That a venerable academic institution such as Yale, which two generations of my family have attended, would invite Israeli historian Benny Morris to speak has dismayed me to the point that I will not allow my grandson to apply next year.

Morris is an apologist for Israeli crimes against humanity. In a 2004 interview in Ha’aretz, he approved the “necessity” of ethnic cleansing in 1948 of over 700,000 Palestinians and faulted Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion for failing to expel all Arab Israelis; he intimated that it may be necessary to finish the job in the future. He has spoken of the murders, massacres and the “transfer” of the Palestinian population to other Arab nations as a necessary aspect of the survival of the State of Israel.

“Removal” or “transfer” of a people is a word redolent of the Nazi era, for it is what the Nazis did to the Jews of Europe. The principle has now become enshrined in Likud Party policy, with Morris’ blessing. It is a violation of international law, as is the indiscriminate bombing of civilian populations that occurred in the recent Israeli invasion of Gaza. Far from promoting any peaceful solution to the conflict in Israel and Palestine, Morris’ ideology can only be classified as an effective recruiting tool for terrorists.

Yale should be ashamed at its invitation to an advocate of crimes against humanity.

The Rev. Christine Geer

Feb. 3

Stonington, Conn.