INSPIRED BY "CAMPUS WATCH"
CALLS TO MONITOR PRO-ARAB BIAS
REJECTED
Ori Nir, Forward, 11/25/05
http://forward.com/articles/6934
WASHINGTON Members of the U.S. Commission on Civil
Rights rejected calls from Jewish organizations last week
for federal oversight of government-funded Middle Eastern
studies programs at American universities.
At a November 18 hearing devoted to the issue of
antisemitism on college campuses, the commission heard
from three representatives of the Jewish community who
argued that many Middle Eastern programs are biased
against Israel. They sought the commission's support for
legislation that would restrict Middle Eastern studies
programs receiving federal funding.
The main proposal, which Jewish groups have been lobbying
Congress to write into law, would be the establishment of
an "advisory board" to monitor Middle Eastern
studies departments and report to the Department of
Education on whether these departments are balanced in
their teaching of regional affairs. The advisory board
would include political appointees.
Citing academic freedom, universities strongly oppose the
proposal.
At last week's hearing, members of the civil rights
commission made it clear that they do not see any role
for government in the classroom. Commission members were
not even willing to endorse the position that a
university ought to have a "balanced"
curriculum in such departments. "I am extremely
nervous about the idea of administrative oversight on
university campuses," said Abigail Thernstrom, the
commission's vice chair, who moderated the hearing.
"You really don't want university administrators
walking into classrooms and deciding whether what the
professors are teaching is acceptable or
unacceptable," she said. Her comments were echoed by
other members of the commission.
The commission which has the power to subpoena but
not to enforce, is charged with helping to raise
public consciousness of civil rights by encouraging
Americans to file complaints when violations occur and by
publishing reports. Commission members are appointed by
the
president and by Congress. The panelists, chosen by the
commission, were Gary Tobin, president of the Institute
for Jewish & Community Research, San Francisco; Susan
Tuchman, director of the Center for Law and Justice, an
arm of the Zionist Organization of America, and Sarah
Stern, director of the Washington office of the American
Jewish Congress.
The three painted a bleak picture of what they depicted
as ubiquitous threats and attacks on Jewish students on
campuses, and of anti-Israel bias in classrooms, which
they said is used in many cases to mask antisemitism.
Commissioners seemed sympathetic to the Jewish officials'
depiction. Reacting to the panelists' presentations,
Thernstrom said: "I was once a Jewish student in a
Middle Eastern studies program at Harvard University ...
I have the experience of being in a context like the one
described, and my impression from those years and
watching the scene until now is that all Middle
Eastern studies programs are very much alike. That is,
they are violently anti-Israel, very pro-Palestinian,
soaked in an ideology that is either borderline or
explicitly antisemitic."
However, commissioners appeared to disagree with some of
the remedies that the panelists recommended. Tobin, who
recently completed a four-year study on "politics
and propaganda in American universities" titled
"The Uncivil University," suggested that
academic freedom and
free speech be "responsibly defined within the
boundaries of civil discourse" enforced by
university administrations. Panelists took issue.
"Have you ever seen a speech code you liked?"
Thernstrom asked Tobin.
Democrat Michael Yaki, a San Francisco lawyer who is a
former member of the city's Board of Supervisors, warned
that governments tend "to use a $9 million
sledgehammer on a gnat." He said that such an
approach could backfire when dealing with sensitive
issues such as academic freedom.
But Tobin argued that decisive measures are needed
because "anti-Israelism and antisemitism on college
campuses and their expression exceed what's going on in
the general public." Furthermore, he contended that
Jews are singled out and subjected to abuse on campuses
more than other minority groups. He explained that while
it is considered "politically incorrect" to
condemn other minorities such as blacks and homosexuals
on campuses, expressions of anti-Israel views are widely
considered "politically correct." "The
point is that under both the informal and formal norms of
campus, other forms of racism and sexism are not
expressed," he said. Antisemitic sentiments, in the
guise of criticism of Israel, are "pervasive,
overwhelming and part of the political discourse of
campus, whereas other forms of racism are not."
Statements submitted to the commission by other Jewish
groups suggest that the situation on campuses may not be
that bleak as the three officials contended. The
American Jewish Committee's statement pointed out that
"Jewish campus life is thriving," that
"campuses are welcoming to Jews" and that every
self-respecting university has a Jewish studies program.
The Anti-Defamation League stated that
"institutional antisemitism" and discrimination
against Jews are "largely a thing of the past."
The Israel on Campus Coalition, a group bringing together
28 national Jewish organizations to bolster pro-Israel
advocacy in universities, described an
"overwhelmingly positive environment" on campus
for Jews and for supporters of Israel. Speaking not for
attribution to avoid embarrassing participants in the
panel, several officials with national Jewish
organizations who were not called on to testify said they
felt uncomfortable with the bleak account given by the
panelists. One Jewish official complained that the three
panelists depicted antisemitic incidents on campus as the
rule rather than the exception. Most of the 250,000
students on American campuses go through college without
ever being exposed to any form of hostility, the official
said.
Stern, the AJCongress representative on the panel, told
the Forward that she thought the hearing was "very
positive" despite the outcome. She noted that this
was the first time the commission considered "the
grievances of Jewish students as a protected
minority." Stern said she was also encouraged by the
commission's discussion of grievance procedures for
Jewish students. At the end of the two-hour hearing,
commissioners agreed to discuss the publication of a
pamphlet for students. This would detail the legal tools
they have to confront cases of abuse, harassment or
intimidation.
[NOTE: Anyone interested in helping to organize a Human
Rights Commission hearing to hear testimony on the
intimidation of Arab and Muslim teachers and students on
campus, and the teaching of false versions of Jewish
history as part of the curriculum should contact
thorsprovoni@aol.com
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