Pitzer College, a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California, has temporarily halted its study abroad program at the University of Haifa in Israel, Inside Higher Ed reported on Thursday.
According to a press release from student activists, the college’s Student Senate voted in February to sever ties with Israeli universities. In 2018, faculty members voted to suspend the program, and in 2019, the College Council, comprising professors, staff, and students, passed a similar resolution.
But the authorities at the California college asserted that the closure of the program was part of a larger initiative involving the shutdown of nearly a dozen study-abroad programs. They stressed that the decision was not motivated by any boycott against Israel.
“Pitzer College has removed study abroad programs in 11 countries, including one at the University of Haifa in Israel, from its pre-approved list because they did not meet certain of the criteria outlined in the college’s guiding principles for Study Abroad and International programs, specifically, lack of enrollments for at least five years, exchange imbalance, or curricular overlap,” the college press release insisted.
The college insisted that “These programs are not closed to Pitzer students, nor do any of these actions reflect an academic boycott of any country or educational institution.”
However, pro-Hamas students on campus are hailing the termination of the program as a victory.
The student activists’ press release celebrated the suspended program as a victory for organizations like Students for Justice for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, and Pitzer Alums for Social Justice. These groups have been advocating for the college to participate in the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement.
The U.S. News & World Report College and University rankings for 2022-2023 ranked Pitzer College as the 33rd best national liberal arts college overall and tied for 108th in “Top Performers on Social Mobility” out of 216 evaluated liberal arts colleges.
In 2019, Forbes’ college rankings placed Pitzer 54th among the 650 top-ranked colleges, universities, and service academies in the US.
