Princeton University’s course “Gender, Reproduction and Genocide,” listed for the spring term, states that it will have a “central focus on the ongoing genocide in Gaza” and that it will compare the plight of Palestinians to that of Jews during the Holocaust.
That description, which “falsely characterizes Israel’s right to self-defense as ‘genocide,’” is “deeply troubling,” according to Rep. Tom Kean (R-N.J.).
“Israel was the victim of a brutal terrorist attack on Oct. 7 at the hands of Hamas, and any honest discussion must begin with that fact,” stated the congressman, whose district does not include the university. “Hamas is a terrorist organization that deliberately targets civilians and hides behind innocent people to advance its violent agenda. While I support freedom of speech and the offering of different perspectives in the classroom, words matter.”
“Recklessly misusing the term ‘genocide’ does nothing to advance peace, justice, understanding or open dialogue,” he added. “Israel has both the right and the obligation to defend its people, and that reality should not be erased or rewritten in the classroom.”
One of the 14 slots available to students in the course is currently enrolled, per the Princeton site. A sample reading list includes titles referring to “reproductive genocide in Gaza” and “reprocide in Gaza.” It also says that it will, in part, situate “Gaza within comparative histories of the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust and genocide against black and indigenous populations.”
The course’s listed instructor, Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, is a “leading scholar in the fields of violence against women in conflict zones and the impacts of political violence on childhood, focusing primarily on the experience of Palestinians,” per the Princeton site. (JNS sought comment from the university, from the U.S. Department of Education and from the House Committee on Education and Workforce, which has been probing Jew-hatred on campus.)
Princeton adds that Shalhoub-Kervorkian, a visiting professor of gender and sexuality studies, is chair in law emeritus at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Hebrew University suspended and then reinstated her in March 2024 after she denied that Hamas committed atrocities on Oct. 7. She was also arrested on suspicion of incitement.
The American Jewish Congress called the course “unacceptable” last week. “At a time of record levels of antisemitism, this course risks fueling further hostility and making campus even more unsafe for Jewish students,” it said.
