If there's one thing we learned (or at least should have learned) from Munich in 1938, it's that trying to appease a bully only shows the bully that you can be intimidated. So appeasing bullies only encourages them to come back for more!
Bravo to Garber for standing up to the schoolyard bully
Yeah, you have to wonder what they were thinking. I suspect Harvard's chance of prevailing in court is pretty good, and I'm surprised that Columbia caved so easily.
It's worth remembering that the people in these jobs are often career administrators. They are there to fundraise (and build their resumes for the next job).They don't necessarily have deep connections to the schools.
We should remember, however, that ALL career moves have a financial and a political dimension--but that does not mean that money and politics are everyone's ONLY motivations. It probably IS for some, especially these days GOP'ers. But the rule still holds.
Zeteo reports on a court case underway directly related to this subject (and to the room's elephant Rubin only obliquely references - the attacks on free speech on college campuses are heavily focused on critics of Israel).
'A federal judge in Boston is currently weighing what could become one of the most consequential cases in Donald Trump’s effort to deport people for their speech.
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the Middle East Studies Association took the Trump administration to court for what they have dubbed an “ideological deportation policy” that has targeted Mahmoud Khalil, Rümeysa Öztürk, Badar Khan Suri, Yunseo Chung, and Mohsen Mahdawi, among others. Plaintiffs say the policy has chilled the speech of its noncitizen members as the administration seeks to retaliate against pro-Palestine students and faculty through visa revocations.'
There is a strong current of anti-semitism in the AAUP and the MESA. They boycott Israel, Israelis, and any Jew who speaks positively about Israel. They defend the Jew hating speech of profs in universities. Yet, they say nothing about the lack of freedom in any of the Arab countries. They do not speak out against the Iranian regime, the Janjaweed or any other Muslim entity wreaking havoc in Africa? Have you heard them speak out against anti-semitism on campuses and the harassment of Jews? Shouldn't Jews be allowed to study and move around campus safely?
Setting aside the whataboutism and the constant and intentional conflation of protesting Israel's actions with antisemitism, and setting aside the fact that there are plenty of Israeli scholars and organizations that have now affirmed that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and setting aside that there are Jewish students and professors across the country just as horrified by Israel's crimes as everyone else, and setting aside the fact the US is a full partner in Israel's genocide which makes this issue particularly relevant in the US, and setting aside the notion that protest of Israel's generations of apartheid and oppression may only be valid if one gives equal time to every other injustice everywhere in the world and be able to 'prove' this to knee jerk reactions....
How many students are expelled for criticizing Iran, or China, or any other country from US universities? How may students are deported from the US for writing an op-ed criticizing any country besides Israel? How many professors are fired for condemning violence in Sudan or DR Congo? How many student groups are entirely disbanded for their political views concerning any other country? All of those students above were detained for months and had their lives turned upside down for nothing more than exercising their 'academic freedom' Rubin is defending in this article.
Barely a week goes by without a professor being fired or denied tenure, without a student or group of students being expelled or denied their diplomas, without a student group losing accreditation, due to their public views on Israel's flagrant war crimes. This has been going on for ages, but it has accelerated to new levels in the past two years.
I just posted this case elsewhere in this thread...this was reported today - cases like this happen just constantly, and happen under both Dem and GOP administrations...
In Atlanta, Georgia, Palestinian American medical student Umaymah Mohammad has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit accusing Emory University of unlawfully suspending her over her remarks about Israel and Gaza. Mohammad’s lawsuit alleges the disciplinary proceedings that led to her suspension began after she appeared on Democracy Now! in April of last year and made remarks critical of Emory and its crackdown on protests in support of Palestinian rights.
Umaymah Mohammad: “We have repeatedly organized peacefully to put pressure on our institutions, especially at Emory, to stop harassing and doxxing students and to stop repressing speech around Palestine and to divest from the Israeli apartheid state. And every single time, Emory shuts us down. Every single time, they crack down, and they punish students. Every single time, they silence our voices.”
Anything written in contrast to what you write you call "whataboutism." If that's your defense, it is a poor one. By the way, your original post said nothing about what is going on in Israel and Gaza today.
How come you never posted about the violence by pro-pals against Jewish students? You only see what you choose to see and ignore the indignities Jews had to face on campuses. By the way, who said that what was taught by the pro-pal profs was unbiased?
The universities had a responsibility to protect its Jewish students from violence, harassment and teacher bias against them. It has been said numerous times, universities administrators would never have allowed any other minority group to have been treated as the Jewish students were. The fact that they did nothing speaks volumes.
By the way, Umaymah Mohammad's calling Israel an apartheid country is erroneous. If the far-right Bibi government has their way, perhaps it will one day become one. As of yet, it is not.
I also wish people like you would and other pro-pals would expand your concern for others beyond the Jewish state. Some suggestions to add to your protests: the Uyghur, Rohingas, Sudan, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Haiti, Somalia and the Tigray region just to name a few. Many of the people you name above are Muslim. Maybe they choose to excuse the Muslims' wanton murder of men, women and children because the destruction happens in Muslim countries. This is not "whataboutism." Rather, it is about caring for one's fellow human no matter where they may live.
BTW, your continuous focus on Israel makes you look biased against Jews.
There is a lot of nonsense there, i don't know if I can respond to it all.
'By the way, your original post said nothing about what is going on in Israel and Gaza today.' - um, what on Earth are you talking about? My post, obviously and clearly, points out that the clampdown on academic freedom on campuses 'are heavily focused on critics of Israel'...which, again obviously, is largely to do with Israel's genocide in Gaza (but not limited to that). Your constant refrain about being 'biased against Jews' is a clear example of the charge antisemitism as a 'cudgel' that Rubin condemns in her piece.
You also assume that myself, and others who advocate against genocide and apartheid, are not concerned about anything else...which is just ridiculous, and has no basis in anything other than your lack of any other defense. I should also remind you that Israel is a state, not a religion.
The point of Rubin's article is that freedom of speech is being suppressed by Trump's admin, but it is actually worse than that, and I provided many examples. Attacks on the academic freedom of those who support Palestinian rights has been bipartisan and has been taken up voluntarily by schools across the country.
