While many university groups have raised concerns among Jewish and non-Jewish observers alike in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, two organizations associated with Princeton University have done the opposite.
The Aquinas Institute for Catholic Life — the official Catholic chaplaincy at Princeton University — issued a statement soon after the Hamas infiltration through its priest-chaplain Friar Zachary Swantek. His message, in which he quoted Pope John Paul II’s characterization of Jews as “our elder brothers in faith” from the former pontiff’s 1986 visit to the Great Synagogue in Rome, clearly condemned the atrocities and assured “our local Jewish community here in Princeton of our fervent prayers and support.
Princeton professor Robert P. George, who directs the university’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, told National Review he fully expected Swantek to issue a forceful denunciation of Hamas terrorism and emphatic statement of unity with Jews on and around the campus.
“There is a long and wonderful tradition at Princeton of cooperation between the various religious communities on campus, and the Catholic community has always been eager to cooperate with those of other traditions of faith to uphold the important values that are shared,” George wrote to NR in an email. “So I was not in the least surprised when Fr. Swantek, on behalf of the Catholic community, spoke out immediately and unambiguously in solidarity with the Jewish community in the wake of the horrific attacks by Hamas.”
George is a founder of the Witherspoon Institute, an independent think tank located in the city of Princeton, which, in his words, provides an “extensive enrichment program to Princeton students of all faiths and shades of beliefs.” The Institute, which publishes the journal Public Discourse, is home to several Princeton University professors. Though it is not officially affiliated with the school, George said, “a great many Princeton students take advantage of Witherspoon’s offerings.”
R. J. Snell, the editor in chief of Public Discourse, emailed out a letter in which he condemned Hamas’s actions and affirmed his support for those massacred in October 7’s attack. “Without order, peace is not established,” he wrote. “There is no order without justice, and justice, contra sentimentalism, sometimes requires punishment, and sometimes legitimizes war.”
Once more, George was unsurprised by Snell’s prompt message.
“That was entirely in line with the character and mission of the institution,” he said.
Despite those two organizations’ words — and though Princeton University president Christopher Eisgruber issued one of the stronger statements to be found within academia — the university is not without issues. As NR reported, the campus Students for Justice in Palestine chapter held a pro-Hamas “teach-in” at the same time as a previously scheduled vigil for slain Israelis. The university drew condemnation for a course that included in its curriculum a book accusing Israeli soldiers of organ harvesting and recently hosted a speaker, Mohammed el-Kurd, who has also claimed Israelis harvest Palestinian organs and have “an unquenchable thirst for Palestinian blood & land.”