Ben Gurion University
Ben Gurion University - BGU President Rivka Carmi
Hysterically Attacks groups that "Monitor" anti-Israel Faculty
Members in Israel
Defends the Neve Gordons as "Critical
thinking and alternative perspectives"; Defends anti-Israel NGOs as
"human rights watchdogs"
'The truth is that these monitoring groups
claim to be motivated by a love of Israel, but in fact they have a
clear political agenda which they are willing to advance using the
age-old method of blackmail. Either Israeli universities accept
their conditions and "remove" those people with whom they disagree,
or they will encourage donors to cut off funding.
These are the kinds of attacks that do not
allow for critical thinking or alternate perspectives, and have
created an atmosphere in Israel today such that pro-human rights
groups are being dismissed as "anti-Zionist," only adding to the
polarization of Israeli society.'
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=222626
Universities are in the footnotes
BGU president responds to those 'monitoring' groups that claim
Israeli universities are home to 'anti-Zionists.'
By RIVKA CARMI
28/05/2011
We live in an age shaped by ratings. Newspapers
are always looking for that sexy headline that will sell papers or
drive people to link to their pages, becoming ever more superficial
as our lives devolve into a world of sound bites and shallow,
sensational stories.
Bloggers become pundits as they create their
own discourse online. Overhead is low. Responsibility and
accountability are minimal. And impact and audience are far wider
than anyone could have imagined. It is in this environment that
so-called "watch-dog" groups are able to attract far more attention
than they would have five or 10 years ago.
Just as the president of the United States
recently found himself with no choice but to counter rumors about
his real birth location that were "out there" in the blogosphere, so
I find myself – as both the President of Ben-Gurion
University of the Negev and the head of
the Committee of University Presidents of
Israel – forced to respond publicly to those "monitoring"
groups who claim Israeli universities are home to "anti-
Zionists" who are "politically indoctrinating" students.
Over the past 12 months, these socalled
monitoring groups have changed tactics, calling on friends of
Israeli universities and members of their boards of governors to
withhold funding until the universities take action against members
who support the international Boycott, Divestment and
Sanction (BDS) movement, and dismiss those
lecturers whom these groups define as "anti-Zionist" or "enemies of
the State of Israel."
These kinds of blanket accusations distort the
real situation at Israeli universities, and do a disservice to the
thousands of students, faculty and staff dedicated to promoting the
highest levels of research and teaching.
Among the nearly 5,000 full-time senior
academics currently working in this country – and who are
responsible for one of the highest rates of scientific publication
in the world – less than 10 (10 people, not 10%) openly support the
BDS movement. And let me stress: all the university presidents and
senior administrators actively denounce any such support, in Israel
and around the world. Ironically, those Israelis who do support BDS
– and who are used to being ignored by the mainstream Israeli press
– have gained international notoriety thanks in part to
online promotion by the very groups that
condemn them.
The truth is that these monitoring groups claim
to be motivated by a love of Israel, but in fact they have a clear
political agenda which they are willing to advance using the age-old
method of blackmail. Either Israeli universities accept their
conditions and "remove" those people with whom they disagree, or
they will encourage donors to cut off funding.
These are the kinds of attacks that do not
allow for critical thinking or alternate perspectives, and have
created an atmosphere in Israel today such that pro-human rights
groups are being dismissed as "anti-Zionist," only adding to the
polarization of Israeli society.
These are the kinds of attacks that make for
the sexy headlines, and that have dominated the press coverage of
Israeli universities for years, but universities are not about
headlines. They are about the footnotes.
They are about the slow, painstaking research
that goes into the writing of a PhD dissertation or the publication
of a scientific paper; about the open exchange of ideas that
encourage serious scholarship and innovative thinking. Universities
are about empowering students, encouraging them to experience the
excitement of discovery and volunteering in the community. They are
about pursuing state-of-the-art scholarship and scientific knowledge
with the world's best and brightest minds.
At the same time, given the ongoing and heated
political debate in Israel, all universities require faculty members
to adhere to a strict policy of leaving political discussions
outside the classroom.
In January this year, the
BGU Senate (comprised of university academic staff)
issued a declaration based on recommendations of the Ethics
Committee outlining specific guidelines for researchers, and
requiring them to clearly delineate between their academic work and
political activities. This document was the first of its kind in
Israel, and other universities are now considering following our
example.
Israelis are known around the world for their
loud, boisterous character. The Talmud
provides, in many ways, a detailed document that chronicles a long
history of public debate. This is what makes for a strong democracy,
albeit a noisy one.
Don't let headlines and advertisements lead you
astray. Visit an Israeli university. Meet with the amazing students
and faculty members who embody the pioneering
spirit that created and built this wonderful country. They
are the real Zionists: Israel's hope and best bet for the future.
The writer is president of Ben-Gurion
University of the Negev.
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