You say 'whataboutism' is a 'poor defense', then you just lean into more whataboutism, again, while completely avoiding the actual topic - students and professors are constantly under attack for publicly criticizing Israel. Defenders of Israeli genocide and apartheid and not fired from their jobs constantly, are not expelled or denied diplomas or tenure constantly.
There is a long list of scholars, leaders, and activists who have affirmed that Israel's military rule in the Occupied Territories is precisely 'apartheid', including such liberal antisemites as former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo ('“There is an apartheid state here. In a territory where two people are judged under two legal systems, that is an apartheid state.”), Israel’s former attorney general Michael Ben-Yair, (“My country has sunk to such political and moral depths that it is now an apartheid regime”), and the former speaker of the Israeli parliament, Avraham Burg who, along with 2000 other Israeli and American public figures, signed a document stating that '“Palestinians live under a regime of apartheid”. There are many more examples.
And, again, the clear fact that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza has been affirmed by more scholars leaders and organizations every day, including plenty from Israel. The fact that this horror, which is fully supported and enabled by the US, warrants a clear and emphatic response from the residents of the countries responsible should not need explanation.
Here is a partial list of orgs and individuals who have stated Israel is now committing genocide:
Human Rights Organizations:
Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
University Network for Human Rights
B’Tselem
Physicians for Human Rights - Israel
J Street (US)
Genocide Scholars and Experts
Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Omer Bartov, Israeli-American professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University
Amos Goldberg, Israeli professor in the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a fellow of the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
Raz Segal, Israeli historian and associate professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies and endowed professor in the Study of Modern Genocide at Stockton University
Shmuel Lederman, professor specializing in political theory and genocide studies at the Open University of Israel
Melanie O'Brien, president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars
Martin Shaw, emeritus professor of International Relations and Politics at the University of Sussex, research professor at the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals, and author of War and Genocide, What is Genocide, Genocide in International Relations
William Schabas, professor of international law at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom, professor of international human law and human rights at Leiden University in the Netherlands, and author of several books on international law, including Genocide in International Law: The Crimes of Crimes
Dirk Moses, international relations professor at the City College of New York and author of The Problems of Genocide
Daniel Blatman, Israeli historian specializing in the history of the Holocaust and head of the Institute for Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Lee Mordechai, Israeli historian and associate professor at Hebrew University
Uğur Ümit Üngör, professor of Genocide Studies at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies and the University of Amsterdam
Dirk Moses is among several leading genocide scholars who argue that Israel's actions in Gaza could plausibly amount to genocide. This is not as definitive as you made it sound.
Re: Uğur Ümit Üngör--There's no definitive answer to whether Uğur Ümit Üngör is antisemitic, but some of his work and views have been criticized for potentially promoting antisemitism or at least exhibiting a bias. A Cambridge University Press & Assessment article suggests that some of his writings might contribute to antisemitic narratives, specifically regarding Jewish communities and their perceived role in society.
The others you mention have recently begun speaking about the horrors being inflicted on the Gazans. They, like I, are horrified about the hunger in Gaza. BTW, there are tons of reports stating that Hamas is causing Gazans to starve because it helps their cause.
I am not defending the actions of the Bibi government in any way. I find him and his government to be as bad as ours. However, I find your posts to be hugely biased and smug. You do not hold a monopoly on determining right from wrong, good or bad etc. Moreover, your posts make no mention of Hamas's responsibility starting the entire mess. This makes you a bad actor.
(2nd response) Here are a few more examples from this summer....now, show me any other instance comparable to the attacks on the academic freedom of pro-Palestinian activists on US college campuses (all reported by Democracy Now! certainly not reported in The Contrarian)
(June) Dr. Rupa Marya, a physician, activist, author and composer, filed two free speech complaints against her former employer, the University of California, San Francisco. The school fired her last month after a lengthy suspension over her criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza and its impact on healthcare in the Palestinian territory. “I didn’t expect that my career-ending move would be to say 'stop bombing hospitals,' for expressing support for Palestinian liberation and for criticizing the U.S.-backed genocide,” says Marya. She was named one of the top 20 most influential women in biomedicine by Nature and served on multiple national advisory boards.
(July) Virginia Commonwealth University has agreed to grant a diploma to Palestinian American student Sereen Haddad after withholding it until now. Haddad earned a four-year degree in psychology at VCU in just three years, earning the highest honors along the way. She was denied her diploma at her graduation this year after campus officials cited her participation in a peaceful memorial commemorating violent police arrests at a student encampment for Palestine in 2024. Sereen is the daughter of Dr. Tariq Haddad, a cardiologist who grew up in Gaza; they have lost more than 200 members of their extended family in Israel’s nearly two-year-long, U.S.-backed assault.
(July) Columbia University informed nearly 80 students that they had been suspended for one to three years — or expelled. The university sent the notices to students who participated in a May teach-in about Palestine in honor of the writer and freedom fighter Bassel al-Araj, who was assassinated by Israel in 2017.
But ABSOLUTLY predictable! tNYT’s is now a games port for smarty pants word people. Not a credible main stream media outlet. I keep my subscription only for the headlines and the games page. Otherwise, it’s The Bulwark and the writers of Substack that I depend on.
I have a digital subscription and get home delivery Saturday and Sunday. Thr NYT has become so timid, as well as giving Bret Steohens and Ross Douthat platforms to spew their bile.
All of it is gone except a food subscription. The coupling of the pusillanimous cowardice and the declaring that "democracy" is not an ideal, or a philosophy, but a political slogan - or something like that- and therefore can not be discussed because it kills their spineless "both sidesism" with the hideous columns by the after mentioned Stephen and Douthat, the honorable thing to do was to take my business elsewhere. A.G.'s ancestors must be twirling in their graves. The man is spineless and doesn't have the cajoñes to own up to being sold a total and complete lie about what is happening to the Palestinian people. No, he is on the wrong side of history. Hitler would approve.
Naw, you’ve got to pay extra for their crumby recipes. Not paying one more shackle. If they start asking me to pay for the games, I’m outta there. Ditched the WAPO after the Kamala affair but the NYT’s is on thin ice for me. I just enjoy Connections, small crossword and stupid Wordle.
