Open letter to the University of Maryland Community We, University of Maryland faculty members and staff, are profoundly troubled by the unfolding events in the Middle East and the well-being of our students on campus. On October 7th, a deliberate, premeditated massacre was carried out by Hamas of Israeli citizens, as well as citizens of the United States, Germany, France, Thailand, and other countries. Numerous Hamas terrorists entered Israeli communities and residences. Young ones were murdered before their parents' eyes, entire families were slaughtered. Men, women, elderly, children and infants were taken hostage. In total, the number of Israelis who lost their lives surpassed 1200 in just one day, 150 were kidnapped, and this count is still rising. Sadly, there have been casualties on the Palestinian front as well, encompassing both militants and unfortunate civilians. Each loss of an innocent life is deeply saddening. However, Hamas's violent acts against civilians, especially targeting women, children, and seniors, had no distinct military intent. These are war crimes. The leaders of the major democratic countries united in saying that ``the terrorist actions of Hamas have no justification, no legitimacy, and must be universally condemned" and that Israel should be supported "in its efforts to defend itself and its people against such atrocities." In contrast, the national organization of Students for Justice in Palestine, celebrated[1] these heinous acts as "a historic win for the Palestinian resistance: across land, air, and sea, our people.", "Glory to our Martyrs", and further clarify that their members are not in solidarity but rather "part of this movement". "This is a moment of mobilization for all Palestinians." The UMD chapter of this organization has organized a national day of resistance on October 12th based on this literature. As an institution dedicated to shaping the next generation of leaders, this serves as a pivotal learning opportunity. It's essential to convey to our students that beyond political discourse, certain actions, like war crimes, are unequivocally inexcusable. Endorsing or rallying in support of violent acts, including the abduction and killing of children and infants, should neither be tolerated nor allowed within the University of Maryland's bounds. How can Jewish and Israeli students experience a sense of security on a campus where glorifying the loss of lives and families are celebrated? Members of our community come from all regions, including the Gaza Strip. In these difficult times we should come together to pray for the safety of all members of our community and their families no matter their faith, political beliefs, or country of origin. We welcome debate of the politics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with all its historical complexity, and we hold differing opinions and levels of support for Israel's past actions and various leaders. But Saturday's events are simple. They are evil. It is our role as educators and leaders to call this out. It is also our role to not permit the celebration of genocidal acts on campus. To quote President Biden, "There is no justification for terrorism. There is no excuse." Signatories: (This list is periodically updated. If you are a Maryland faculty member, scholar, or staff, please consider signing the letter by filling out this form: https://forms.gle/XtX1vL15xhbvNzTQ7 or contacting Brent Goldfarb, Gilad Chen, David Kirsch, Rellie Derfler-Rozin, or Emmanuel Zur) Brent Goldfarb, Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Gilad Chen, Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Rellie Derfler-Rozin, Associate Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business David Kirsch, Associate Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Emanuel Zur, Associate Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Subra Tangirala, Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Debra L. Shapiro, Dean's Chair of Organizational Behavior, Robert H. Smith School of Business Myeong-Gu Seo, Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Rajshree Agarwal, Rudolph and Linda Lamone Chair of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Robert H. Smith School of Business Michael Hoffmeyer, Managing Director, Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship Michael Faulkender, Dean's Professor of Finance, Robert H. Smith School of Business Vijaya Venkatarami, Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Dina Borzekowski, Research Professor, School of Public Health Kerry Green, Professor, School of Public Health Liu Yang, Associate Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Malinda Kennedy, Assistant Research Professor, UMD SPH BCH Martin P. Loeb, Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Roy Thomason, Lecturer, Robert H. Smith School of Business Anat Szendro Sevilla, Faculty, College of Information Studies Ido Sivan-Sevilla, Assistant Professor, College of Information Studies Rebecca Bellinger, Executive Director, Center for Global Business Kislaya Prasad, Research Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Ronit Eisenbach, Professor, School of Education Marina Augoustidis, Associate Director, Center for Global Business Paulo Prochno, Clinical Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Azi Gera, Adjunct Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Saúl Sosnowski, Professor of Latin American Literature Department of Spanish & Portuguese, SLLC Jennifer Marr, Associate Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Betzalel Moskowitz, Alumnus, College of Information Studies Alla McCoy, UM Ventures, Startup Support Mary Bittle Koenik, Assistant Director, Office of Executive Education, Robert H. Smith School of Business Irene Munster, Library Director Joel Landy, IT Support Assistant, USG Felicia Metz, Associate Director, UM Ventures Rachel McCloud, Assistant Director, Center for Global Business David Loshin, Senior Lecturer, College of Information Studies Eileen Harrington, Assistant Library Director, Priddy Library Nick Seybert, Associate Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Paul J. Hanges, Professor, Department of Psychology Jeff Lucas, Professor, Sociology Nedelina Tchangalova, Public Health Librarian Il-Horn Hann, Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Jennifer G. Eidson, Collection Strategies Archivist Rebecca Hann, Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Martin Dresner, Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Michele Gelfand, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology Reuben Hurst, Lecturer, Robert H. Smith School of Business David Weintrop, Associate Professor, College of Education & College of Information Studies Hui Liao, Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business P. K. Kannan, Robert H. Smith School of Business Richard Marciano, Professor, College of Information Studies Daniel Mack, Associate Dean, University of Maryland Libraries Michael A. Geppi, Lecturer, Robert H. Smith School of Business Donna Howard, Associate Professor Emerita, School of Public Health Rotem Israel-Fishelson, Postdoctoral Researcher, College of Education Wilbur Chung, Associate Professor, Robert H. School of Business Laura DeMarco, Graduate Assistant, UMD Libraries Harry Geller, Entrepreneur in Residence, UM Ventures and Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship George E Ramsey, Staff, UMD Libraries Lauren Brown, UMD Libraries Jaqueline C Manger, Managing Director, Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets David Kressler, Senior Lecturer (retired), Robert H. Smith School of Business Yaakov Malinovsky, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, UMBC Gregory Marr, Lecturer, Robert H. Smith School of Business Cristian Dezso, Robert H. Smith School of Business Elie Ashery, Adjunct Professor of Marketing, Robert H. Smith School of Business Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein, Assistant Professor, School of Public Health Balaji Pradmanabhan, Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Quint Gregory, Director Michelle Smith Collaboratory, Dept. of History & Archaeology Regina Igel, Professor Emerita, Department of Spanish and Portuguese SLLC Noam Katz, Staff, College of Information Studies & USG IT Department Juan Carlos Quintero-Herencia, Professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese SLLC Maria Cameron, Professor, Department of Mathematics Steve Freishtat, Adjunct Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Judy K. Freis, Clinical Professor, Marketing, Robert H. Smith School of Business Sheetal Singh, Associate Clinical Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Rob Sheehan, Senior Lecturer, Robert H. Smith School of Business Charles Harry, Associate Research Professor, School of Public Policy & College of Information Studies [1]As of 10/12 at 7:28 the underlying document has been removed for violating Google's terms of service. The linked screenshots were captured on 10/11.