semitism.net

Last week’s New York Times story on the film “Columbia Unbecoming” was balanced, in the sense that equal weight was given to those who agreed and disagreed with the film’s allegations of intimidation of Jewish students by Arab professors at Columbia University.

But in focusing on the controversy the film caused on campus, the article misses the main point. “Columbia Unbecoming” is part of a larger strategy by the conservative pro-Israel lobby to suppress campus criticism of Israel.

The David Project, which has ties to neoconservative think-tank The Mideast Forum, also belongs to a larger group called The Israel on Campus Coalition. The Coalition is made up of right-wing Jewish organizations such as AIPAC and the Anti-Defamation League. Its goal is “to promote Israel education and advocacy on university campuses across the United States.”.

The Coalition’s strident opposition to dissent is evident in a recent report titled “Tenured or Tenuous: The Role of Faculty in Supporting Israel on Campus“.

Anti-Israel teachings in the classroom create a hostile learning environment for students and place pro-Israel students, in particular, under great pressure. Professors may try to impose their views on students and can coerce them by punishing those who do not agree with them with lower grades or withholding recommendations. Even if professors do not go to such extremes, students may still be intimidated by the fear of retaliation.

The malignant teachings of anti-Israel scholars spreads like a cancerous growth throughout the academy by way of publications and conferences.

It is notable how closely the conclusions of “Columbia Unbecoming” - that students are being coerced and intimidated by anti-Israel professors - mirror those of the report. Equally notable are the ways the film bends the truth to reach these conclusions.

• The most dramatic acccusations in the film are based on brief, unsubstantiated public encounters with MEALAC professors by pro-Israel students who never took a class in the department.
• None of the students who complain of intimidation in the documentary made any attempt to notify the University administration of the incidents or to pursue grievances through existing channels at Columbia.
• The filmmakers talked to Jewish students who denied intimidation, but refused to interview them for the film.
• Many of those who were interviewed were misrepresented. Four of the seven students in the film later told Jewish Week that the film was wrong - they had good relationships with their MEALAC professors and there was no intimidation.
• Jewish students who have taken courses in MEALAC are virtually unanimous in their support of the accused professors.

Despite the evidence that the film is a piece of flim-flam, Columbia’s president is under enormous public pressure to address the issues it raises. He has appointed an investigative panel, which will meet twice a week to hear student testimony on the topic and make recommendations.

The Times observes:

A curious facet of the dispute is that for the most part, the complaining students seem much less angry than people on the periphery. For instance, Mr. Schoenfeld, [a student featured in the film] who took only a few Mealac courses and has graduated, said he has no problem with the department and did not find it unbalanced. He does not think Professor Massad should be fired.

On the other hand, an assistant professor in the medical school sent an e-mail message to Professor Massad, saying: “Go back to Arab land where Jew hating is condoned. Get the hell out of America. You are a disgrace and a pathetic typical Arab liar.”

And therein lies the point. The film was not made to help students who were threatened by professors. It was made to expose and intimidate academic critics of Israel. This is part of the political strategy of the far-right Israel-expansionist groups that make up the Israel on Campus Coalition. The film’s intended audience is the periphery.

Regardless of what the panel recommends, The David Project has already accomplished its goal. Columbia is at the center of a major controversy. The school’s reputation is tarnished, and donors and alumnae are putting pressure on the president to end the publicity by getting rid of offending faculty.

It is impossible to gauge the institutional damage from the quarrel. Some faculty members say alumni have told them they will withhold donations. Other professors say some parents are directing their children elsewhere. “Parents of Jewish students have said to me, given the turmoil at Columbia, I think I’ll send my kid to Penn,” one professor said.

Most importantly, academic institutions all over the country have been put on notice: watch what your faculty members say about Israel. We can do the same thing to you.