Same with me, but I don’t even read the headlines, just the games. I know that’s very shallow of me and you but what the hell we’ve got to have some fun,!
I still have NYT as well (cancelled the other two) just so I can yell at them in the comments! Many don't get published. Friedman's blind support of Israel and the paper's failure to hold the orange felon to account make me angry.
I, too, comment on NYT, one of the lasting few MSM that you can make comments on, usually. You can on Yahoo too, but frankly, their moderators are anal; ridiculous. And Fox and NYPost if you want to yell at them, which I often do? What a joke. Half of the time, you cannot even get into your account to comment. It's their way, I'm convinced, to just allow the Magas the soapbox. Substack is the best for accepting any and all comments, which I appreciate. Once in a while you get the far right nut, but not too often. You ignore them, shut them down, or simply unsubscribe for that particular writer. Some folks do not understand that the First Amendment applies to all, not just to the Trumpers.
Its not too late for Columbia and Brown to tell Trump to take a hike and sue the regime. Their deals were obtained via illegal government pressure and have unconstitutional provisions that violate the 1st Amendment (and possibly others).
Shame on Columbia and Brown. On CBS and ABC. On Paul, Weiss and Skadden, Arps. On any high-profile institution that purports to be worthy of public trust that knuckles under to the demands of this administration. Your cowardice will follow you for years. And it should.
Why in the hell would Harvard owe that big clown $500 million? It's all a shakedown, like the creep is some kind of mob boss. I'm not sure what the master plan of this buffoon and his inept cabinet can be. He's detroying America, not making it great, as he's claimed since he first came down that escalator in 2015. The fool wants to rule over a tent city, with unemployed, impoverished and under-educated people as his minions. Harvard needs to stand strong. I'm sure it has a battery of alumni lawyers who would be willing to take on The Grifter pro bono.
And that comedienne doesn't give a rat's ass about what the mob boss has to say about her. She'll just make up more jokes about him, which is really pretty easy to do.
Stay strong Crimson. We your community support you and your efforts for academic freedom!!! It’s so important. Money can be replaced in time but selling your soul can not.
Has the Times not been paying attention? This president lies! Whether it's news of a trade deal or an upcoming meeting with Putin or another company promising to invest in manufacturing in the US: whatever the topic, no news outlet, and especially the "Nation's Newspaper" should ever report any news whose source is DJT or his cohorts, without independently verifying the truthfulness of the report. It would help so much if the Times and others would to their jobs.
The lack of collective, institutional support from major institutions, eg, the Dem party, universities, law firms, Wall Street, Chamber of Commerce, etc., leaves every victim of MAGA’s attacks isolated and vulnerable. People fold when no one has their back. The lack of an organized, functioning Dem party is a particular problem.
The Contrarian publishes articles contrary to this tiresome lament: “The lack of an organized, functioning Dem party is a particular problem.” I’m sure the proliferation of the lament makes the right-wing propaganda machine happy. For me, it’s a downer, and I prefer viewpoints that show otherwise through specific stories and voices. Thank you, Contrarian.
The Dems are fighting! Look at Texas! At JBPritzker at Sen Murphy, Warren, Booker at Rep Raskin, Swalwell, Riley! It’s really troubling to see the comments downing Dems-wake up and be United because it’s the only way to stand strong against the fascist regime- all negative comments should be for the only party that was behind J6, the dismantling of government and ICE. Things won’t change overnight but he’ll yeah they’ll never change if the Dems can be easily divided.
Individual Dems are fighting back. But where is the DNC? Where are the Senate and House leadership? Where are the former Democratic presidents when we could use their collective voices? Well it's August, vacationing seems like a possibility.
And something also to note- we did not get here overnight- it took how long to go from Eisenhower to trump? Or Cronkite to Hannity? We must be ready for a long haul to get things back to 6 flipping months ago! And that means being United and voting! In the 2014 election only 38.6% of registered voters voted! So the Koch Brothers funding of tons of smaller state races got a majority of 20%& laid the groundwork further for where we are today. Yes dagnabbit we have to vent and complaining takes some pressure off too but MAGA is the problem truly. I agree to look at ourselves and ask where and how it’s “my”fault because if it’s “my” fault I can change it. Right now yeah we can point fingers at each other but in the end that will result in shooting ourselves and disenfranchise voters cause it’s the refrain of MAGA that Dems do nothing. Just personally I can’t do that, but yeah I’d love Biden Harris and Gore and Clinton to be on the front pages of the news everyday talking about core Democracy principles like upholding the right to vote, protecting Unions, keeping people safe from ICE, creating better healthcare, the environment, building the countries infrastructures etc. But corporate media is not featuring those stories.
I don’t want to go back to 6 months ago. I want to go back to pre-Regan and not ever implement trickle-down economics and Citizens United, among others. I want to go back to before the “welfare queen” and when abortions were safe, legal, and no one else’s business. I want to go back to before Regan and do better on all fronts, especially health care and minimum wage. Please, please, please and thank you.
They might be featuring the positive news about Democratic victories if the former presidents would move from their comfortable homes to speak out every day!
And I haven't yet seen a single word in opposition to Netanyahu's heinous crimes in Gaza in the last hours, but any of the former presidents. Maybe they are too beholden to, grateful to, AIPAC.
I’m doing videos to help with the special election in Arizona coming up end of September. Writing postcards to voters too, I sent 47 emails to each Dem Senator urging them to give the Big Ugly a Byrd Bath and they stayed up all night submitting amendments to get Maga on record opposing them all. I call often and urge you to call too, our concerns are passed along. But I read a comment from a former Congressional staffer that Dems call 5 times LESS than Republicans- I hope you call and express your displeasure at non action. Your complaints will be heard- no I can’t promise you’ll be 100% pleased but it all moves us forward! Consider running for office, or helping with a more local election as Every local and state race has consequences. Plus you will find like minded folk who will make this movement stronger. We are here now- I can’t control what Obama is doing but I can control myself! We’ll most of the time anyway!!!
yes What is happening in Gaza is a crime against humanity- but did you see the picture of Republican Congress people sitting and smiling with Netanyahu like a few days ago? It made me sick to my stomach!! Come on! We are fighting fascism in this country Now today! Yeah AIPAC stinks money in politics is awful- we should have a system as in the UK where airtime is given free to candidates- but we don’t. Trump has been far worse on Israel!!! MAGA government will not help the Palestinians at all. Trump wants to clear Gaza for a hotel! We are here now with MAGA gestapo on our US streets so yeah I get moaning about the Dems but right now it truly seems we need to band together and it’s going to be a long haul. So here’s a 🤗 and we will keep moving forward hopefully voting in droves and enlightening our friends and neighbors to vote Blue. And ultimately make our country more progressive in tax policy ( Wealth tax won’t happen with Maga) and in all ways!
