Im Tirtzu threatens boycott of Israeli university over 'anti-Zionist' bias
Rightist group targets political science faculty at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
By Or Kashti Tags: Israel newsIf Ben-Gurion University of the Negev doesn't take steps "to put an end to the anti-Zionist tilt" in its politics and government department, Im Tirtzu will work to persuade donors in Israel and abroad to stop funding the university, the organization threatened in a letter to university president Prof. Rivka Carmi last month.
The group said it would ask donors to put contributions in escrow until "this tilt in the makeup of the department's faculty and the content of its syllabi has been corrected."
It also said it would "advise political science students to stay away from the university."
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An Im Tirzu protest on the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev campus after the IDF raid of a Gaza-bound flotilla in May. |
| Photo by: Archive |
Finally, it gave Carmi one month to accede to its demands - which will be up tomorrow.
Until now, the university has not responded. But on Monday, the heads of all the country's universities issued a joint response.
"No Israeli university has to prove its staff's love of their homeland to any organization, and certainly not to a political one that is trying to present a tendentious, manipulative document as 'research' to advance its own public relations," the statement said. "As is proper in an enlightened democratic country, Israeli academia is not a political body, and academic faculty are chosen solely according to objective criteria of excellence in research and teaching."
The "document" in question, a report Im Tirtzu published several months ago on post-Zionism in the political science departments of Israeli universities in general, met with a tepid response from the universities. But the unprecedented direct attack on Ben-Gurion made them realize that any of them could be next - hence Monday's strong statement.
Prof. David Newman - the newly appointed dean of Ben-Gurion's Faculty of the Humanities and Social Sciences, who has been a tireless campaigner against efforts to impose an academic boycott on Israel - termed the letter "a clear attempt to threaten the university in an era of diminishing financial resources." Im Tirtzu's accusations against the department, he added, are "very far from the truth."
Though its earlier report's methodology was widely criticized, Im Tirtzu chairman Ronen Shoval and spokesman Erez Tadmor cited it in their July 18 letter to Carmi as the basis for their demands, saying it showed that the department's faculty "works deliberately and energetically to promote fiercely anti-Zionist messages."
They charged that nine of its 11 permanent faculty members were involved in "radical left-wing" political activity, and six had signed a letter supporting refusal to serve in the army; two of its research fellows "are known among the students for their anti-Zionist worldview"; and eight of its 19 adjunct faculty "express radical leftist views." As an example, they cited department chairman Prof. Neve Gordon, who has called for a "social, economic and political boycott of Israel."
They also said the department's course syllabi were heavily tilted toward "anti-national and anti-Zionist content."
The high proportion of "anti-Zionist" faculty in the department compared to the prevalence of such views in the general population "arouses grave suspicions that the main basis for acceptance into and promotion within the department is not professional, but political," the letter continued.
It also accused Carmi of "apathy that has enabled an academic dictatorship to overpower academic freedom."
"Out of honest concern for the student body's academic freedom and fear for the university's future, we urge you to put an end to the department's severe anti-Zionist tilt and its ban on Zionist students and researchers," the letter continued.
In other words, Im Tirtzu itself asked the university to introduce political considerations into the choice of its faculty.
It then asked Carmi to detail the "practical steps" she intends to take to comply with its demands within a month. If she refuses, "we will use all legal means at our disposal to inform present and future students, and especially supporters of the university both in Israel and abroad," the letter concluded.
Tadmor charged on Monday that the department has ceased to be a center of "academic excellence" and instead become "a hotbed of anti-Israel propaganda."
"The public expects university heads to stop rolling their eyes and provide clear answers as to why this department, and other departments at other universities, have become centers of anti-Israel propaganda and incitement and how they intend to deal with the matter," he added.
Asked how Im Tirtzu plans to carry out its threats, he said the issue has been already broached with some Ben-Gurion donors - "not just one or two" - and "this is only the beginning."
But he said the group does not plan to send similar letters to other universities. It chose to begin with Ben-Gurion, he said, because "to the best of our knowledge, the problem is worst there."
