a Vanderbilt spokesperson told The Star in an email. “We strongly condemn antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia and other forms of hate.”
Vanderbilt is committed to neutrality, which calls for university leadership to not take positions on controversial issues unless it is related to the school’s “core mission and operation,” the spokesperson said. The university’s goal is to foster open debate, according to the statement.
Following the Hamas attack where approximately 1,200 Israelis were killed and 240 more were kidnapped, Diermeier released an official statement on X that did not explicitly denounce Hamas or Israel.
Statement from Chancellor Diermeier on events in Israel and Gaza; university resources available: https://t.co/Ts4um4v3ma pic.twitter.com/mWVgMf1WPY
— Vanderbilt University Chancellor (@VU_Chancellor) October 8, 2023
“The deeply layered and nuanced complexity of today’s incidents reminds us that we must denounce violence, hate and prejudice in all forms and remain steadfast in our commitment to open discourse and a compassionate, supportive environment,” Diermeier’s statement said.
Diermeier became Vanderbilt’s chancellor in July 2020 after an extensive academic career at Stanford University, Northwestern University, and the University of Chicago, according to his Vanderbilt biography. He holds a Ph.D. in political science, two master’s degrees in political science, and a master’s degree in philosophy.
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Matthew Giffin is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Matthew on X / Twitter.
Photo “Vanderbilt University President Daniel Diermeier” by Vanderbilt University.