Hear you loud and clear- but Biden and Obama have public ally denounced trump. Our larger problem truly is Maga and I can’t lose sight of this. Yes it’s frustrating and MSM ain’t reporting on our wins nor our resistance. Thought this of interest from a few days ago. And please check out Marc Elias too→Just read this from Marc Elias - I know the BOVE confirmation is a horror but - the Senate Dems are fighting (We should call and thank them!) -> “Right now, Senate Democrats and Republicans are in a standoff over the confirmation of judges and tempers are running hot. Sen. John Thune cannot let his majority go home because Trump won’t let him. The president is so frustrated, he even attacked the Republican chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley.
Thankfully, Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer did a masterful job of filling nearly every significant vacancy on the federal bench that Senate rules would permit. While this gives the pro-democracy movement a chance, it is one that Trump and Thune will try to undo. How this plays out will be critical in the legal fights ahead.”
Yes, I think that's it. I'm not even seeing the Party supporting its braver, more actively engaged members. The formal Party is dead, so afraid of its progressive wing and of trump, and unable to come up with anything positive. A new party may be forming, like gas clouds beginning to form a new star!
Good the Dems are moving away from support of this, Right now the Maga GOP is truly horrific in their support now of wiping out Gaza. I am really worried about American Fascism and destruction of the US constitution. There is no both sides to what is currently happening. ICE is on our streets. Today. Now.
Thank you for your insights and strong support of Harvard. It is essential that Harvard stands up to the Trump regime for itself and to set the example for many others who will follow. We cannot give up our freedoms, and Harvard is on the forefront.
When Trump was threatening not to allow the Justice Department or other parts of the Federal government to hire graduates from law schools he didn't like, the head of Georgetown University's law school told him to go pound sand - much more politely and eloquently than that, of course. I have not heard anything since then about the Feds refusing to hire graduates of that law school. Did standing up to a bully work in this case?
I share this by Timothy Snyder, which I discovered in March. Each day it has become more helpful and, sadly, more prescient. Each day that #1 is not honored, the challenge grows more difficult. Thank you because your work is hugely important.
*On Tyranny; Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
By Timothy Snyder
In politics, being deceived is no excuse.
— Leszek Kolakowski
Do not obey in advance.
Defend institutions.
Beware the one-party state.
Take responsibility for the face of the world.
Remember professional ethics.
Be wary of paramilitaries.
Be reflective if you must be armed.
Stand out.
Be kind to our language.
Believe in truth.
Investigate.
Make eye contact and small talk.
Practice corporeal politics.
Establish a private life.
Contribute to good causes.
Learn from peers in other countries.
Listen for dangerous words.
Be calm when the unthinkable arrives.
Be a patriot.
Be as courageous as you can.
*Source: Copyright 2017 Crown, an imprint of Random House.
The ultimate irony about the authoritarian bargain Professor Levistsky refers to is that even after you sign it, surrender your soul to the Devil, he’ll come back for more. Didn’t anybody running Columbia figure this out?
There are good reasons Zelenskyy doesn’t sign anything with Putin. He won’t stop with Donetsk, even as Trump won’t stop with Columbia.
This Brown graduate is (a) ashamed of and ANGRY AT* his alma mater for giving in to Mob Boss Trump's shakedown, but also (b) proud of rival Harvard for refusing to surrender. Crimson Strong!
* Their agreement to allow Trump to poke around admission records with his grubby hands and piggy snout is beyond outrageous. My high school GPA, test scores, and RACE are none of his fu*king business! Grrr.
You show the difference between us and MAGA. Thank you for publicly being angry at your own alma mater and thanking your rival. That’s integrity! More please.
Kudos to Harvard’s resistance to maintain academic freedom. The next demand from the current administration will be the renaming of two universities. Trump Columbia and Trump Brown. Harvard should never capitulate. Ever.
Yes, the idea that the president is only trying to end antisemitism at these schools is laughable, at best. He is a bigot through and through. Jews as a community do not consider him a friend. If he were he would have stood up immediately to Netanyahu--the enemy not only of Palestinians but also of his fellow Israelis. Look what Bibi is doing to the standing of Israel in the eyes of the world.
If there's one thing we learned (or at least should have learned) from Munich in 1938, it's that trying to appease a bully only shows the bully that you can be intimidated. So appeasing bullies only encourages them to come back for more!
Bravo to Garber for standing up to the schoolyard bully
You’d think somebody at Columbia would have pointed that out BEFORE they signed on the dotted line.
Yeah, you have to wonder what they were thinking. I suspect Harvard's chance of prevailing in court is pretty good, and I'm surprised that Columbia caved so easily.
It's worth remembering that the people in these jobs are often career administrators. They are there to fundraise (and build their resumes for the next job).They don't necessarily have deep connections to the schools.
Yeah, sounds just like the Congress. The desire to keep the job over anything else.
We should remember, however, that ALL career moves have a financial and a political dimension--but that does not mean that money and politics are everyone's ONLY motivations. It probably IS for some, especially these days GOP'ers. But the rule still holds.
Perhaps they've lived such a protected existence that they never had to deal with a schoolyard bully.
Maybe they WERE the schoolyard bullies once upon a time.
Zeteo reports on a court case underway directly related to this subject (and to the room's elephant Rubin only obliquely references - the attacks on free speech on college campuses are heavily focused on critics of Israel).
'A federal judge in Boston is currently weighing what could become one of the most consequential cases in Donald Trump’s effort to deport people for their speech.
