Jewish prof set for early retirement after 'outright institutional antisemitism'
Dr. Barbara Risman recently announced her plans to retire from teaching at the University of Illinois Chicago in response to the rise of anti-Semitism on UIC’s campus.
'UIC is no longer an institution comfortable for me, as a Jew who believes Israel has a right to exist,' she wrote in a March op-ed.
A Jewish professor in Chicago is set to prematurely retire, attributing her decision to campus hostility toward Jews that has only worsened since Hamas’ attacks on Israel during Oct. 7.
Dr. Barbara Risman recently announced her plans to retire from teaching at the University of Illinois Chicago in response to the rise of anti-Semitism on UIC’s campus.
“I will retire before I intended to because UIC is no longer an institution comfortable for me, as a Jew who believes Israel has a right to exist. And to be clear, more than 80% of Jews in America share that belief,” Risman wrote in a March op-ed for the Chicago Tribune.
“When university departments and programs publish statements implying support for the destruction of the state where more than half of all Jews alive today live, they have crossed the line from simple micro-aggressions against Jewish students and faculty to outright institutional antisemitism,” she continued.
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Risman, a professor of sociology, said during an interview with The Times of Israel that although she expected her op-ed to be received negatively by other faculty members, the reception was largely positive, and many other Jews at the university thanked her for taking such a vocal stance.
“They all said, ‘You are really brave. I would never have done that.’ People now contact me when something happens because I’m the only one who has said anything publicly,” she noted.
Risman also said that many Jewish students are afraid of expressing their identities because of anti-Semitic demonstrations on UIC’s campus.
“Everything is framed as an assault on the right of Jews to have a homeland,” Risman said of the protests. “That’s when I personally feel attacked. That’s when it becomes antisemitic.”
UIC came under investigation by the Department of Education last December following a number of anti-Semitic discrimination allegations. For instance, Charles Cohen, the executive director of Metro Chicago Hillel, alleged that professors had engaged in anti-Zionist rhetoric during class, contributing to what he described as “alienation of Jewish students.”
According to Risman, other Jewish faculty at UIC have also decided to pack their bags.
“I’ve talked with several other faculty who are leaving the university. They are in non-tenure track positions and are Jewish. It is not worth it to them to stay,” said to The Times of Israel. “At the moment, I think it’s more comfortable being Jewish in a professional setting outside the university. I think that’s a very sad thing to say, but I think it’s probably accurate.”
Campus Reform has reached out to Barbara Risman and UIC for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.