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Dear Dr. Ben-Artzi
Your "clarification" on Dr. Pappe notwithstanding, Prof. Yaacov Barnai
(Presiding Officer of the Academic Disciplinary Court) has determined that
there is no basis for proceeding with your scurrilous charges against Prof.
Ilan Pappe. In fact, your "clarification" only confirms the original feeling
many of Dr. Pappe's supporters had, that your accusations against him were
politically motivated all along. Dr. Pappe's well-reasoned criticisms of the
Israeli governments policies vis-a-vis the Palestinian people over the years
should be legitimate discourse in any self-respecting and honest democratic
society. That you, and others like you, feel threatened by what he says and
writes is clear indication that the fundamental academic freedom we cherish
and defend, the freedom to speak and write, the very hallmark of a real
university, is imperiled in Israel.
You would do well to stop your persecution of Prof. Pappe immediately before
your credibility, and that of institutions of education and research in
Israel, are completely destroyed.
Sincerely yours
Dr. Sadu Nanjundiah
Physics Department
Central Conecticut State University
New Britain, CT.06050
Dear professor Ben-Artzi,
I have just received, from the Academic Secretariat, a copy of the ruling of
the Academic Disciplinary Court relative to your petition. As you will have
seen, a large number of your original complaints have been rejected out of
hand on the grounds that they are not issues which can be tried by an
academic court. This seems clearly to vindicate all those of us who have
been saying all along that your petition was grounded not in general
academic principles but in personal animosity towards Professor Pappe.
I also note, in the clarification which you sent me yesterday (and for which
I thank you) that in point 5 you repeat the accusation that Professor Pappe
should be put on trial for the content of a lecture he gave in Cambridge,
Mass, in which he put forward a certain number of 'ideas relating to the
University and to the State of Israel' (these are your exact words). This,
too, unfortunately vindicates what all of Professor Pappe's friends have
been saying all along, namely that you are waging this campaign because you
disagree with Professor Pappe's scholarly views, and you intend to use your
power to prevent him from expressing them. Contrary to your repeated
assertions, then, this is very much an issue of academic freedom. Unless,
that is, you believe that there can be no discussion of the events
surrounding the establishment of the State of Israel? (or that everyone
should agree with your view of these events??). In a free society there are
no taboo subjects, my dear colleague, and I am truly sorry that you appear
to have lost sight of this elementary point.
The ruling of the Academic Disciplinary Court leaves open the possibility of
a further submission from you. I very much hope that you will not take up
this option, and now abandon your campaign against Professor Pappe. This
campaign has done nothing except bring unfavourable attention to Israel and
to the University of Haifa, and it seems clear that if this trial were to
proceed there will be major protests not only among leading European and
American Universities but also from the European Union. In today's issue of
the French daily newspaper 'Liberation' there was a full-page article on the
attempt by some members of Haifa University to silence Professor Pappe; it
was entitled 'No toleration of dissent in Israel'. There will be many more
articles of this kind if these efforts against Professor Pappe persist.
So I very much hope -- if you really care about the reputation of your
University and that of the state of Israel -- that you will not pursue this
matter any further. I end by thanking you for the courteous tone which you
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