PHILIP CRANE

VMI’s Anti-American Antisemite

Philip Crane was a leader of a student organization that signed a hateful, antisemitic, anti-American proclamation. And now, he has gone on to become a visiting professor at Virginia Military Institute, to educate the very people who will go on to serve our country.

TELL VMI TO CALL FOR CRANE’S IMMEDIATE RESIGNATION! >>

Unfortunately, Virginia Military Institute is covering for him, calling the facts AIM exposed “misinformation.” In their investigation, they said they found that the “letter the [SIPA Palestine Working Group] and 20+ other university clubs signed and made public did not suggest a moral justification for the civilian casualties on 7 October 2023.”

But here is what the letter said: “The weight of responsibility for the war and casualties undeniably lies with the Israeli extremist  government and other Western governments, including the U.S. government, which fund and staunchly support Israeli aggression, apartheid and settler-colonization.”

Crane served as secretary of the SIPA Palestine Working Group during his master’s studies at Columbia University from 2022 to 2024. He was part of a movement within Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs that promoted “awareness, understanding, and engagement” on issues relating to Palestine. This group is aligned with Columbia University Apartheid Divest, or CUAD, which has faced intense scrutiny for alleged threats and incitements on campus.

Despite some group leaders distancing themselves from the letter afterward, Crane did not retract his endorsement. VMI is waving it away as “a situation that occurred over a year ago,” as if despicable views get a full reset within that time frame, and that he “adhered to the rules of university conduct” at Columbia, where President Minouche Shafik resigned after widespread criticism for her failing to implement measures that would quash antisemitism on campus.

If following Columbia’s “rules of university conduct” were the paradigm on which to judge students’ actions, there would not be widespread reports of Jewish students feeling unsafe on campus, and dozens of companies and CEOs would not have pledged a “zero-tolerance” policy when it comes to hiring these antisemites.

The letter added, “If every political avenue available to Palestinians is blocked, we should not be surprised when resistance and violence break out.” According to these groups, an attack by a terrorist group that left 1,200 dead and at least 2,700 wounded in Israel was inevitable.

It’s outrageous that VMI students — some of the most patriotic Americans — should be forced to learn from a radical anti-American antisemite, and worse still that Virginia Military Institute is unwilling to see what Jewish students on campus unequivocally described as antisemitism and got enough publicity to call a Congressional committee hearing.It’s time to take action.

Tell Virginia Military Institute that antisemitism and anti-Americanism have no place on campus. Columbia University already failed to hold Crane accountable – don’t let VMI do the same.