Officially, Ben-Gurion has decided not to respond to the letter. But one university source termed the demands "scandalous," a violation of "everything that is sacred to academia. The very act of responding to the letter would give this right-wing organization legitimacy."
Another university official said that most of the department's staff had immigrated from the West, and "there is no more Zionist act than that. The department also teaches air force cadets, who would not come if anyone thought we were preaching anti-Zionism here. It's ridiculous to start proving that we're Zionists."
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The high proportion of "anti-Zionist" faculty in the department compared to the prevalence of such views in the general population "..... signifies that university faculty are a whole lot smarter than the general population
because this is not about more endowment for education,but about withdrawal of such endowments.my guesses would have to do with biblical exegis and the rise of modern israel.can't see any other subjects,quite as touchy.
I attended BGU and I can tell you from personal experience that like most Universitys' political science depts. they were very left wing. However, on the issue of Israeli politics, the faculty were most definietly NOT left wing but steadfastly centrist.
These words, left wing, centrist, right wing etc. - they are all worthless labels that place people on a scale that simply doesn't exist. The fact is, they are anti-Zionist.
enough said
that goes for any institute in the world.i reckon only the best approach being objective.but were'nt we voted respectable places?
Perhaps it is the un-brainwashing process that is the function of a university.
Im Tirtzu's idiotic, academic freedom needs be maintained - this is clearly a mix of right wing meglomania with the opportunism of wannabe politicians. There is, however, a bigger issue here, the academic system creates a closed tenure track system where a young academic has no chance of working his way up the latter (acceptance to PhD program, post-doc, faculty position, tenure) if he doesn't buy into the zeitgeist of the senior professors, department heads, etc... The system worked so long as there was diversity of thought or at least respect for divergent opinions. It however creates a self perpetuating rule of ideological clones once it becomes dominated by extremists who are convinced that only they know the "TRUTH". I'm more and more concerned that this is what's happening in Israel's social sciences departments. I wonder whether some of Israel's top academics (now at the end of their carreers or retired) like Shlomo Avineri, Shlomo Aronson or Yehoshefat Harkabi, all brilliant and Zionist (albeit moderate leftists - Im Tirzu woul've hated them too) would have any chance of rising through the ranks of Israeli universities if they were young academics today. In all likelihood theyd've been labelled Zionist reactionaries by Ilan Pepe and his comrades, their careers would've been cut short and we'd never have heard of them.
Go to www.isracampus.org.il
more than 50% of its faculty have views that Israelis should boycott the IDF. Ben Gurion's defense is Spin Class 101
but to add voices in the department to make it balanced. something called free speech applies to boht political views, not just the Left's. Right, McCarthy?
Im Tirtzu is not a legitimate body in hiring or firing University staff. Their "demands" are nothing but Chutzpah. No university need pay them any attention whatsoever.
Aside from the obvious problems with Im Tirtzu's demand for academic housecleaning I'm especially impressed with the irony of their position. They have joined the very few -- on the left -- who would boycott an Israeli university: in their case by actively seeking to cut university donations. In that light, their objections to Israeli academics calling for an intellectual boycott of Israel, a boycott that I strongly oppose, seems paradoxical, to say the least. Do unto others as you woudl have others do unto you?
Ben Gurion U is justifiably critical of Im Titzu's call for a boycott, but at the same time is happy to employ anti-Zionist professors who themselves call for a boycott of their own university. Is that irony ore what?
It is simply not true that "academic faculty are chosen solely according to objective criteria of excellence in research and teaching". When a "historian" like Ilan Pappe, formerly of the U of Haifa, admits that narrative is more important than historic facts, there is a problem. When a budding sociologist at Hebrew U used the fact that IDF soldiers do NOT engage in rape of Palestinian women as "evidence" that soldiers are racists - and gets an AWARD for her thesis - there is a problem. When those who call for their own institutions to be boycotted or in their classrooms abuse reserve soldiers in uniform are not sanctioned, yet another who voices a politically incorrect opinion about gay adoption is FIRED, there is a problem. Nor is the frustration limited to "right wing" or religious students. The grown ups are now involved. A few months ago, one of the governors (and major benefactors) of Tel Aviv U tried to discuss sanctions for those who call for their own institutions to be boycotted, TAU's President shut down the discussion (which he had no authority to do). In the aftermath, that governor broke ties with the university, with others expected to do likewise. Face it. There IS a problem, and it's centered in the Humanities and Social Sciences departments. That's why I currently limit my financial support to the Technion and the Weizmann Institute. Yes, they have their share of leftists among the scientists and researchers. But they can do less damage there. Tel Aviv, Hebrew U and BGU all do excellent scientific research; it's unfortunate they can't spin off their Humanities and Social Sciences departments, leaving them to their own devices to survive or fall.
