Showing posts with label SPME. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SPME. Show all posts
Monday, May 20, 2013
Human Rights Organizations Defend Tammi Rossman-Benjamin Against Attacks
From a Joint press release from the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, issued May 20, 2013, declaring that accusations against UC Santa Cruz lecturer Tammi Rossman-Benjamin are "false, scurrilous, and unjustifiable"
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (LDB) and Scholars for Peace in the Middle East today issued a Joint Statement in defense of University of California at Santa Cruz lecturer Tammi Rossman-Benjamin. Rossman-Benjamin, an activist known for her opposition to campus anti-Semitism, has recently been the target of a public campaign of character assassination because of her advocacy for the civil rights of Jewish college students. LDB and SPME joined together today to defend Rossman-Benjamin against these smears and to denounce efforts to suppress advocacy for the civil rights of university students.
Rossman-Benjamin is a co-founder of the AMCHA Initiative, an organization that combats anti-Semitism on American college and university campuses. She is also a member of the Brandeis Center's Academic Advisory Board and a former member of SPME's Board of Directors. Rossman-Benjamin has famously accused her university, UC Santa Cruz, of harboring a hostile environment for Jewish students. The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has opened an investigation into Rossman-Benjamin's complaint, which is now pending.
On June 20, 2012, Ms. Rossman-Benjamin delivered a speech at the Ahavath Torah Congregation in Stoughton, Massachusetts. During the course of that speech, Ms. Rossman-Benjamin described anti-Semitic incidents at the University of California. Ms. Rossman-Benjamin attributed some responsibility for contemporary campus anti-Semitism to two organizations, Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslim Students Association. Rossman-Benjamin also stated that some members of these organizations have had connections with terrorist organizations. In response to that synagogue presentation, student activists at the University of California have launched a campaign to condemn Rossman-Benjamin. As a result of this campaign, in March 2013, Associated Students at the University of California (ASUC) at Berkeley adopted a resolution that called on outgoing UC President Mark Yudof to condemn Rossman-Benjamin's remarks.
LDB and SPME jointly announced: "We find the accusations against Rossman-Benjamin to be false, scurrilous, and unjustifiable. Over the years, Rossman-Benjamin has tirelessly campaigned against anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli harassment. Perversely, Rossman-Benjamin is now being branded a purveyor of hate speech and Islamophobia precisely because she attempted to expose hate speech which her accusers would prefer to shield from scrutiny."
LDB President Kenneth L. Marcus commented, "I have worked with Tammi Rossman-Benjamin over the years, and I consider her to be a bold and courageous fighter for the civil rights of Jewish college students. It is reprehensible that some people are targeting her for abuse because of her fight against campus anti-Semitism."
SPME President Richard Cravatts added, "We are issuing this statement to set the record straight. We have carefully reviewed the allegations against Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, and we consider them to be completely disingenuous and false. Rossman-Benjamin should be commended for her campaign against campus anti-Semitism, rather than subjected to this sort of intimidation and abuse."
Professor Alvin H. Rosenfeld, Director of The Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism at Indiana University, personally joined the Joint LDB-SPME Statement. "I know Tammi Rossman-Benjamin well," Rosenfeld commented, "and have the highest respect for her work. The allegations against her are patently false. Rossman-Benjamin is a tenacious advocate for students' rights as well as free speech. Hers is a vital, much-needed academic voice, and efforts to silence or intimidate her for her dedicated opposition to campus anti-Semitism need to be strongly resisted."
The LDB-SPME joint statement provides in full as follows:
Joint Statement in Support of Tammi Rossman-Benjamin
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law are committed to the civil and human rights of all students and professors in higher education, and we are firmly opposed to all forms of anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim discrimination. We are also strongly opposed to frivolous assertions of bias that are used to squelch the free exchange of ideas or to intimidate civil rights complainants. For this reason, we must publicly assert our support for University of California at Santa Cruz lecturer Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, a civil rights activist who has lately been subjected to a campaign of calumny, character assassination, and abuse as a result of her courageous advocacy for the civil rights of Jewish college students.
