Editorial Article
Israel Hayom Reports about Leftist Harassment of
Students
The main article appears here. The headline is:
“If you think like me, then you will get your grade.” The news story
cites the latest report distributed by the Zionist student group Im
Tirtzu in which they document the anti- and post-Zionist bias that
exercises hegemony over Israeli academia. The story cites several
people, including Prof. Eli Pollak from the Weizmann Institute,
charging that Far Leftists control academic dialogue in Israeli
universities. He describes how right-leaning professors are harassed
at Israeli universities and fear for their careers. The article also
cites anti-Semitic extremist Neve Gordon from Ben Gurion University,
the Israeli Norman Finkelstein, as saying that complaints about
leftist harassment is all hooey and the Im Tirtzu report is not
reliable. You know, unlike Gordon’s propaganda books.
Israel Hayom Reports about Leftist
Harassment of Students
by Steven Plaut
4/6/2010
On Sunday May 30, there were two notable news
items related to Israel Hayom, the Israeli freebie daily
newspaper (which is now the second largest newspaper in Israel). The
first was the failure of the attempt by Knesset politicians to pass
a bolshevik law that would prohibit handing out free newspapers in
Israel and so would shut Israel Hayom down. The proposed bill
was a thinly disguised attempt by the owner of Yediot Ahronot
to shut down his competitor.
For a change, freedom of speech won a round in
Israel.
The other news story has to do with Israel
Hayom running a series of special articles the same day,
including on its front page, about Israeli leftist professors
abusing and harassing students who dare to disagree with their
political indoctrinations in class.
The articles are only in Hebrew, but here is
the gist.
The main article appears here. The headline is:
“If you think like me, then you will get your grade.” The news story
cites the latest report distributed by the Zionist student group Im
Tirtzu in which they document the anti- and post-Zionist bias that
exercises hegemony over Israeli academia. The story cites several
people, including Prof. Eli Pollak from the Weizmann Institute,
charging that Far Leftists control academic dialogue in Israeli
universities. He describes how right-leaning professors are harassed
at Israeli universities and fear for their careers. The article also
cites anti-Semitic extremist Neve Gordon from Ben Gurion University,
the Israeli Norman Finkelstein, as saying that complaints about
leftist harassment is all hooey and the Im Tirtzu report is not
reliable. You know, unlike Gordon’s propaganda books.
The article then cites Tel Aviv University
moonbette Rachel Giora who says it is not about opinion but about
facts, and the Far Left happens always to be correct when it comes
to facts. Giora just got back from Boston where she led the local
pogrom to defame the Technion as a war machine.
The main Israel Hayom article is
accompanied by two companion pieces. The more important one is an
op-ed by Prof. Avraham Diskin (appears here
http://www.israelhayom.co.il/site/newsletter_opinion.php?a=3809
), who just retired as political science professor at the Hebrew
University. Unlike much of the rest of his department, Diskin is a
highly intelligent Zionist, near center politically. He argues that
the Im Tirtzu report of leftist harassment is largely correct. It is
interesting to note that Diskin seems to have been reluctant to
denounce the tenured Left BEFORE he retired. Diskin also describes
the feeding frenzy and attacks on Im Tirtzu taking place on the
Israeli “Social Science” chat list for Israeli academics. Dozens of
leftist smears appeared there in recent days. I am also a member of
that list. The owner of the list, Dr.
David Faur-Levy, is exercising censorship on that list and
allowing all leftist rants to appear while repeatedly blocking
non-leftist responses and rebuttals. That chat list is a typical
example of Israeli tenured leftist suppression of pluralism and
freedom of speech. The level of discourse there is such that an
objective reader would draw the conclusion that Israeli universities
are fourth-rate preschools. In the past Faur-Levy accused me on the
list of being personally responsible for the placing of that bomb in
front of the home of Zev Sternhell and then blocking my attempt at
responding.
Anyway, the other companion article on
Israel Hayom is by Meretz Knesset Member Zehava Galon, one of
the three remaining Meretz members of parliament. It appears here:
http://www.israelhayom.co.il/site/newsletter_opinion.php?a=3810
She of course denies there is any leftist hegemony in Israeli
academia and insists that the REAL danger to Israeli democracy is
when critics of leftists like Im Tirtzu are allowed to exercise
freedom of speech.
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