The attorney of a former top DEI officer at the University of Michigan said their client may take legal action after being fired for allegedly making antisemitic remarks about the school’s relationship with the Jewish community, CNN reported.
Rachel Dawson, who served as director of the university’s Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, was accused of saying, “The university is controlled by wealthy Jews” during an alleged conversation with two professors at an academic conference on diversity and equity in March 2024. The antisemitic accusations continued with her allegedly saying, “We don’t work with Jews. They are wealthy and privileged and take care of themselves” and “Jewish people have ‘no genetic DNA’ that would connect them to the land of Israel.”
The Provost of the institution fired her in early December 2024, labeling her alleged actions as being “inconsistent with her job responsibilities, including leading a multicultural office charged with supporting all students, and represented extremely poor judgment.” But Dawson’s lawyer, Amanda Ghannam, denies all the allegations and claims her client received a warning letter on Oct. 15 and was placed on leave close to two weeks prior to receiving the letter. Ghannam called Dawson’s termination a violation of her client’s constitutional rights as a public employee. “The law is extremely clear that public employees are protected by their First Amendment rights,” Ghannam said.
According to The Detroit News, the attorney blamed Michigan for turning a blind eye to alleged antisemitic remarks, which is a “straightforward free speech issue.”
“My client was approached by two women who initiated a conversation with her. She didn’t go up to them… they began to ask her about the University of Michigan, saying there was a lot of antisemitism on campus,” she claimed.
“They became upset and started asking her unrelated questions about Israel. When they did not like what she had to say, they went after her employment, and it’s disturbing that the University of Michigan took their side rather over a beloved on-campus leader with a history of supporting and advocating for all students.”
Ghannam argued that Dawson disagreed with the women and actually Michigan, highlighting the amount of campus resources and organizations available to the student body – including the school’s Jewish students. The lawyer also confirmed the lack of a recording or proof of the comments from her client or the school, leaving Ghannam to believe the comments are “complete fabrications.”
The incident couldn’t come at a more inconvenient time, as tensions have escalated between the university’s administration and pro-Palestinian students alongside backlash regarding Michigan’s plans to cut diversity, equity and inclusion programs. On Dec. 9, the home of a Jewish member of the school’s Board of Regents was vandalized with pro-Palestinian graffiti.
Dawson’s biography, which has been removed from the university’s website, cited her as being “actively involved in the U-M community as a leader, collaborator and DEI champion, for example, holding positions on the executive team of the Women of Color Task Force and having co-chaired the U-M Juneteenth Planning Committee.”
Prior to leading the office that provides resources and support to underrepresented students, she worked as managing director of the university’s academic medical center for six years.
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