Ms. Rossman-Benjamin is a co-founder of the AMCHA Initiative, an organization that investigates, documents, educates about, and combats anti-Semitism at institutions of higher education in the U.S. In response to Ms. Rossman-Benjamin's complaint, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into such incidents on her own campus.
On June 20, 2012, Ms. Rossman-Benjamin delivered a speech at the Ahavath Torah Congregation in Stoughton, Massachusetts. During the course of that speech, Ms. Rossman-Benjamin described anti-Semitic incidents at the University of California. Ms. Rossman-Benjamin attributed some responsibility for contemporary campus anti-Semitism to two organizations, Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslim Students Association. Ms. Rossman-Benjamin also conveyed widely published reports indicating ties between the MSA and terrorist organizations.
In response, one of these organizations has launched a campaign of character assassination against Ms. Rossman-Benjmain. This campaign has included the use of flyers, blogs, and social media, as well as efforts to influence student governmental organizations. In March 2013, Associated Students at the University of California (ASUC) at Berkeley adopted a resolution "condemning Islamophobic hate speech at the University of California," and called on outgoing UC President Mark Yudof to specifically condemn the "inflammatory, hateful, and racist assumptions by UCSC lecturer Tammi Rossman-Benjamin against Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian students, and Palestinian rights activists."
Like the ASUC, we also condemn Islamophobic hate speech, both at the University of California and wherever else it occurs. However, we also condemn false invocations of Islamophobia that are used to silence or intimidate advocates for civil and human rights.
The ASUC resolution singles out Rossman-Benjamin for her alleged "hate speech," contending that it is part of a continuing pattern "to mischaracterize and chill Palestinian activism" as the result of "a lawsuit filed in July 2011. . . against the UC Regents . . . containing extremely Islamophobic and anti-Arab rhetoric referring to Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslims Students Association as ‘anti-Semitic' and ‘pro-terrorist'" and that her comments "constitute inflammatory, hateful, and racist assumptions . . . against Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian students, and Palestinian rights activists." Ms. Rossman-Benjamin is not a party to the 2011 lawsuit.
We are also concerned about reports indicating that the University of California at Santa Cruz may be taking retaliatory action against Rossman-Benjamin based on her civil rights advocacy and her expression of constitutionally protected free speech. The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has recently warned recipients of federal financial aid that they may not retaliate against civil rights complainants and witnesses. In April 2013, Acting U.S. Secretary of Education advised educational institutions that the "ability of individuals to oppose discriminatory practices, and to participate in OCR investigations and other proceedings, is critical to ensuring equal educational opportunity in accordance with Federal civil rights laws." The failure to do so may be a violation of federal civil rights laws, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
We find the accusations against Rossman-Benjamin to be false, scurrilous, and unjustifiable. Over the years, Rossman-Benjamin has tirelessly campaigned against anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli harassment. Perversely, Rossman-Benjamin is now being branded a purveyor of hate speech and Islamophobia precisely because she attempted to expose hate speech which her accusers would prefer to shield from scrutiny.
Student organizations properly enjoy freedom of speech to express their opinions at public universities, even when those opinions are factually and morally unsupportable. But those who wish to enjoy protected speech and unfettered expression on campuses also should expect that others, with dissenting viewpoints, will, and should, express those as well, especially if, as is the case with Rossman-Benjamin, they perceive the conduct of campus activists to be inimical to a civil community of scholarship and harmful to a targeted group of students.
If victims of anti-Semitism and other forms of prejudice are not allowed to protest instances of this hatred, without fear of persecution, then civil rights violations will go unchecked. Those who wish to exploit academic free speech for their own causes certainly cannot deny that same freedom to others in the marketplace of ideas.
Monday, March 11, 2013
From SPME: A Statement Condemning Current Calls for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Against Israel
From Scholars for Peace in the Middle east:
Now on the heels of "Israel Apartheid Week" (IAW) 2013, currently spreading around the country in over 250 cities, we are seeing a growing push to promote divestiture bills by students and faculty.
