Israel Matzav

Im Tirtzu threatens Ben Gurion University

Im Tirtzu, the organization that brought to light the participation of New Israel Fund beneficiaries in the preparation of the Goldstone Report, has called on Ben Gurion University to put an end to the anti-Zionist tilt in its political science department, or it will attempt to interfere with the university's sources of funding abroad.

If 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."

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."

...

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.

I guess they just can't find any right-wingers who are qualified....

Their faculty is most definitely uber-leftist and conscientiously so. I'm all in favor of making donors abroad aware of their anti-Zionist proclivities. The donors will draw their own conclusions.

But if students are willing to go there and swim against the tide, why not let them (not that I would send MY children to that department...).

Read the whole thing.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:48 PM