On April 26, 2024, Dartmouth College, Geisel School of Medicine, and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center administrators indefinitely postponed a lecture by Alice Rothchild, a retired obstetrician-gynecologist, titled “Health and Human Rights Consequences of War on Gaza.”

Rothchild, who is a member of Jewish Voice for Peace and a vocal critic of Israeli policies, had been invited to speak by Dartmouth and Geisel School of Medicine faculty. The lecture was scheduled for May 16.

A Dartmouth College spokesperson told the media that the lecture had been postponed due to “scheduling changes on the speaker’s East Coast tour.” Rothchild, however, disrupted the claim and, together with Giesel faculty, held the event on the day it was originally scheduled for at a nearby Unitarian Universalist church.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the cancellation of a previously approved on-campus, academic event. Higher education leaders should respect academic freedom by refraining from restrictions on academic activity. Attempts to limit academic discussion and exchange undermine academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://www.thedartmouth.com/article/2024/05/friel-college-indefinitely-postpones-geisel-talk-on-health-in-gaza
https://vtdigger.org/2024/05/02/police-break-up-pro-palestinian-protest-at-dartmouth-college-dozens-arrested/
https://twitter.com/AliceRothchild/status/1795924481732465056