Princeton professor Robert P. George joins J100 to examine campus antisemitism after October 7, the crisis of ideological conformity, anti-Semitism on both the left and right, and why a free society depends on forming truth-seekers—not partisans.
● 🎓 Campus After October 7: selective outrage, anti-Zionism, and when criticism becomes prejudice
● 🗣️ Teaching Without Indoctrination: why professors must form truth-seekers, not ideological loyalists
● 🤝 Friendship Across Difference: what Robert George learned from decades of teaching with Cornel West
● ⚖️ Public Service & the Constitution: suing a sitting president over principle
● 🧨 Antisemitism on the Right: why George resigned from the Heritage Foundation
● 🧭 The “Ancient Faith”: Lincoln, human dignity, and the moral core of American democracy
● 🪕 From Appalachia to Princeton — and why the banjo still matters
Condensed Transcript
David M. Cohen: Professor George, you grew up in Appalachia — coal-mining roots, immigrant grandparents. How did that shape you?
Robert P. George: My grandfathers were immigrants — one from southern Italy, one from Syria — both coal miners. My father avoided the mines only because he was drafted into World War II. I became the first in my family to attend college. My parents saw education as upward mobility. At Swarthmore, I discovered philosophy. That became my vocation.
Cohen: You’ve spent over four decades at Princeton. Yet your career moved beyond the “ivory tower.” How?
George: I received a call from the White House personnel office under President George H.W. Bush. I was asked to serve on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. I still don’t know how my name came up. That appointment drew me into public life. Eventually, I even sued President Clinton over an unconstitutional appointment to the commission. It wasn’t about publicity — it was about fidelity to the Constitution.
Cohen: Let’s talk about campus culture — especially after October 7.
George: Compared to some universities, Princeton has been relatively mild. But antisemitism exists. When Israel is uniquely singled out for condemnation while grotesque human-rights abusers escape scrutiny, one must ask: what makes Israel different? When selective outrage aligns consistently against the Jewish state, the inference becomes troubling.
Cohen: You’re known for allowing deep disagreement in your classroom.
George: I am not infallible. I know some of my beliefs are false — I just don’t know which ones. The only way to discover error is to invite serious challenge. So I assign the strongest arguments against my own views. When I lecture, students cannot tell which side I personally favor. Our vocation is to form determined truth-seekers and courageous truth-speakers — not to catechize.
Cohen: You co-taught with Cornel West for years.
George: It began with a student magazine interview that lasted four hours. We realized we loved wrestling with the same great questions, even if we reached different conclusions. We taught seminars together — intentionally unrecorded — because students needed freedom to experiment with ideas without fear of being punished for them.
Cohen: You recently resigned from the Heritage Foundation.
George: Painfully. The issue was not hosting controversial figures — it was the insufficient repudiation of explicit antisemitism. If we are committed to the profound, inherent, and equal dignity of every human being, then antisemitism must be repudiated unequivocally — left or right. When that did not happen fully, I could not remain.
Cohen: What anchors your worldview?
George: Lincoln’s “ancient faith” — the principles of the Declaration of Independence. That each human being possesses inherent dignity as a creature made in the image of God. Without that foundation, we descend into faction and tribalism.
Cohen: And the banjo?
George: Bluegrass is the soundtrack of my boyhood. It’s joyful music. Hard to be sad playing the banjo. And joy matters.
