Robert B. Sklaroff, M.D., F.A.C.P.

Medical Oncology/Hematology  Telephone: (215) 333-4900

 Facsimile: (215) 333-2023
Smylie Times Building - Suite #500-C
8001 Roosevelt Boulevard  rsklaroff@gmail.com
Philadelphia, PA 19152 February 15, 2019

To: Patrick J. O’Connor, Esq., Chair, Temple University Board of Trustees – Plus Trustees
Re: Marc Lamont Hill, Ph.D. [D.O.B. 12/17/1978]
Cc: []

Political animal that I am, it’s notable when assessing the public perception of a given issue to observe
that the evening-news reportage by the three non-cable networks was comprised of “2,202 Minutes on
Russia Scandal, but Zero for No Collusion Report” by the (notably bipartisan) Senate Judiciary Committee.
This segues into the multi-letter focus on how the Temple-News has been conveying MLH-information,
emphasizing the need to prod budding journalists into probing MLH from a purely-academic perspective.

To its credit, the Temple-News published my critical letter regarding Jussie Smollett, which I amplified by
citing the report that the police had arrested two potential suspects after the attack on the 'Empire' star
[https://temple-news.com/one-hate-crime-two-communities/#comment-393248]. Celebrating, I added a
comment on the report that “Stella the Owl (Temple’s live owl mascot) had married her long-time mate
(Sherlock) in an animal-filled ceremony at the Elmwood Park Zoo … who she’s been with for five years.”
[https://temple-news.com/stella-the-owl-marries-long-time-mate/#comment-393249]. I couldn’t resist
addressing the obvious [“St. Valentine would have to wonder whether they had ‘mated’ premaritally.”]
and a grammatical error [“who” should be “whom” because it’s the object of the preposition “with”].

Feeling bullish, I submitted the comment on the anti-Trustee editorial discussed previously that had been
“marinating” during recent days [https://temple-news.com/controversy-university/]:

I am dismayed by both what is in this editorial—a broad-brush attack on the Trustees’

work—and what isn’t: recognition that Marc Lamont Hill should be fired ASAP because he
is a vile anarchist who incessantly demonstrates moral turpitude (by consistently
fomenting violence) and violates his contract (by inter alia failing to disclaim explicitly that
he is a Temple spokesperson).

While Trustees donating personal time and money to promote education and research
are besmirched, crass ignorance is championed by an Editorial Board that has FAILED to
perform due diligence scrutiny of Hill’s admittedly-“radical” speeches that overtly
undermine rule-of-law while advocating abolition of prisons and the policemen who
protect the citizenry. [https://tinyurl.com/y2dmrpgo]

Notwithstanding his support for Jew-hating Farrakhan, his advocacy for the destruction
of the State of Israel, and his devotion to a cop-killer fugitive … Hill conveyed disdain for
the need to optimize quality “communication” in the “media” regarding “urban” affairs—
undermining both the spirit and the letter of his departmental responsibilities—when he
led a “F*** CNN” chant on 1/17/2019 (which starts @ 2 minute mark).
[https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=marc+lamont+hill+youtube+2019&view=detai
l&mid=138F546FCA36F6B0E32E138F546FCA36F6B0E32E&FORM=VIRE]

1
 He claimed that Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. actually emulated the views of Malcolm
X WITHOUT citing a source, characteristic of promotion of the intersectionality of his self-
image, the Black Palestinian; he wants oppressed peoples around the world, particularly
fellow Muslims, to do MORE than to emulate the non-violence of MLK-Jr. and
Gandhi. [https://tinyurl.com/yd4m6np4]

Trustees can multitask, to wit, that they can be “pointing fingers and laying the blame on
one man” when condemnation is indicated AND can continue to “focus on improving and
moving forward after each controversy” pursuant to their duties as mandated by the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

{Documentation cited herein was provided personally by its author to two Temple-
News reporters at the NW corner of Broad St. and Cecil Bassett Moore Ave. at the
terminus of a pro-Hill march; he was not contacted thereafter and these trenchant data
were not conveyed in any subsequent article on this topic.}

To ensure ongoing provision of a complete database, three letters-to-the-editor are noted, recognizing
that they are not of recent vintage: “Alumni Letter in Support of Marc Lamont Hill” which probes neither
the “violence” nor the “contract” concerns [https://temple-news.com/letter-alumni-letter-in-support-of-
marc-lamont-hill/]; “Faculty of Color committee calls for dialogue about Marc Lamont Hill controversy”
which also pointedly evades addressing the “contract” issue as well as his having fomented “violence”
[https://temple-news.com/letter-faculty-of-color-committee-calls-for-dialogue-about-marc-lamont-hill-
controversy/]; and “The National Council of Young Israel” which asked Temple to sever its ties with Marc
Lamont Hill” by emphasizing his often-violent rhetoric [https://temple-news.com/temple-needs-to-do-
the-right-thing/]. By having published these primary-source letters (plus mine), the campus newspaper
demonstrated itself to be part of a potential solution instead of a predictably resource for liberal rhetoric.

It is instructive to note that the National Council of Young Israel is “a century-old organization that takes
a leading role in tackling the important issues facing the Jewish community in North America and Israel”
and to recapitulate key-excerpts from how its President chose to frame the issues facing Temple:

[W]hat if Hill advocated pedophilia publicly and in the classroom? Would Temple and
others proclaim the need to allow him to express these views under the guise of free
speech to students at the university? Certainly not. Clearly, free speech has limits, and
the question is where those limits lie.

One clear and obvious line in this particular case is when someone expresses support for
the destruction of Israel, advocates terrorist violence against Jews, and engages in a
blood libel against Israel. Would there be a consideration to keeping a professor if they
endorsed the Islamic State or expressed support for Nazism? Of course not.

A line was clearly crossed by Marc Lamont Hill and frankly it is not an easy line to cross.
By taking action in the aftermath of his offensive and dangerous comments and
terminating Hill, Temple University would send a strong message that it will not tolerate
anti-Semitism being expressed by its professors.