[Peace-discuss] "Palestinian Gandhi" Convicted for Protesting; U.S. Silent

[C. G. Estabrook]

  Israeli universities accused of anti-Zionism
By Tobias Buck in Jerusalem
Published: August 26 2010 16:12 | Last updated: August 26 2010 16:12

Israel’s universities are normally a source of national pride. Widely acclaimed 
for groundbreaking research in fields ranging from archaeology and chemistry to 
mathematics and economics, the country’s leading institutions have become serial 
claimants of Nobel prizes.

Recently, however, the academic community has found itself at the centre of 
political controversy. The argument focuses on accusations that important 
departments are dominated by leftwing “anti-Zionists”, whose teachings are 
geared towards criticism of the government and army.

Ironically, this means that Israel’s universities are under attack from all 
sides. Foreign critics have repeatedly tried to single out their professors and 
lecturers for an academic boycott. Last year, the University and College Union 
in the UK, the largest professional association of British academics, voted to 
boycott Israeli universities, though the resolution was not implemented because 
it was held to breach anti-discrimination laws.

Too Israeli for some, and not enough for others, the country’s universities 
appear to be caught in the middle of a broader conflict.

Accusations about their supposed leftwing bias are not new. But the charges took 
on a sharper edge when one rightwing pressure group declared it would urge 
donors to stop funding Ben-Gurion University unless its president ended the 
institution’s alleged leftwing slant.

The ultimatum came in a letter from Im Tirtzu, a small but highly visible group 
of rightwing activists who say their goal is to “strengthen the values of 
Zionism”. Erez Tadmor, one of the group’s founders, says the letter was prompted 
by “dozens of complaints” from politics students at BGU saying they were being 
“brainwashed” by “professors [who] are there to promote anti-Zionist and radical 
leftist propaganda”.

Mr Tadmor claims the department is run like an “academic dictatorship”. A survey 
by Im Tirtzu found that eight out of 11 senior faculty members were “radical 
leftists who sign petitions against the state”.

The university has rejected the charges, saying that its social sciences 
department is so popular among students that it has been turning away applicants 
for months.

Meanwhile, a study by the Institute for Zionist Strategies, a rightwing 
think-tank, asserts that almost all sociology departments in Israeli 
universities are dominated by a “severe anti-Zionist bias”. The allegations stem 
from various sociology syllabuses, which were found to contain only 146 
references to sources classified as “Zionist”, but 440 to those considered 
“post-Zionist”.

University presidents have described the study as a crude attempt to undermine 
academic freedom. But Joseph Klafter, president of Tel Aviv University, did ask 
for a review of teaching materials in his sociology department; he later 
backtracked.

David Newman, dean of the social sciences department at BGU, says the attacks 
are causing real concern. “We should be alarmed. We have to be very wary of 
political interference within the debate process and the academic process.” 
Avishay Braverman, the minorities minister and a former president of BGU, went 
further, denouncing the assault as “borderline fascism”.

The latest charges echo harsh public attacks on peace activists and human rights 
groups earlier this year. In both cases the controversy has raised concerns over 
an Israeli strand of “McCarthyism” that attempts to silence dissent.

Israeli universities, as well as non-governmental organisations of all political 
persuasions, depend heavily on donations from the US and Europe. The bulk of 
that funding is almost certainly secure, but universities admit that the charges 
of leftwing bias have led some donors to rethink. Mr Klafter said last week that 
one supporter had decided to switch funding to another institution, because of a 
decision by some academics at Tel Aviv University to support an academic boycott 
of Israel.

Prof Newman said there had been similar tensions at BGU. Like most academics, he 
believes the recent accusations are doing more harm to Israel, particularly its 
international reputation, than any leftwing bias on the country’s campuses. “We 
have a very clear attempt to shut down voices – and I think that is tremendously 
damaging to Israel’s image as a pluralistic society.”

On 8/27/10 10:43 AM, Robert Naiman wrote:
> This week, an Israeli military court convicted Abdallah Abu Rahmah,
> whom progressive Zionists have called a "Palestinian Gandhi," of
> "incitement" and "organizing and participating in illegal
> demonstrations" for organizing protests against the confiscation of
> Palestinian land by the "Apartheid Wall" in the village of Bilin in
> the West Bank, following an eight month trial, during which he was
> kept in prison...
>