The Nazis asked German universities to fire Jewish teachers. Im Tirtzu asks universities to fire teachers who do not share its extremist political views.
...ever read Israel's Proclamation of Independence, 14 May 1948? Google for it and then delve into this short but very important document, would you...?? And then the poster dare comparing the activities of Im Trirtzu to Nazi Germany... Shame!!
This is becoming a political right wing bully, frightening anyone who is does not espouse extreme nationalist views, they are a danger to our academic institutions and to free speech S J
You are a danger to free speech by seeking to protect the politicisation of our universities by those on the radical left, and by labelling criticism of this status-quo as anti-free speech extremist bullying.
"subversion" and difference-of-opinion... heaven forbid that we all beccome Tirtzus,,,
Noe the others joined them
BGU is a big University with many departments, including Engineering and Sciences. While the people in Humanities may have any views they want, it is deeply unethical to hold people from other departments hostages to the political views of a few.
What alternative solution do you think should be brought to the table in order to eliminate this problem at BGU and other institutions of higher learning in Israel?
israel believes itself immune to fascism, because at first glance 'Jewish fascism' seems a contradiction in terms. Jewish Nazism might be, but, of course, there's no reason you can't have Jewish facists. There were Jewish fascists under Mussolini and while fascism's tendency to emphasise blood roots in a country probably limits fascism's appeal to Jews outside Israel, inside The Jewish State it's quite the opposite. Modern Zionism is an ideology that already fetishizes Jewish blood roots in Israel, so it's a perfect potential breeding ground for Jewish fascism. There are already moves afoot in the Knesset to delegitimize the non-Jewish presence there, and half Israeli Jewish kids don't think Arabs should have the same political rights as Jews. Now extremist Jews are turning on dissidents and leftists within the Jewish community. Look at the rise of fascism in Europe. They're all classic precursors of fascism.
I'm talking from a continent that created ethnic fascism and knows all about its horrors, and from a country that has occasionally dabbled with fascism, but never given into it. That's not to say Britain is uniquely virtuous and immune from fascism. It isn't. All democracies have to be constantly vigiliant against the phenomenon of legitimate right-wing politics sliding into fascism. The point I'm making is that because of its past, Europe is generally quite on its guard against fascism, whereas Israel because it has only experienced fascism as victim, not as perpetrator, probably isn't. There, that's who's talking. Good enough for you?
"looks like fascism is coming to israel" why? because one organisation whom - let s be honest - noone has ever heard of before reading this article threatens to cut help to a university?? can you please start thinking? and where does "half Israeli Jewish kids don't think Arabs should have the same political rights as Jews" come from???? interested in fascism - people were fired from all the national companies because they didnt vote for chavez, people get killed in iran if they protest, people get killed in the UAE if the local kingdom feels threatened, egypt border people shoot at illegal immigrants, and china.. and so many other places around the world... fascism disturbs you? fight it, at the right place
To heck with those rightists who are practicing their democratic right of free speech, why is leftist anti-Israel nonsense called "free speech" and rightists asking donars to stop giving money called "facist"?
are happy to see the israli right turn israel increasingly into an undemocratic, quasi-fascist state. more power to you! the farther right you go, the less support you'll get from outside, and without that Israel is nothing. So, please do your hearts' true desire and round up all these "leftists" (maybe breaking their windows at night), line them up against a wall and shoot them.
you have just lost the argument. you are not defending freedom of speech, but freedom of leftist ideology. you are threatening israel, a sovereign state, under the guise of "freedom." however, you are very poorly trained as a thinker and as an advocate.