Nobel recipients such as Desmond Tutu and Mairead Maguire are abusing their award by weighing in on the vote. Maguire specifically commented on the proposed Stanford initiative by saying, "I salute Stanford University students who are striving to end their own university's complicity in Israel's human rights violations through divesting from companies that are deeply involved in those violations. I stand with you and believe we shall overcome all injustice and all inequality, as we have done before." Additionally, other celebrities, including The Color Purple author Alice Walker, Pink Floyd member Roger Waters, and Leftist professor of history Joel Beinin, have all weighed in to support the initiative and the BDS movement.
On a positive note, we are seeing stake holders and politicians stand up for this vitriol and abuse of academic freedom. One such individual is Canada's Minister of Citizenship Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, who courageously proclaimed, "The disproportionate vitriol directed against the democratic State of Israel during ‘Israel Apartheid Week' stands in stark and ironic contrast to the silence of IAW organizers on the ongoing atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against its own citizens, and on the rampant brutalities and denial of rights in non-democratic countries in the Middle East, and elsewhere in the world. In free societies such as Canada's and Israel's, it is absolutely legitimate to debate and criticize government policies and practices. Indeed, Israel supports the right of free expression more than any other country in its part of the world. But with the freedom to criticize comes the responsibility to guard against hateful and intolerant rhetoric."
Moreover, the faculty at UC San Diego, as one notable example, was able to come together and issue a strong statement opposing a vote there to introduce a divestment initiative, stating, "the most troubling aspect of the resolution is its characterization of Jewish citizens of Israel as ‘colonial occupiers' while Arabs are described as indigenous to the land. In so doing, the resolution denies the profound emotional, cultural, and religious connection of the Jewish people to the land of Israel, a connection that spans 3000 years. This is a deplorable attempt to delegitimize an ancient people's ethnic identity. Rather than advancing the prospect of reconciliation between Arabs and Jews, such claims regress to the very attitude that has been at the heart of the conflict and prevented a peaceful resolution thus far."
Overall, the BDS campaign is contrary to the search for peace, since it represents a form of misguided economic warfare. It is directly in opposition to decades of agreements between Israeli and Arab Palestinians, in which both sides pledged to negotiate a peaceful settlement and a commitment to a two state solution, but only Israel has repeatedly made concessions for peace. Additionally, by focusing exclusively and obsessively on Israel, and not on many other countries in the world where actual human and civil rights abuses exist, the actions of those supporting the BDS campaign are, according to former Harvard University President Lawrence H. Summers, "anti-Semitic in their effect if not in their intent."
SPME urges those committed to peace and justice for the people of a region which has had too much war and violence to join with us in rejecting the politics of hatred that the BDS movement represents and urges all intuitions of higher education to ensure that none of its academic units sponsors this racist, counter-productive campaign in the form of panels, symposia, conferences, or other school-sponsored events that politicize scholarship and are intellectually biased against Israel, as recently occurred, for instance, at Brooklyn College involving the School's Political Science Department
Therefore, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East condemns all efforts to use academia to promote boycotts, divestiture, and sanctions against Israel, including the promotion by student governments of resolutions calling for divestiture, as they represent an abandonment of scholarly principles, a degradation of campus civility, and a violation of the precepts of unbiased, rational academic inquiry.
A Statement Condemning Current Calls for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Against Israel (h/t Fousesquawk)
Pronouncements attempting to appeal to the conscience of academics
supportive of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement
often depict Israel as a Nazi-like state. These views—once labeled
extreme—have become increasingly mainstream as academics call for
Israel's destruction, not by might or power but by bad analogies and
misguided ideas.
A careful look at the BDS movement and its methodology shows not legitimate criticism but a movement that is racist and anti-Semitic. Why? Because BDS clearly targets Israel. Its stated goals vary but all include the "right of return" for Palestinian "refugees." The effort is cloaked to give the impression that ending specific Israeli policies, such as the "occupation" or "apartheid," would also end efforts to ostracize Israel and would result in peace for the region. Yet their maximalist demand —the flood of Palestinian refugees, which would mean the end of Israel as a Jewish state—is carefully hidden.
