Tuesday, November 06, 2007

"Neve Gordon, a tenured professor at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and a visiting professor at the University of Michigan this year, said the terms of debate in the US were much narrower than in Israel. "What is going on here is an attempt to stifle critical voices," said Gordon. "My assumption is that I disagree with what Kovel says in the book, but so what? I disagree with many books. Many people are writing things that are outrageous - that's what academic freedom is about." Gordon said the allegation that Middle East Studies departments on university campuses are one sided, is false. "To claim Jews are the underdog on campus is not correct," said Gordon. He said he was amazed to see how many Jewish students had come to campus from high school prepared to be "ambassadors for the Zionist perspective."" (thanks Emily)