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No cow is too sacred for Newman in his resistance to Academic Pluralism in his Faculty. He crosses all red lines to defend the little fiefdom he created in the Politics and Government Dept

The founder of Ben-Gurion University's Politics and Government Department, Professor David Newman, has called for international pressure and other measures to prevent the department from being shut down by the council.

"I am in favor of exerting measured international pressure, coupled with a trickle of letters from a number of world-famous organizations, some of which will be leaked to the media," Newman, now the dean of the university's Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty, wrote in an internal memo. "At the same time, we will begin legal proceedings against the Council of Higher Education through our attorneys and actions by the [university] president and the rector."

The council has threatened to prevent potential students from applying to study at the faculty in the coming academic year. The dispute began about a year ago when an international committee of experts appointed by the Council of Higher Education to evaluate political science departments at Israel's universities, issued a report harshly criticizing the department for a series of failures. The committee voiced concern that the "study of politics as a scientific discipline may be impeded by such strong emphasis on political activism" at the department, and recommended "major changes," such as diversifying the faculty's views and approaches and altering key programs.

The staff and the department's curriculum were criticized by Israeli officials as being radically left-wing and anti-Israel. The committee did not, however, recommend shutting the department down or blocking registration.
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On the steps Newman plans to take, another senior member of the Council for Higher Education said, "We wonder about the behavior of the institution. Instead of investing their academic efforts in education, the university is spending public funds on private attorneys, strange conduct, to say the least."

http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=6240

Controversial university political science department may be closed
Final decision on whether to close Ben-Gurion University's political science program will be put to a vote in a few weeks • The staff and the department's curriculum have been criticized by Israeli officials as being radically left-wing and anti-Israel • The proposal to shut down the department has sparked accusations that the move is motivated more by politics than by pedagogy.

Israel Hayom Staff
Tuesday October 30, 2012

Israel's Council for Higher Education is scheduled to discuss on Tuesday an appeal by Ben-Gurion University to keep its political science department open, after the council had motioned for it to be closed following an international committee's critical evaluation of the department.

The final decision on whether to allow students to sign up for study in the department will be put to a vote in a few weeks.

Early last month, the subcommittee of the Council of Higher Education in Israel in charge of approving and accrediting universities in Israel announced its decision to shut down the department on the basis of the international committee's report. It said, "The current situation will not allow for the registration of students in the new class for the 2012-2013 school year."

The proposal to shut down the department has sparked accusations that the move is motivated more by politics than by pedagogy.

Following the subcommittee's recommendation, the text of the international committee's report was publicized, showing that it clearly did not recommend closing the department, but instead recommended certain changes, all of which the department claims to have implemented.

In a conversation with Israel Hayom, a senior member of the Council for Higher Education said, "The international experts were brought in to present an objective picture and recommend courses of action... the experts recruited said they would 'present a picture' of the situation and we would decide whether to implement their recommendations or not."

On the steps Newman plans to take, another senior member of the Council for Higher Education said, "We wonder about the behavior of the institution. Instead of investing their academic efforts in education, the university is spending public funds on private attorneys, strange conduct, to say the least."

Ben-Gurion University issued a statement in response: "The professors and members of the international committee appointed by the subcommittee of the Council for Higher Education wrote explicitly after learning of the subcommittee's recommendations that this does not reflect their opinion and that it is not clear to them how it stems from their conclusions."

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