To the Smith College Community:
I am sincerely honored to be invited to speak to you next week at a panel on social media and foreign policy as well as a colloquium on the nuclear threat issue, and I look forward to a thoughtful discussion.
I would like to respond to the recent letter in The Sophian, published on Dec. 8 2017, and to the entire Smith Community, with an apology and a clarification.
I deeply apologize for having mindlessly retweeted what I didn’t know at the time was a blatantly anti-Semitic article. I had not read it and made a terrible mistake in disseminating something I do not for one second agree with in the least. It is a complete, total, 100 percent variance from what I truly believe. I am appalled at the offensiveness of it.
Please know this: I made a profound mistake by retweeting before reading the piece and then compounded that mistake by defending it (still without having read it).
It is probably the biggest regret I have in my life. I learned many things from the episode, not least the power of social media, and it is something I will never do again. It has been an intensely humbling experience.
Again, though there is no defense for such foolishness, I can promise you that the article has nothing to do with my views or belief system. I have a well-established history of supporting religious diversity and freedom in this country. I apologize to the Smith community and the Jewish community, and I look forward to doing so in person and setting the record straight.
Sincerely,
Valerie Plame