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the Middle East Studies Association took the Trump administration to court for what they have dubbed an “ideological deportation policy” that has targeted Mahmoud Khalil, Rümeysa Öztürk, Badar Khan Suri, Yunseo Chung, and Mohsen Mahdawi, among others. Plaintiffs say the policy has chilled the speech of its noncitizen members as the administration seeks to retaliate against pro-Palestine students and faculty through visa revocations.'
https://zeteo.com/p/what-to-know-about-the-court-case
There is a strong current of anti-semitism in the AAUP and the MESA. They boycott Israel, Israelis, and any Jew who speaks positively about Israel. They defend the Jew hating speech of profs in universities. Yet, they say nothing about the lack of freedom in any of the Arab countries. They do not speak out against the Iranian regime, the Janjaweed or any other Muslim entity wreaking havoc in Africa? Have you heard them speak out against anti-semitism on campuses and the harassment of Jews? Shouldn't Jews be allowed to study and move around campus safely?
Setting aside the whataboutism and the constant and intentional conflation of protesting Israel's actions with antisemitism, and setting aside the fact that there are plenty of Israeli scholars and organizations that have now affirmed that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and setting aside that there are Jewish students and professors across the country just as horrified by Israel's crimes as everyone else, and setting aside the fact the US is a full partner in Israel's genocide which makes this issue particularly relevant in the US, and setting aside the notion that protest of Israel's generations of apartheid and oppression may only be valid if one gives equal time to every other injustice everywhere in the world and be able to 'prove' this to knee jerk reactions....
How many students are expelled for criticizing Iran, or China, or any other country from US universities? How may students are deported from the US for writing an op-ed criticizing any country besides Israel? How many professors are fired for condemning violence in Sudan or DR Congo? How many student groups are entirely disbanded for their political views concerning any other country? All of those students above were detained for months and had their lives turned upside down for nothing more than exercising their 'academic freedom' Rubin is defending in this article.
Barely a week goes by without a professor being fired or denied tenure, without a student or group of students being expelled or denied their diplomas, without a student group losing accreditation, due to their public views on Israel's flagrant war crimes. This has been going on for ages, but it has accelerated to new levels in the past two years.
I just posted this case elsewhere in this thread...this was reported today - cases like this happen just constantly, and happen under both Dem and GOP administrations...
In Atlanta, Georgia, Palestinian American medical student Umaymah Mohammad has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit accusing Emory University of unlawfully suspending her over her remarks about Israel and Gaza. Mohammad’s lawsuit alleges the disciplinary proceedings that led to her suspension began after she appeared on Democracy Now! in April of last year and made remarks critical of Emory and its crackdown on protests in support of Palestinian rights.
Umaymah Mohammad: “We have repeatedly organized peacefully to put pressure on our institutions, especially at Emory, to stop harassing and doxxing students and to stop repressing speech around Palestine and to divest from the Israeli apartheid state. And every single time, Emory shuts us down. Every single time, they crack down, and they punish students. Every single time, they silence our voices.”
Anything written in contrast to what you write you call "whataboutism." If that's your defense, it is a poor one. By the way, your original post said nothing about what is going on in Israel and Gaza today.
How come you never posted about the violence by pro-pals against Jewish students? You only see what you choose to see and ignore the indignities Jews had to face on campuses. By the way, who said that what was taught by the pro-pal profs was unbiased?
The universities had a responsibility to protect its Jewish students from violence, harassment and teacher bias against them. It has been said numerous times, universities administrators would never have allowed any other minority group to have been treated as the Jewish students were. The fact that they did nothing speaks volumes.
By the way, Umaymah Mohammad's calling Israel an apartheid country is erroneous. If the far-right Bibi government has their way, perhaps it will one day become one. As of yet, it is not.
I also wish people like you would and other pro-pals would expand your concern for others beyond the Jewish state. Some suggestions to add to your protests: the Uyghur, Rohingas, Sudan, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Haiti, Somalia and the Tigray region just to name a few. Many of the people you name above are Muslim. Maybe they choose to excuse the Muslims' wanton murder of men, women and children because the destruction happens in Muslim countries. This is not "whataboutism." Rather, it is about caring for one's fellow human no matter where they may live.
BTW, your continuous focus on Israel makes you look biased against Jews.
There is a lot of nonsense there, i don't know if I can respond to it all.
'By the way, your original post said nothing about what is going on in Israel and Gaza today.' - um, what on Earth are you talking about? My post, obviously and clearly, points out that the clampdown on academic freedom on campuses 'are heavily focused on critics of Israel'...which, again obviously, is largely to do with Israel's genocide in Gaza (but not limited to that). Your constant refrain about being 'biased against Jews' is a clear example of the charge antisemitism as a 'cudgel' that Rubin condemns in her piece.
You also assume that myself, and others who advocate against genocide and apartheid, are not concerned about anything else...which is just ridiculous, and has no basis in anything other than your lack of any other defense. I should also remind you that Israel is a state, not a religion.
The point of Rubin's article is that freedom of speech is being suppressed by Trump's admin, but it is actually worse than that, and I provided many examples. Attacks on the academic freedom of those who support Palestinian rights has been bipartisan and has been taken up voluntarily by schools across the country.
You say 'whataboutism' is a 'poor defense', then you just lean into more whataboutism, again, while completely avoiding the actual topic - students and professors are constantly under attack for publicly criticizing Israel. Defenders of Israeli genocide and apartheid and not fired from their jobs constantly, are not expelled or denied diplomas or tenure constantly.
There is a long list of scholars, leaders, and activists who have affirmed that Israel's military rule in the Occupied Territories is precisely 'apartheid', including such liberal antisemites as former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo ('“There is an apartheid state here. In a territory where two people are judged under two legal systems, that is an apartheid state.”), Israel’s former attorney general Michael Ben-Yair, (“My country has sunk to such political and moral depths that it is now an apartheid regime”), and the former speaker of the Israeli parliament, Avraham Burg who, along with 2000 other Israeli and American public figures, signed a document stating that '“Palestinians live under a regime of apartheid”. There are many more examples.
And, again, the clear fact that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza has been affirmed by more scholars leaders and organizations every day, including plenty from Israel. The fact that this horror, which is fully supported and enabled by the US, warrants a clear and emphatic response from the residents of the countries responsible should not need explanation.
