Brandeis University faculty members have voted "no confidence" in President Ronald Liebowitz, highlighting what they describe as "a consistent pattern of damaging errors of judgment and poor leadership." The vote, which passed by a narrow margin of just ten votes, marks a significant moment of dissent at the Waltham-based university, as reported by multiple sources.
The faculty motion passed with 159 votes in favor, 149 against, and 26 abstentions, according to Jeffrey Lenowitz, Chair of the Brandeis Faculty Senate. Lebowitz noted that 76.4% of eligible voters participated, reflecting the sharp divisions among faculty members. "This reveals what our multiple faculty conversations and debates on it made clear: while faculty are united in their care for Brandeis and their great desire for it to flourish, they are divided on this motion," Lenowitz stated, as reported by The Boston Globe.
The vote comes at a turbulent time for Brandeis University, which has faced a series of controversies under Liebowitz's leadership. According to Fox News, the motion was first introduced at a May 30 Faculty Senate meeting due to concerns over Liebowitz's handling of budget shortfalls, fundraising failures, and what many faculty described as an "excessive" response to student protests.
Brandeis has been particularly affected by campus tensions surrounding the Israel-Hamas conflict. The university experienced a spike in protests, including a rally in support of Palestinians in Gaza that led to multiple arrests. In response to growing anti-Israel sentiment, Brandeis made the controversial decision to defund its chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, citing the group's support for Hamas.
"This decision was not made lightly, as Brandeis is dedicated to upholding free speech principles," the university stated in a letter obtained by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in November 2023. "Students who engage in conduct in support of Hamas, or engage in conduct that harasses or threatens violence, whether individually or through organized activity, will be considered to violate the University's student code of conduct." The letter emphasized that students wishing to express support for Palestinian rights could form new student organizations in compliance with university policies.
The university's decision to ban Students for Justice in Palestine followed national pressure from Jewish groups for universities to withdraw funding from SJP chapters in the wake of Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel. As reported by JTA, the Brandeis chapter of SJP called the decision "racist," accusing the university of silencing their voices, while university officials reiterated their commitment to maintaining a safe environment for all students.
Vote amid ADL praise for combating antisemitism
Despite the criticism, Brandeis received praise from the Anti-Defamation League for its efforts to combat antisemitism and maintain a safe environment for Jewish students. The university was one of only two nationwide campuses to receive an A in the ADL's Campus Antisemitism Report Card, highlighting the complex and often contradictory pressures facing Liebowitz's administration.
Liebowitz's leadership style has been a contention, especially his approach to managing protests and financial challenges. As reported by The Boston Globe, faculty have criticized his responses as overly harsh and his management of university finances as inadequate. The motion for a no-confidence vote called for the university's trustees to address "badly handled budget shortfalls, failures of fundraising, excessive responses to student protests, indifference to faculty motions, and the recent damaging staff layoffs."
In an email to faculty members, Lebowitz said the following steps and implications of the vote would be discussed at the upcoming faculty meeting. While the vote is symbolic and non-binding, it reflects growing frustration among faculty members and could pressure the Board of Trustees to consider Liebowitz's future at the university.
Brandeis spokesperson Julie Jette acknowledged the vote in a statement to Boston.com, noting that "such symbolic and non-binding votes have become more common at colleges and universities over the past decade." The university has not formally responded regarding the potential impact on Liebowitz's tenure.
The no-confidence vote at Brandeis mirrors a broader trend in higher education, where faculty at several institutions have expressed dissatisfaction with leadership through similar votes. According to Fox News, a report from The Chronicle of Higher Education noted a "flurry" of no-confidence votes this past spring, often tied to the handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
What is SJP?
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) has faced significant criticism from pro-Israel organizations, which charge that the group promotes antisemitism. The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law accused SJP of "celebrating terrorism," while the AMCHA Initiative linked SJP chapters to increased antisemitism on campuses, citing statistical evidence that antisemitism is more likely to occur where anti-Zionist groups like SJP are active. According to a 2015 AMCHA report, "the presence of an anti-Zionist student group such as Students for Justice in Palestine" is one of the two "best statistical predictors of overall antisemitic activity on a campus." A 2016 follow-up found that antisemitism was "eight times more likely to occur on campuses with at least one active anti-Zionist student group such as SJP."
A similar report by researchers at the Steinhardt Social Research Institute concurred with these findings. According to Mark Rotenberg of Hillel, "SJP is a primary source of aggressive and hostile anti-Israel and antisemitic activity that targets university campuses." A 2023 report by Haaretz found that many Jewish students feel SJP's actions have crossed the line from anti-Zionist to antisemitic, particularly after the group appeared to legitimize Hamas's actions during the October 7 attack on Israel.
SJP has been involved in several controversial incidents, including hosting a BDS forum at Brooklyn College in 2013 that led to accusations of antisemitism and suppression of free speech when Jewish students were removed for distributing anti-BDS materials. During the forum, organized by the Brooklyn College SJP chapter and co-sponsored by the political science department, four Jewish students were asked to leave to bring anti-BDS literature, sparking accusations of discrimination. Following the incident, the Zionist Organization of America filed a legal complaint, leading to an investigation that concluded the eviction was based on "political viewpoint" rather than discrimination. In more recent years, SJP has faced suspensions at various universities for activities deemed intimidating or supportive of Hamas, particularly following their statements praising Hamas's attacks on Israel as "historic victories."
Administrators at some universities criticized the national SJP when it called Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel "a historic victory for the Palestinian resistance" and advocated a "day of resistance" on October 12, involving demonstrations by its chapters at over 200 colleges in the U.S. and Canada. The Tufts University SJP branch faced backlash for an email that commended Hamas's "creativity" in its attacks, prompting condemnation from university officials and Jewish organizations.
In October 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ordered the banning of SJP from state universities, citing their support for Hamas and labeling it illegal under state law. The directive was based on a "toolkit" distributed by the national SJP, which referred to Hamas's attack as "the resistance" and emphasized the role of Palestinian students in the movement. The Anti-Defamation League and the Brandeis Center have called on universities to investigate SJP chapters, claiming that their activities potentially violate laws against supporting terrorism, although SJP denies these allegations, arguing that their protests for Palestinian rights do not equate to endorsing terrorism.
In mid-November 2023, George Washington University suspended SJP's activities after activists projected slogans such as "Glory to our martyrs" on a campus building. Columbia University also suspended its SJP chapter, citing policy violations during unauthorized protests. These suspensions are part of a broader trend of universities reevaluating the presence of SJP on their campuses amid heightened tensions following the Israel-Hamas war. The controversies surrounding SJP fuel debates over free speech, campus safety, and the boundaries of political activism in academic environments.
In June 2023, Lebowitz explained in an interview with The Jerusalem Post that "there is only one Brandeis," meaning: "a secular university, or non-sectarian, founded by the American Jewish community basing on Jewish values, to provide Jews with access to a first-rate education at a time when they had been denied that same access before 1948.
"There is some confusion as to whether or not you call it a Jewish university. It's Jewish in that it's founded upon Jewish values and by the American Jewish community, but it is non-religious, secular, and non-sectarian. The word 'emet' ['truth'] does appear in our shield, and that's the pursuit of truth and justice, which is so important to the Jewish world. It is a little confusing, though. We have always been open to all deserving candidates for being students and faculty members, for that matter. Now, although we're no longer a majority Jewish population, we still hold on very strongly to our Jewish values and to our Jewish identity."
He added then that "there is still a deep reservoir and groups of young people who are tied to Israel; but then again, very cognizant of the fact that there is also a louder group that is anti-Zionist."