Now on the heels of "Israel Apartheid Week" (IAW) 2013, currently spreading around the country in over 250 cities, we are seeing a growing push to promote divestiture bills by students and faculty.
Nobel recipients such as Desmond Tutu and Mairead Maguire are abusing their award by weighing in on the vote. Maguire specifically commented on the proposed Stanford initiative by saying, "I salute Stanford University students who are striving to end their own university's complicity in Israel's human rights violations through divesting from companies that are deeply involved in those violations. I stand with you and believe we shall overcome all injustice and all inequality, as we have done before." Additionally, other celebrities, including The Color Purple author Alice Walker, Pink Floyd member Roger Waters, and Leftist professor of history Joel Beinin, have all weighed in to support the initiative and the BDS movement.
On a positive note, we are seeing stake holders and politicians stand up for this vitriol and abuse of academic freedom. One such individual is Canada's Minister of Citizenship Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, who courageously proclaimed, "The disproportionate vitriol directed against the democratic State of Israel during ‘Israel Apartheid Week' stands in stark and ironic contrast to the silence of IAW organizers on the ongoing atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against its own citizens, and on the rampant brutalities and denial of rights in non-democratic countries in the Middle East, and elsewhere in the world. In free societies such as Canada's and Israel's, it is absolutely legitimate to debate and criticize government policies and practices. Indeed, Israel supports the right of free expression more than any other country in its part of the world. But with the freedom to criticize comes the responsibility to guard against hateful and intolerant rhetoric."
Moreover, the faculty at UC San Diego, as one notable example, was able to come together and issue a strong statement opposing a vote there to introduce a divestment initiative, stating, "the most troubling aspect of the resolution is its characterization of Jewish citizens of Israel as ‘colonial occupiers' while Arabs are described as indigenous to the land. In so doing, the resolution denies the profound emotional, cultural, and religious connection of the Jewish people to the land of Israel, a connection that spans 3000 years. This is a deplorable attempt to delegitimize an ancient people's ethnic identity. Rather than advancing the prospect of reconciliation between Arabs and Jews, such claims regress to the very attitude that has been at the heart of the conflict and prevented a peaceful resolution thus far."
Overall, the BDS campaign is contrary to the search for peace, since it represents a form of misguided economic warfare. It is directly in opposition to decades of agreements between Israeli and Arab Palestinians, in which both sides pledged to negotiate a peaceful settlement and a commitment to a two state solution, but only Israel has repeatedly made concessions for peace. Additionally, by focusing exclusively and obsessively on Israel, and not on many other countries in the world where actual human and civil rights abuses exist, the actions of those supporting the BDS campaign are, according to former Harvard University President Lawrence H. Summers, "anti-Semitic in their effect if not in their intent."
SPME urges those committed to peace and justice for the people of a region which has had too much war and violence to join with us in rejecting the politics of hatred that the BDS movement represents and urges all intuitions of higher education to ensure that none of its academic units sponsors this racist, counter-productive campaign in the form of panels, symposia, conferences, or other school-sponsored events that politicize scholarship and are intellectually biased against Israel, as recently occurred, for instance, at Brooklyn College involving the School's Political Science Department
Therefore, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East condemns all efforts to use academia to promote boycotts, divestiture, and sanctions against Israel, including the promotion by student governments of resolutions calling for divestiture, as they represent an abandonment of scholarly principles, a degradation of campus civility, and a violation of the precepts of unbiased, rational academic inquiry.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Scholars for Peace in the Middle east present: Is Peace Possible Between the Israelis and Palestinians?
It’s been almost 20 years since the Oslo Peace Accords, and we are
nowhere closer to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. With the
rise of Islamist movements in the region, including Hamas and the Muslim
Brotherhood, the prospect of peace looks even more bleak. Yet many
people living in Israel believe that peace is still possible. This panel
will address these complexities as well as the dream of what peace
might look like even now amid the turmoil throughout the Arab world.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has dragged on for more than half a century. The Oslo peace process, initiated with such high hopes in 1993, lurched to a halt, particularly in the last two years when direct Palestinian-Israeli negotiations broke off. Now, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is trying an entirely new approach. On September 23, 2011, he applied to the UN Security Council for Palestine to be admitted as the 194th UN member state.