Here is a partial list of orgs and individuals who have stated Israel is now committing genocide:
Human Rights Organizations:
Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
University Network for Human Rights
B’Tselem
Physicians for Human Rights - Israel
J Street (US)
Genocide Scholars and Experts
Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Omer Bartov, Israeli-American professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University
Amos Goldberg, Israeli professor in the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a fellow of the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
Raz Segal, Israeli historian and associate professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies and endowed professor in the Study of Modern Genocide at Stockton University
Shmuel Lederman, professor specializing in political theory and genocide studies at the Open University of Israel
Melanie O'Brien, president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars
Martin Shaw, emeritus professor of International Relations and Politics at the University of Sussex, research professor at the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals, and author of War and Genocide, What is Genocide, Genocide in International Relations
William Schabas, professor of international law at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom, professor of international human law and human rights at Leiden University in the Netherlands, and author of several books on international law, including Genocide in International Law: The Crimes of Crimes
Dirk Moses, international relations professor at the City College of New York and author of The Problems of Genocide
Daniel Blatman, Israeli historian specializing in the history of the Holocaust and head of the Institute for Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Lee Mordechai, Israeli historian and associate professor at Hebrew University
Uğur Ümit Üngör, professor of Genocide Studies at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies and the University of Amsterdam
Human Rights Watch says nothing about the hostages held by Hamas.
Genocide Scholars and Experts have not determined that a genocide is occurring.
Francesca Albanese: I don't believe a word coming out of any UN official's mouth since numerous UN officials were complicit with Hamas.
International Association of Genocide Scholars makes no mention of the Israeli hostages.
Regarding Martins Shaw read: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/wp-content/files_mf/1389809313d14ShawHirsh1.pdf. William Schabas has committed numerous ethical violations and his veracity on any subject is questionable.
Dirk Moses is among several leading genocide scholars who argue that Israel's actions in Gaza could plausibly amount to genocide. This is not as definitive as you made it sound.
Re: Uğur Ümit Üngör--There's no definitive answer to whether Uğur Ümit Üngör is antisemitic, but some of his work and views have been criticized for potentially promoting antisemitism or at least exhibiting a bias. A Cambridge University Press & Assessment article suggests that some of his writings might contribute to antisemitic narratives, specifically regarding Jewish communities and their perceived role in society.
The others you mention have recently begun speaking about the horrors being inflicted on the Gazans. They, like I, are horrified about the hunger in Gaza. BTW, there are tons of reports stating that Hamas is causing Gazans to starve because it helps their cause.
I am not defending the actions of the Bibi government in any way. I find him and his government to be as bad as ours. However, I find your posts to be hugely biased and smug. You do not hold a monopoly on determining right from wrong, good or bad etc. Moreover, your posts make no mention of Hamas's responsibility starting the entire mess. This makes you a bad actor.
(2nd response) Here are a few more examples from this summer....now, show me any other instance comparable to the attacks on the academic freedom of pro-Palestinian activists on US college campuses (all reported by Democracy Now! certainly not reported in The Contrarian)
(June) Dr. Rupa Marya, a physician, activist, author and composer, filed two free speech complaints against her former employer, the University of California, San Francisco. The school fired her last month after a lengthy suspension over her criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza and its impact on healthcare in the Palestinian territory. “I didn’t expect that my career-ending move would be to say 'stop bombing hospitals,' for expressing support for Palestinian liberation and for criticizing the U.S.-backed genocide,” says Marya. She was named one of the top 20 most influential women in biomedicine by Nature and served on multiple national advisory boards.
(July) Virginia Commonwealth University has agreed to grant a diploma to Palestinian American student Sereen Haddad after withholding it until now. Haddad earned a four-year degree in psychology at VCU in just three years, earning the highest honors along the way. She was denied her diploma at her graduation this year after campus officials cited her participation in a peaceful memorial commemorating violent police arrests at a student encampment for Palestine in 2024. Sereen is the daughter of Dr. Tariq Haddad, a cardiologist who grew up in Gaza; they have lost more than 200 members of their extended family in Israel’s nearly two-year-long, U.S.-backed assault.
(July) Columbia University informed nearly 80 students that they had been suspended for one to three years — or expelled. The university sent the notices to students who participated in a May teach-in about Palestine in honor of the writer and freedom fighter Bassel al-Araj, who was assassinated by Israel in 2017.
To think that the Times would cook up a grossly incorrect story--and one that is so easily falsifiable--is deeply disturbing.
The NYT's decline is very disturbing.
I am very disappointed in the Times.
But ABSOLUTLY predictable! tNYT’s is now a games port for smarty pants word people. Not a credible main stream media outlet. I keep my subscription only for the headlines and the games page. Otherwise, it’s The Bulwark and the writers of Substack that I depend on.
I have a digital subscription and get home delivery Saturday and Sunday. Thr NYT has become so timid, as well as giving Bret Steohens and Ross Douthat platforms to spew their bile.
I positively detest douthat! BS is a lost soul.
Two hacks for sure.
All of it is gone except a food subscription. The coupling of the pusillanimous cowardice and the declaring that "democracy" is not an ideal, or a philosophy, but a political slogan - or something like that- and therefore can not be discussed because it kills their spineless "both sidesism" with the hideous columns by the after mentioned Stephen and Douthat, the honorable thing to do was to take my business elsewhere. A.G.'s ancestors must be twirling in their graves. The man is spineless and doesn't have the cajoñes to own up to being sold a total and complete lie about what is happening to the Palestinian people. No, he is on the wrong side of history. Hitler would approve.
And the recipes.
Naw, you’ve got to pay extra for their crumby recipes. Not paying one more shackle. If they start asking me to pay for the games, I’m outta there. Ditched the WAPO after the Kamala affair but the NYT’s is on thin ice for me. I just enjoy Connections, small crossword and stupid Wordle.
Just the recipes for me.
Same with me, but I don’t even read the headlines, just the games. I know that’s very shallow of me and you but what the hell we’ve got to have some fun,!
Cancel NYT and buy PennyPress game magazines. More variety and no politics!
I dropped my subscription months ago, keeping only games. The venerable old lady, the paper of record, has croaked.