apologies. the correct word in my post should have been "further," and not "farther" :) as for your post, you might be right about my intellectual capacities, because your response honestly reads as gibberish to me. try as i might, i can't make sense of it
I am not a "Redneck rightist" or a Likud supporter in fact I have never voted for a right or centre party in all my years in Israel. However the current situation whereby certain leading academics use their considerable power to "push" their extremist anti-Israel beliefs on their students and join in the call to boycott their own universities is simply beyond the realms of acceptable behaviour. Everyone has the right to their own beliefs but how can a professor in an Israeli university call for a boycott on his own place of work or threaten those students who do not accept his dogma? No western democracy would accept such a situation and it is also unacceptable here. I don't think threats are needed but I hope that foreign donors will think hard and long before donating to Israeli universities which allow certain academic members to use their position to delegitimize our country.
...stand for that which is behind these and similar symbols of Jewish sovereignty in our people's ancestral homeland.
antidemocratic and fundamentalistic forces as we have - isn´t it an irony ?
antidemocratic and fundamentalistic forces as we have - isn´t it an irony ?
The left-wing despotism at the social-sience departments in all israeli universities is unbelivable. If you try to express any right-wing political opinion there - your scientific career is over. I personally know several students who had to conceal their political viewes from their collegues in the university, just to be able to get the degree (I'm talking about advanced degrees of course). This is simply disgusting.
there is no such thing as "political science." there is only politics or science. those at ben gurion who advocate for the boycott of israel are most certainly engaging in politics, not science. their politics are no different than the politics of israel's enemies.
...the way some, both within and without our society, relate to our very existence in our historic homeland. Operating based strictly on the concept of political Zionism as it was drawn out by Herzl, and consisting of people from the left, right and center who care, who call for all: Don't ask what the country has done for you, ask what have I done for my country. People who cares about Israel must give these young men and women their utmost support in their drive to repair our society from social/political illnesses infecting some of us.
A simple check shows that this organization is a wholly right wing group, accepts funding from Jews and Evangelical Christians in the US and promotes the Yesha agenda. If there was a Trades Descriptions Act in Israel, Im Tirtzu would be prosecuted for its violation. And Samuel Johnson had something to say about phony patriots.
It is the professors at BGU who in their selfphatred and demogogic control of the poli sci department -- rejecting any non-leftists for faculty positions – who are deligitmating other Jews. Treason and brainswashing are not justifiable under any circumstances.
your definition of treason is shockingly low. so now we can add "treason" to the lexicon of grossly misused words of world jewry
The threat to Jews is coming from the radical post-Zionist or anti-zionist lecturers and academics who are doing polemics to try and justify their positions of negativity towards the state of Israel and the Jewish people.
It is very sad that the funding for many universities come from wonderful Jewish families overseas that believe in the survival of the Jewish people and Israel. The staff and students from the far left that are trying to undermine the Israel & the universities should be expelled. Let them go to Gaza and Jordan & Iran & Syria and study there and see if they can have anti-government protests. I hope the donors of the Universities wake up and STOP giving money to those universities that are undermining the STATE of ISRAEL.
Rosie you are undermining democracy
They should be protesting the lack of freedom in most of the Muslim mideast countries instead of Israel, the only deocracy in the middle east. In which country can professors and students protest against the survival of that country? In Syria, Iran and other muslim ruled countries the protestors would be hanging from trees. The students and professors should be expelled.
whether it comes from Stalinists or from equally disturbed right wingers. A university is supposed to be involved with a search for truth. Sometimes that will lead some academics into conclusions that are wrong. Academics are hardly free from error by virtue of their position. But the way to dispute with an academic is through the tools of acadamia: through studies, discussion, debate, persuasion all with the idea of arriving at truth. To mandate the answer is to put a straightjacket on inquiry. If you don't like the direction of Ben Gurion's faculty, don't go there. Start your own academic publication if you wish. But to engage in purges means that you don't believe in the merits of learning, studying and changing your mind if you are persuaded to do so. What kind of a Jew wants to undermine the very basis of learning and studying?