The panel of scholars will discuss the pros, cons, and impact of this approach. Is it a breakthrough or a setback for peace? Will the UN Security Council approve the application? How will that change facts on the ground and about the peace process? If the Security Council rejects the application, what impact will that have on Palestinian hopes for a state and on peace efforts?
Come hear from and discuss the ramifications of this effort with scholars who are experts in the field.
Donna Robinson Divine
Professor at Smith College, teacher of Middle East Politics and other courses, author of four scholarly books and numerous articles.
Dr. Jonathan Adelman
Professor, University of Denver, author or editor of more than 12 books about international affairs.
Dr. Asaf Romirowsky
Acting Executive
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East
Middle East analyst Asaf Romirowsky is an adjunct scholar at the Foundation for Defense for Democracies and the Middle East Forum. Dr. Romirowsky got his start in the policy world as a research fellow at the Middle East Forum, a Philadelphia-based think tank headed by scholar Daniel Pipes.
Dr. Richard Cravatts
President
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East
Dr. Cravatts has published over 350 articles, op-ed pieces, columns, and chapters in books on campus anti-Semitism; campus free speech; terrorism; Constitutional law; Middle East politics, real estate, and social policy; and he is the author of the forthcoming book, Genocidal Liberalism: The University’s War Against Israel & Jews.
Schedule
UC Davis • Rock Hall
7:30 PM—Monday, January 28
Aggies for Israel
Stanford University • Hillel: Koret Pavilion
7:30 PM—Wednesday, January 30
Stanford Israel Alliance
UC Berkeley • 210 Wheeler Hall
8:00 PM—Tuesday, January 29
Tikvah Students for Israel
UC Santa Cruz • SC Hillel
7:30 PM—Thursday, January 31
Santa Cruz Israel Action Committee
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has dragged on for more than half a century. The Oslo peace process, initiated with such high hopes in 1993, lurched to a halt, particularly in the last two years when direct Palestinian-Israeli negotiations broke off. Now, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is trying an entirely new approach. On September 23, 2011, he applied to the UN Security Council for Palestine to be admitted as the 194th UN member state.
The panel of scholars will discuss the pros, cons, and impact of this approach. Is it a breakthrough or a setback for peace? Will the UN Security Council approve the application? How will that change facts on the ground and about the peace process? If the Security Council rejects the application, what impact will that have on Palestinian hopes for a state and on peace efforts?
Come hear from and discuss the ramifications of this effort with scholars who are experts in the field.
Donna Robinson Divine
Professor at Smith College, teacher of Middle East Politics and other courses, author of four scholarly books and numerous articles.
Dr. Jonathan Adelman
Professor, University of Denver, author or editor of more than 12 books about international affairs.
Dr. Asaf Romirowsky
Acting Executive
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East
Middle East analyst Asaf Romirowsky is an adjunct scholar at the Foundation for Defense for Democracies and the Middle East Forum. Dr. Romirowsky got his start in the policy world as a research fellow at the Middle East Forum, a Philadelphia-based think tank headed by scholar Daniel Pipes.
Dr. Richard Cravatts
President
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East
Dr. Cravatts has published over 350 articles, op-ed pieces, columns, and chapters in books on campus anti-Semitism; campus free speech; terrorism; Constitutional law; Middle East politics, real estate, and social policy; and he is the author of the forthcoming book, Genocidal Liberalism: The University’s War Against Israel & Jews.
Schedule
UC Davis • Rock Hall
7:30 PM—Monday, January 28
Aggies for Israel
Stanford University • Hillel: Koret Pavilion
7:30 PM—Wednesday, January 30
Stanford Israel Alliance
UC Berkeley • 210 Wheeler Hall
8:00 PM—Tuesday, January 29
Tikvah Students for Israel
UC Santa Cruz • SC Hillel
7:30 PM—Thursday, January 31
Santa Cruz Israel Action Committee
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