|
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
|
|