I’m getting there. Dropped WAPO 11/7/24 but Crikey, the NYT’s? Ugh. 😩
Yep. It's a brave new world, and we must recognize it...
Already canceled my subscriptions to NYT and WaPo. Paramount+ followed after paying Trump and they had all my favorite shows *sigh*.
Try acorn and BritBox, they have terrific shows and you can buy the subscription straight on you don’t have to go through prime or anybody else
Still have NYT, but cancelled the other two. Good riddance.
I still have NYT as well (cancelled the other two) just so I can yell at them in the comments! Many don't get published. Friedman's blind support of Israel and the paper's failure to hold the orange felon to account make me angry.
I, too, comment on NYT, one of the lasting few MSM that you can make comments on, usually. You can on Yahoo too, but frankly, their moderators are anal; ridiculous. And Fox and NYPost if you want to yell at them, which I often do? What a joke. Half of the time, you cannot even get into your account to comment. It's their way, I'm convinced, to just allow the Magas the soapbox. Substack is the best for accepting any and all comments, which I appreciate. Once in a while you get the far right nut, but not too often. You ignore them, shut them down, or simply unsubscribe for that particular writer. Some folks do not understand that the First Amendment applies to all, not just to the Trumpers.
I hope I'm wrong, but they are starting to sound like the WAPO.
Its not too late for Columbia and Brown to tell Trump to take a hike and sue the regime. Their deals were obtained via illegal government pressure and have unconstitutional provisions that violate the 1st Amendment (and possibly others).
Shame on Columbia and Brown. On CBS and ABC. On Paul, Weiss and Skadden, Arps. On any high-profile institution that purports to be worthy of public trust that knuckles under to the demands of this administration. Your cowardice will follow you for years. And it should.
Why in the hell would Harvard owe that big clown $500 million? It's all a shakedown, like the creep is some kind of mob boss. I'm not sure what the master plan of this buffoon and his inept cabinet can be. He's detroying America, not making it great, as he's claimed since he first came down that escalator in 2015. The fool wants to rule over a tent city, with unemployed, impoverished and under-educated people as his minions. Harvard needs to stand strong. I'm sure it has a battery of alumni lawyers who would be willing to take on The Grifter pro bono.
"Nice campus you got dere. Be a shame somtin should happen to it. Statistics show dat people dat makes deals suffers fewer accidents."
What do you mean, "....some kind of mob boss.?" By now the proof is in the pudding that he IS a mob boss.
And a crappy one at that. Mob bosses wouldn't be bothering comedians who live in Ireland.
And that comedienne doesn't give a rat's ass about what the mob boss has to say about her. She'll just make up more jokes about him, which is really pretty easy to do.
It's also called extortion and selling your soul to the devil.
Stay strong Crimson. We your community support you and your efforts for academic freedom!!! It’s so important. Money can be replaced in time but selling your soul can not.
Has the Times not been paying attention? This president lies! Whether it's news of a trade deal or an upcoming meeting with Putin or another company promising to invest in manufacturing in the US: whatever the topic, no news outlet, and especially the "Nation's Newspaper" should ever report any news whose source is DJT or his cohorts, without independently verifying the truthfulness of the report. It would help so much if the Times and others would to their jobs.
The lack of collective, institutional support from major institutions, eg, the Dem party, universities, law firms, Wall Street, Chamber of Commerce, etc., leaves every victim of MAGA’s attacks isolated and vulnerable. People fold when no one has their back. The lack of an organized, functioning Dem party is a particular problem.
The Contrarian publishes articles contrary to this tiresome lament: “The lack of an organized, functioning Dem party is a particular problem.” I’m sure the proliferation of the lament makes the right-wing propaganda machine happy. For me, it’s a downer, and I prefer viewpoints that show otherwise through specific stories and voices. Thank you, Contrarian.
The Dems are fighting! Look at Texas! At JBPritzker at Sen Murphy, Warren, Booker at Rep Raskin, Swalwell, Riley! It’s really troubling to see the comments downing Dems-wake up and be United because it’s the only way to stand strong against the fascist regime- all negative comments should be for the only party that was behind J6, the dismantling of government and ICE. Things won’t change overnight but he’ll yeah they’ll never change if the Dems can be easily divided.
Individual Dems are fighting back. But where is the DNC? Where are the Senate and House leadership? Where are the former Democratic presidents when we could use their collective voices? Well it's August, vacationing seems like a possibility.
And something also to note- we did not get here overnight- it took how long to go from Eisenhower to trump? Or Cronkite to Hannity? We must be ready for a long haul to get things back to 6 flipping months ago! And that means being United and voting! In the 2014 election only 38.6% of registered voters voted! So the Koch Brothers funding of tons of smaller state races got a majority of 20%& laid the groundwork further for where we are today. Yes dagnabbit we have to vent and complaining takes some pressure off too but MAGA is the problem truly. I agree to look at ourselves and ask where and how it’s “my”fault because if it’s “my” fault I can change it. Right now yeah we can point fingers at each other but in the end that will result in shooting ourselves and disenfranchise voters cause it’s the refrain of MAGA that Dems do nothing. Just personally I can’t do that, but yeah I’d love Biden Harris and Gore and Clinton to be on the front pages of the news everyday talking about core Democracy principles like upholding the right to vote, protecting Unions, keeping people safe from ICE, creating better healthcare, the environment, building the countries infrastructures etc. But corporate media is not featuring those stories.
I don’t want to go back to 6 months ago. I want to go back to pre-Regan and not ever implement trickle-down economics and Citizens United, among others. I want to go back to before the “welfare queen” and when abortions were safe, legal, and no one else’s business. I want to go back to before Regan and do better on all fronts, especially health care and minimum wage. Please, please, please and thank you.
What you said!!!!!
They might be featuring the positive news about Democratic victories if the former presidents would move from their comfortable homes to speak out every day!
And I haven't yet seen a single word in opposition to Netanyahu's heinous crimes in Gaza in the last hours, but any of the former presidents. Maybe they are too beholden to, grateful to, AIPAC.
