Southern Wesleyan’s President Dr. Bill Barker Addresses United Nations Summit on Antisemitism in Higher Ed
Sep 25, 2026 | Special Events
NEW YORK CITY — Southern Wesleyan University President Bill Barker recently spoke to a United Nations pre-General Assembly summit on combatting antisemitism on university campuses. His speech was one of several addresses promoting a range of policy issues from supporting traditional marriage and family values and protecting the lives of the unborn to safeguarding individual liberty and national sovereignty.
The summit, sponsored in part by the Washington Times and Turning Point USA, was designed to connect conservatives in the U.S. State Department with like-minded members of the diplomatic corps from other nations to foster policy collaboration ahead of this week’s General Debate in New York City. Combining his expertise in Middle Eastern languages, culture and politics with his leadership role in higher ed, Dr. Barker described how antisemitism can undermine the very purpose of a college experience.
“Our universities were founded as beacons of learning, free inquiry, and opportunity – and they equipped students with the tools for a lifelong pursuit of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty,” Barker said at the meeting. “Yet in recent decades, many of them have become weaponized propaganda centers designed to assail and eradicate these very values… Jewish students are entitled to the same safety, belonging, and freedom to learn and speak as every other student.”
When antisemitism is not appropriately addressed, “it corrodes trust, tears at the fabric of free speech, and undermines the integrity of the institution.”
Other presenters at the summit included U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, as well as the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister and Deputy General Counsel and a US Senior Policy Advisor on the UN. Dr. Barker was not the only academic leader present, as Houghton University President Wayne Lewis spoke on stopping wokeness on college campuses.
Barker highlighted the consistent leadership and moral clarity needed to address this resurgent challenge at universities and recommended action steps higher ed leaders can take to combat antisemitism without sacrificing free speech or academic inquiry.
“At my own university, we developed a new Freshman Seminar curriculum in which every student studies the meaning of what it means to be created in the Imago Dei – the Image of God,” Barker explained. “This forces them to confront what happens to society when people are dehumanized for ideological purposes.”
Adopting a clear definition of antisemitism is important, Barker said, and it should distinguish legitimate criticism of Israel from antisemitism. Similarly, he called on universities to “reject the false choice between free speech and safety,” noting that when schools “protect open inquiry while enforcing basic rules of civility” they demonstrate that both values can be upheld.
Barker concluded by reminding the audience that “Jewish students did not create the conflict in the Middle East, and they should not be made to bear collective punishment for it on campus. Treating them as full members of the academic community—entitled to safety, dignity, and equal protection—is not a political position. It is a basic requirement of a free and serious university… The choice is ours. We can restore campuses as places where every student – including Jewish students – can learn, debate, and thrive without fear. Or we can allow old hatreds to continue poisoning the institutions we claim to cherish.”
President Barker earned his Ph.D. in Middle Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Cambridge University. In addition to leading Southern Wesleyan University in Central, South Carolina, he also serves as a Major in the Chaplain Corps of the United States Air Force Reserve.
About Southern Wesleyan University
Southern Wesleyan University is a Christ-centered, student-focused, faith-filled community that offers inventive learning experiences. The university endeavors to prepare its students to be dedicated scholars and servant-leaders who impact the world for Christ. For details about degree programs, go online to www.swu.edu.
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