ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Nearly 900 University of Michigan faculty and staff have signed a letter condemning university President Santa Ono’s statement on the Israel-Hamas war, citing its failure to acknowledge the war’s effect on Palestinians at home and abroad.

“There is no mention of Palestine or Palestinians in President Ono’s statement,” the letter states. “Such an absence suggests that only Israelis have been wounded, traumatized, or killed in the ongoing violence.”

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Ono’s statement expressed support for Israeli universities, described the university’s diverse population, and reminded students to treat each other respectfully despite their differences.

“Together, we can support our entire community through acts of unity and community and a renewed commitment to working together toward a common goal — making the world we live in a better place for all,” Ono wrote last week in his original statement.

Ono’s statement mentioned “the horrific attack by Hamas terrorist on Israeli citizens and the immense loss of civilian lives” but did not provide further context about the situation.

The faculty and staff response letter says the Israeli government acted dehumanizingly in calling Palestinians “beastly people” during recent justifications of its decision to blockade the Gaza Strip. To truly celebrate U-M’s diversity, the letter says, the college must recognize that Palestinians, too, are suffering.

“[Ono’s] statement reaffirms partnership with, and concern for, Israeli universities while ignoring that there are Palestinian students at our own university who are directly impacted by the attacks on Gaza, never mind that Israel has bombed Gaza’s largest university,” the letter says, referencing a recent attack on the Islamic University, which Israeli officials said was being used as a Hamas training camp. “Our Arab and Muslim students, especially those who wear hijab, have communicated to us that they feel unsafe and fearful of potential violence from other students.”

The faculty and staff letter also criticized Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip prior to the war.

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“[Ono’s] statement also omits any mention of the 16-year blockade of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli government, which is now preventing water, electricity, and medical supplies from reaching civilians, and of the violence of Israel’s seventy-five year occupation, both of which are heavily funded by United States tax dollars.”

The first signatory of the faculty and staff letter, Director of Arab and Muslim American Studies Program Juan Cole, recently wrote an article calling Israel’s actions “colonial revenge genocide … [that is] only the latest in a long history of such massacres.”

“Hamas viciously attacked Israel and committed unspeakable war crimes, and it is legitimate for the Israeli armed forced to go after it in a determined way,” Cole wrote on his website, Informed Comment. “It is not legitimate to ethnically cleanse civilians in Gaza or to blow them to smithereens in pursuit of ethno-national revenge. Anyone who thinks the latter is not happening doesn’t have eyes in their head, and the reason for which Israel has cut off the internet in Gaza (not a legitimate move since it endangers noncombatants) is to ensure that no real-time record can emerge of the coming massacre.”

Cole also described what happens to the human body during death by bombing, saying that Israel’s objective of destroying Hamas guerillas is being done with reckless disregard for civilian safety.

The faculty and staff letter concluded with a call to action for the university administration.

“We sign this letter to affirm that every human life has value and counts. We reject the university administration’s continued erasure of our campuses’ Palestinian communities. We solicit supporting signatures from allies calling on President Ono to acknowledge that there are many victims of this war and all of them deserve to be recognized and grieved.”