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The decision to terminate the appointment of a controversial anti-Zionist student rabbi has sparked a petition war at The New School in New York City.
Louisa Solomon, who served as student rabbi on the campus during the past academic year, is widely believed to be the only Jewish chaplain at a U. S. university who identifies as anti-Zionist. She is the first member of the clergy to hold a position at TNS, a private research university that has historically been associated with leftist politics.
Solomon sparked considerable controversy this past academic year for participating, while serving as a Jewish spiritual leader, in anti-Israel protests on campus. She has also come out in support of the Gaza encampment at TNS, which was set up to pressure the university to cut ties with Israel.
Not long after October 7, Solomon was seen holding a sign on campus expressing support for an "intifada" against Israel (a term many Israelis associate with the Palestinian suicide bombings of the early 2000s). She also participated in a rally in Brooklyn just a few days after the Hamas massacre, demanding an immediate ceasefire and accusing Israel of genocide.
Solomon was recently notified that her contract would not be extended.
A petition urging the university to rehire her has been signed by 135 professors and students, the vast majority of whom are...