I'm not familiar with the faculty and culture of BGU, so I won't comment on it specifically, but in general if a faculty is overwhelmingly promoting a particular political viewpoint, this is something other than a pure free speech issue. This would mean that opposing views would tend to be stifled and there is a real danger of course content being more ideological than liberal arts. There is also the very real issue of professors having a captive audience of young minds and consciously or unconsciously manipulating their views. The 'tools of academia' don't work if they are distributed by ideologues. Again, I don't know anything specific about BGU but to just write Im Tirtzu off as McCarthyists without examining the situation further, or opening it up to a more public discussion, is short sighted.
it is rather obvious that ben gurion's political science department is itself "imposing orthodoxy." one presume that you would not support academics engaging in teaching and professing fascism. the fatal flaw of the far left is precisely its belief that it can impose its ideology on others. such a belief system is particularly dangerous in a country that is under constant threat from enemies on all sides. advocating for a boycott of one's own country and one's own university is beyond the scope of what is normally understood as "academic freedom." nor has such advocacy anything to do with "arriving at truth."
so says you. in the US and every other real democracy calling for a peaceful boycott of one's own country falls WELL WITHIN the parameters of academic freedom and certainly free speech
the overwhelming "particular political viewpoint" in all universities throughout the West is that democracy and western enlightenment values are superior to, say, despotism. Do you have a problem with that? If not, why not there but you do when the "particular political viewpoint" differs from your own?
when was the last time that academics in any real democracy have called for the boycott of their own country? indeed, were there any calls for boycotts during the iraq wars or the afghan wars? there were none, so stop being ridiculous.
just for a start. dig a little deeper and you'll find much of the same http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_boycott_of_South_Africa
I'm not exactly sure what "anti-Zionism " means for Jewish Israelis. Are there similar anti-French, Swiss,Greek,Nigerian et. al. teaching in their respective universities that are against their COUNTRIES and not just the politics of the Government.?From what I gather, they kind of believe that Israel was born in sin and the only way to expiate it is to destroy the Jewish State as we know it. Strange people.
which is generally what is meant by "post-zionism". and yes, there are many similar people in france et al who are capable of saying "wow guys our country seriously screwed up in the past, we should probably be doing more to fix that". most of us call it post-colonialism but of course the israelis have come up with their own snappy name.
Having attended BenGurion and lectured there..im tirzu has it right. if donors from North America knew the garbage Israeli student were being taught they would be appalled. Calling anything in the humanities 'academic' in Israel is a joke. The master's student I taught could string an independant thought together to save their lives.
isn't it pitiful that someone who can't even spell independent was able to get a job as lecturer in a university ??
Also, the last sentence doesn't make sense.
and "garbage" was a rather low-brow choice of descriptors. And of course "student" should have been in the plural. My guess is B didn't make the grade and is now "disgruntled"
McCarthy has reincarnated in Israel!! His name is Ronen Shoval now. Or is it Bibi? Or maybe Tzipi...
The actions of the staff prove more than the defense of acdemic freedom Newman proposes. However , the actions are on the border of tratorous acts which should be considered criminal and charged by legal prosection. However , the one important group that is not after the university is the government. The same government who is busy pursuing and desecrating settler rights and trying to destroy the settlers Zionistic ideals are the same who are totally deaf and oblivious to traitors of Israel. Therefore , the government is guilty of promoting anti Zionistic "academic " freedom of self destruction
All the university can state are slogans.Answer the specific questions with details. Are we a SUICIDAL COUNTRY? This not freedom but anarchy at BEN URION UNIVERSITY. .
not in israel not in america not anywhere in the world, no frredom of speech, nothing, you can call it a light socialist or communism, but not democracy, even in my beloved country of australia, it is disappearing.
Perhaps lakemba isn't a democracy where you live owing to too many muslim lebanese. But the rest of Australia is doing just fine more or less. Democracy is the right to choose an elected representative in a parliament, that is represetnative democracy. Of course don't let details confuse your little head. Now when you grow up you can attend a primary school. You need to stop reading those books with pictures in them & get an adult to read you one.