I’m doing videos to help with the special election in Arizona coming up end of September. Writing postcards to voters too, I sent 47 emails to each Dem Senator urging them to give the Big Ugly a Byrd Bath and they stayed up all night submitting amendments to get Maga on record opposing them all. I call often and urge you to call too, our concerns are passed along. But I read a comment from a former Congressional staffer that Dems call 5 times LESS than Republicans- I hope you call and express your displeasure at non action. Your complaints will be heard- no I can’t promise you’ll be 100% pleased but it all moves us forward! Consider running for office, or helping with a more local election as Every local and state race has consequences. Plus you will find like minded folk who will make this movement stronger. We are here now- I can’t control what Obama is doing but I can control myself! We’ll most of the time anyway!!!
yes What is happening in Gaza is a crime against humanity- but did you see the picture of Republican Congress people sitting and smiling with Netanyahu like a few days ago? It made me sick to my stomach!! Come on! We are fighting fascism in this country Now today! Yeah AIPAC stinks money in politics is awful- we should have a system as in the UK where airtime is given free to candidates- but we don’t. Trump has been far worse on Israel!!! MAGA government will not help the Palestinians at all. Trump wants to clear Gaza for a hotel! We are here now with MAGA gestapo on our US streets so yeah I get moaning about the Dems but right now it truly seems we need to band together and it’s going to be a long haul. So here’s a 🤗 and we will keep moving forward hopefully voting in droves and enlightening our friends and neighbors to vote Blue. And ultimately make our country more progressive in tax policy ( Wealth tax won’t happen with Maga) and in all ways!
Hear you loud and clear- but Biden and Obama have public ally denounced trump. Our larger problem truly is Maga and I can’t lose sight of this. Yes it’s frustrating and MSM ain’t reporting on our wins nor our resistance. Thought this of interest from a few days ago. And please check out Marc Elias too→Just read this from Marc Elias - I know the BOVE confirmation is a horror but - the Senate Dems are fighting (We should call and thank them!) -> “Right now, Senate Democrats and Republicans are in a standoff over the confirmation of judges and tempers are running hot. Sen. John Thune cannot let his majority go home because Trump won’t let him. The president is so frustrated, he even attacked the Republican chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley.
Thankfully, Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer did a masterful job of filling nearly every significant vacancy on the federal bench that Senate rules would permit. While this gives the pro-democracy movement a chance, it is one that Trump and Thune will try to undo. How this plays out will be critical in the legal fights ahead.”
Yup, the DNC is a particular problem. Ben Wikler would have been much better as its chair than the guy they elected.
And the Party hacks chose not to elect him, which tells you a lot
Yes, I think that's it. I'm not even seeing the Party supporting its braver, more actively engaged members. The formal Party is dead, so afraid of its progressive wing and of trump, and unable to come up with anything positive. A new party may be forming, like gas clouds beginning to form a new star!
Dems are beginning to fight only because of pressure from the grassroots.
Then we keep the pressure on
Good the Dems are moving away from support of this, Right now the Maga GOP is truly horrific in their support now of wiping out Gaza. I am really worried about American Fascism and destruction of the US constitution. There is no both sides to what is currently happening. ICE is on our streets. Today. Now.
Thank you for your insights and strong support of Harvard. It is essential that Harvard stands up to the Trump regime for itself and to set the example for many others who will follow. We cannot give up our freedoms, and Harvard is on the forefront.
When Trump was threatening not to allow the Justice Department or other parts of the Federal government to hire graduates from law schools he didn't like, the head of Georgetown University's law school told him to go pound sand - much more politely and eloquently than that, of course. I have not heard anything since then about the Feds refusing to hire graduates of that law school. Did standing up to a bully work in this case?
I share this by Timothy Snyder, which I discovered in March. Each day it has become more helpful and, sadly, more prescient. Each day that #1 is not honored, the challenge grows more difficult. Thank you because your work is hugely important.
*On Tyranny; Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
By Timothy Snyder
In politics, being deceived is no excuse.
— Leszek Kolakowski
Do not obey in advance.
Defend institutions.
Beware the one-party state.
Take responsibility for the face of the world.
Remember professional ethics.
Be wary of paramilitaries.
Be reflective if you must be armed.
Stand out.
Be kind to our language.
Believe in truth.
Investigate.
Make eye contact and small talk.
Practice corporeal politics.
Establish a private life.
Contribute to good causes.
Learn from peers in other countries.
Listen for dangerous words.
Be calm when the unthinkable arrives.
Be a patriot.
Be as courageous as you can.
*Source: Copyright 2017 Crown, an imprint of Random House.
The ultimate irony about the authoritarian bargain Professor Levistsky refers to is that even after you sign it, surrender your soul to the Devil, he’ll come back for more. Didn’t anybody running Columbia figure this out?
There are good reasons Zelenskyy doesn’t sign anything with Putin. He won’t stop with Donetsk, even as Trump won’t stop with Columbia.
This Brown graduate is (a) ashamed of and ANGRY AT* his alma mater for giving in to Mob Boss Trump's shakedown, but also (b) proud of rival Harvard for refusing to surrender. Crimson Strong!
* Their agreement to allow Trump to poke around admission records with his grubby hands and piggy snout is beyond outrageous. My high school GPA, test scores, and RACE are none of his fu*king business! Grrr.
You show the difference between us and MAGA. Thank you for publicly being angry at your own alma mater and thanking your rival. That’s integrity! More please.
Kudos to Harvard’s resistance to maintain academic freedom. The next demand from the current administration will be the renaming of two universities. Trump Columbia and Trump Brown. Harvard should never capitulate. Ever.
If Harvard folds, Trump wins.
On point Jen, as u and Norm have reiterated and we’ve seen the old adage give an inch they take another foot and another and another. No end.
The antisemitism clarification for this regimen is so clear. Trump is so white and not for any Jewish community. He is anti everything him. Yuck
Keep reporting and thanks for your voices and excellent interviews and commentaries
Yes, the idea that the president is only trying to end antisemitism at these schools is laughable, at best. He is a bigot through and through. Jews as a community do not consider him a friend. If he were he would have stood up immediately to Netanyahu--the enemy not only of Palestinians but also of his fellow Israelis. Look what Bibi is doing to the standing of Israel in the eyes of the world.