Michigan Professor Under Fire For Taking Down Pictures of Israelis Killed or Taken Hostage by Hamas [Updated]

Yesterday, we discussed the videotape of three NYU students tearing down pictures of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas in the recent terrorist attack. These pictures are being placed on campuses around the country to remind people of these hostages that remain held by Hamas in Gaza as well as those killed by Hamas. Now, University of Michigan Professor Erik Gordon is accused of the same destructive act, caught on camera taking down the photos in a university building.  Update: Professor Gordon wrote to me after this blog was posted and has added important details to what occurred. He has objected that the accusations are completely without foundation.

A site called  StopAntisemitism posted the image with the following message:

“Disgusting – University of Michigan Professor Erik Gordon tears down posters of the kidnapped Israelis, some of them US citizens, being held in Gaza,” the group wrote on X. “Note the despicable smirk on his face.”

There was no apparent response from Gordon or the University of Michigan. It is not clear why he tore down the pictures. Gordon was not one of the signatories on the recent letter signed by hundreds of faculty and students objecting to the failure of President Santa Ono to mention the plight of Palestinians in her response to the massacre or the “the violence of Israel’s seventy-five year occupation.”

Gordon posts that he is a contributor to National Public Radio Morning Edition’s Marketplace and Marketplace Morning Report. He has also reportedly served on the faculty of the University of Michigan Law School.

His bio lists various teaching areas including “corporate governance and activism.”

Update: After this column was posted, Professor Gordon wrote to me and offered this response (which he has also posted):

“What is being circulated is completely inaccurate. I removed the flyers from one wall, where they are not permitted, and I put the flyers back up on another wall in the same building on campus. Let me be utterly clear: I abhor antisemitism. And, by the way, I am Jewish.”

As the post noted, it was not clear why Professor Gordon took down the pictures and he was not a signatory to the earlier letter protesting the University’s support for Israel.

This would certainly offer an explanation. These are times of great tensions, particularly given the earlier tearing down of these pictures on other campuses. However, I am relieved to hear this account from Professor Gordon and wanted to post it right away. I have no reason to doubt his word on his motivations or his repositioning of the pictures.