More than 100 academics from across the United States have signed a letter asking the University of Chicago to stop the in-person, disruptive protest by Students for Justice in Palestine against a class taught by retired Israeli Defense Forces General Meir Elran. The contretemps began at the beginning of February, when SJP members tried to break into the class where Elran was teaching, but were blocked by local U of Chicago police. Specifically, the protestors were calling to boycott Elran’s course, “Security, Counter-Terrorism, and Resilience: The Israeli Case.”

In the past, the SJP did in fact manage to enter the building. They then stood outside the door to Elran’s classroom chanting “Terrorist!”

“Simply put, these protests are meant to intimidate,” read the academics’ letter, “Respectful debate and even criticism of a course and its content are welcome, but the protests that are designed to demean an instructor and intimidate students are not acceptable.”

“When protests disrupt teaching and learning,” said the letter, “they should be treated as violations of campus policy and antithetical to the core academic principle of open intellectual exchange.”