Former Northwestern President Withdraws as Georgetown Law Speaker

Former Northwestern University president Morton Schapiro withdrew from his agreement to speak at the Georgetown University Law Center commencement, the Georgetown Voice reported. Interim dean Joshua Teitelbaum shared the news with students Wednesday.

“In the past week, a number of law students raised concerns about Dr. Schapiro as commencement speaker, due primarily to opinion essays he published on Israel and Palestine in the aftermath of October 7, 2023,” Teitelbaum wrote. “After independently learning of the students’ concerns, Dr. Schapiro informed me that he regretfully has decided to decline our invitation to speak at commencement.”

Students began speaking out against his appearance when it was announced two weeks ago. In a petition that garnered 285 signatures, students said Schapiro holds “controversial, Zionist, and harmful opinions.” Schapiro has since 2023 written a column on faith, politics and Jewish identity for the Jewish Journal. In one column, he called Jews who condemn the state of Israel “useful idiots,” a term attributed to Vladimir Lenin to describe “those who sow the seeds of their own destruction by supporting adversaries who seek their demise,” Schapiro wrote.

Teitelbaum also shared with students a letter from Schapiro about his decision.

“I have presided over 28 commencements as a president and dean, and those ceremonies are about celebrating the graduates and their supporters,” Schapiro wrote. “I was looking forward to giving a talk about humility and gratitude, but I don’t want my presence to distract from the day’s festivities. I wish the law school graduates the best of luck in the days ahead.”

David Cole, former national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union and a professor of law and public policy at Georgetown Law, will speak in Schapiro’s stead.