David Newman of Ben Gurion University displays a highly selective notion of democracy and freedom of speech. Newman favors the exercise of freedom of expression by those who practice anti-Israel sedition in the guise of academic work, but not for those who criticize such people. He demands freedom of speech for Israel's "academic" enemies, but not for critics of those critics. Those who dare to criticize anti-Israel and anti-Semitic "academic" propagandists, including watchdog agencies like Isracampus.org.il and NGO Monitor, are "McCarthyists," themselves not entitled to the right of freedom of expression in Newman's learned opinion. Never mind that universities all over the world are now cracking down on and firing pseudo-academics whose records consist entirely of extremist political propaganda. Newman's letter is also notable in what he intentionally ignores. He forgets to mention that there is not a single non-leftist in Newman's own department (political science) at Ben Gurion University, nor that the one pro-Israel dissident who had been there was fired for incorrect thinking. While claiming disingenuously that only 2 or 3 Israeli "academics" support the boycott of Israel, he neglects to mention that his own department chairman, Neve Gordon, is one of many scores of such pro-boycott anti-Israel extremists on campus faculties in Israel. Gordon, who was recruited by Newman and is his long-time sidekick, is on record as favoring Israel's annihilation and insists that Israel is a fascist apartheid terror regime. Gordon is currently a bash-Israel columnist for the Holocaust-Denying Tehran Times and for the pro-terror Aljazeera.com. Newman in fact supported Gordon's failed anti-democratic attempt to recruit the Israeli court to suppress freedom of speech for critics of the seditious far Left. If academic hiring and promotion were as quality-based and ideologically neutral as Newman feigns in his letter, why are there so many pseudo-academics in the Israeli university system who have built entire "academic" careers on turning out anti-Israel hate propaganda and misrepresenting it as scholarship? Some of these sit in the very same department as Professor David Newman. Why are there entire university departments in Israel in which no Zionist may set foot?
Face it, Zvuv, educated people tend to be more left-leaning than right-leaning. Bigoted and uneducated rednecks, on the other hand... well, that's what happens when you don't read enough. You start to believe everything your rabbi and your politicians tell you, because you don't have enough information. Do you think it's mere chance that university faculty is left-leaning? Do you think it's some kind of conspiracy? Man, you really are a bit McCarthyist, don't you think?
So who ever disagrees with you or a left leaning professor is an uneducated red neck who shouldn't be allowed to express his opinions. Also according to you only left wing "academics" are educated? The fact that this University has deemed it proper to only hire or advance left leaning academics not to mention your idiotic comments is ample proof as to the intellectual ineptitude of you people. Your comments as well as the clearly political assignments of faculty at Ben Gurion U. are clearly discriminatory and down right racist.
Oh, you can express your bigoted and prejudiced opinions, alright, but don't expect many to take them seriously, not in a university. But what Im Tirtzu is doing is not just expressing an opinion, it is making grave and dangerous accusations, demonizing an entire faculty for its political position.
Oh, you can express your bigoted and prejudiced opinions, alright, but don't expect many to take them seriously, not in a university. But what Im Tirtzu is doing is not just expressing an opinion, it is making grave and dangerous accusations, demonizing an entire faculty for its political position.
racist?? that, and you're near-incoherence helps to make Froy's point.
Its incredible how open minded you are! Any one who disagrees with you is biggoted and prejudiced? A university setting by default is a place where students are supposed to be exposed to various viewpoints no matter what a Univeristy thinks of them. What you are proposing is downright criminal and is the exactly the kind of thing that you acccuse the "biggoted" right wings of doing. You, the president of a university, or a senior lecturer should not be able to impose their world view on a dynamic student body by limiting their access to other view points. What's next we should burn books that you think are biggoted?
Its incredible how open minded you are! Any one who disagrees with you is biggoted and prejudiced? A university setting by default is a place where students are supposed to be exposed to various viewpoints no matter what a Univeristy thinks of them. What you are proposing is downright criminal and is the exactly the kind of thing that you acccuse the "biggoted" right wings of doing. You, the president of a university, or a senior lecturer should not be able to impose their world view on a dynamic student body by limiting their access to other view points. What's next we should burn books that you think are biggoted?
That ought to raise the grade point average quite a bit.