Brown's Christina Paxson was shouted down at a vigil honoring a Palestinian student
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Brown University President Christina Paxson was caught omitting references to Jewish students on campus after she was heckled by pro-Palestinian activists in a speech she gave Monday.
Paxson spoke with prepared remarks at a vigil honoring Hisham Awartani, a Palestinian student who was among the wounded in the recent shooting in Vermont being investigated as a hate crime.
She addressed the broader turmoil erupting in the Middle East following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks against Israel by Hamas as well as the protests and instances of hate that have occurred in the U.S. since then, telling attendees "Sadly, we can’t control what happens around the world and across the country."
Brown University President Christina Paxson was caught omitting references to Jewish students from her speech after being heckled by pro-Palestinian activists. (Screenshot/WPRI)
Video that had gone viral from the vigil show pro-Palestinian activists immediately shouting at her, some even walking behind her to hold up signs.
"We're having a vigil for your friend, our friend, our student," Paxson scolded the unruly crowd attempting to regain control of the vigil.
People are fed up. Brown students interrupt school President at a vigil for the Palestinian students who were gunned down. pic.twitter.com/TVm3zyiec5
— Read Let This Radicalize You (@JoshuaPHilll) November 28, 2023
"Let me tell you how I was going to end this," Paxson continued. "I was going to say that at a faculty meeting last month, I said that 'Every student, faculty and staff member should be able to proudly don a keffiyeh on the Brown campus, or to cover their head with a hijab."
The crowd then quickly shouted her down chanting "Brown divest!" referring to the anti-Israel Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement, forcing her to eventually leave the podium.
People hold up signs and protest following a vigil held on the grounds of Brown University, after three students of Palestinian descent were shot and wounded in Vermont, at the school's main green in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. November 27, 2023. (REUTERS/Nicholas Pfosi)
However, as National Review reported Wednesday, the text of her speech published on Brown University's website showed she scrubbed mention of Jewish students and staff on campus.
"At a faculty meeting last month, I said that ‘Every student, faculty and staff member should be able to proudly wear a Star of David or don a keffiyeh on the Brown campus, or to cover their head with a hijab or yarmulke,’" Paxson's written speech read.
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The published version of Brown University President Christina Paxson's speech showed she had planned on mentioning Jewish students on campus but refrained from actually mentioning them in her Monday remarks. (Screenshot/Brown University)
A spokesperson for Brown University told National Review, "The remarks on the website are those prepared for delivery, as noted on that page. At the point students began to disrupt the remarks, President Paxson began to abbreviate them with the hope of being able to finish. It’s not unusual for there to be some deviation between remarks as prepared and remarks as delivered, and certainly that was the case here given the disruption."
Brown University did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to
