Lobby Watch 14 September 2014
A display at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign protests the firing of Steven Salaita and limits on academic freedom.
The Amcha Initiative, the Zionist organization that has repeatedly intimidated, spied on and harassed students and faculty, appears to be escalating its campaign by publishing what amounts to a target list of “anti-Israel” professors.
Amcha says that the list is made up of “218 professors identifying themselves as Middle East scholars, who recently called for the academic boycott of Israel in a petition.”
It links to an item at Jadaliyya titled “Over 100 Middle East Studies Scholars and Librarians Call for the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions.”
“Students who wish to become better educated on the Middle East without subjecting themselves to anti-Israel bias, or possibly even antisemitic rhetoric, may want to check which faculty members from their university are signatories before registering,” Amcha says.
It urges people to “Share this list with your family, friends, and associates via email, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, or word-of-mouth.”
“Thank you for your actions to protect Jewish students!,” Amcha’s posting concludes.
In the wake of the University of Illinois’ firing of American Indian Studies professor Steven Salaita over his opinions critical of Israel, Amcha’s move can be seen as a renewed effort at intimidation.
Amcha states that it is “troubling” that “many of these patently biased boycotters of Israel are affiliated with government-designated, taxpayer-funded National Resource Centers (NRC) on their campuses.”
It alleges that those pledging to boycott Israeli institutions complicit in Israeli crimes against Palestinians “have violated both the letter and spirit of the federal law which funds their teaching and research.”
Anti-Palestinian groups have previously tried to use the presence of public funding as a pretext to try to suppress free speech and academic freedom.
In one such effort tied to Amcha, a pro-Israel group tried repeatedly to persuade the State of California and other government bodies to prosecute California mathematics professor David Klein for supposedly “misusing” state resources by using his university-hosted personal website to criticize Israel and call for boycott.
Amcha’s claim that disseminating a list of professors calling for Israel to be held accountable can somehow “protect Jewish students” is based on the anti-Semitic stereotype that Israel represents all Jews and that all Jews identify with Israel or are collectively responsible for its actions.
This is exactly this kind of bogus association that lay behind the University of Illinois officials’ justifications for their firing of Salaita.
What is Amcha?
Amcha was founded by Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, a Hebrew lecturer at the University of California at Santa Cruz.
Rossman-Benjamin is a notorious anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim activist with a history of litigious threats against students and faculty.
An exclusive investigation by The Electronic Intifada earlier this year revealed that Amcha had infiltrated a student trip to Palestine in 2012, confirming long-held activist suspicions that anti-Palestinian political groups are spying on student activists.
An attorney told The Electronic Intifada that such surveillance could be in violation of several laws.
Rossman-Benjamin herself has been caught on video making virulently racist statements against students involved in Palestine solidarity activism on campus.
But despite protests by students, the University of California has taken no action in response to Rossman-Benjamin’s activities.
This type of complicity by university administrations has sadly been the norm and undoubtedly emboldens groups like Amcha to escalate their attacks on academic freedom and those who practice it.
Comments
Count me In!!
Permalink Christopher Jensen replied on
If what is right is to stand up, then I, Christopher Jensen, an affiliated instructor at the University of Alaska, Anchorage for the OLE program in computer science, stands up with the 218 professors in America who believe we must stand up and teach our students what is right, just, and Christian!!
Protect Jewish students from what....
Permalink Peter Lake replied on
.... learning about the Nakba? Learning that Israel is not the saintly state that we've all been indoctrinated to believe it was?
protecting jewish students from what
Permalink Tee replied on
Exactly, just as the barbaric terrorist state of Israel uses the holocaust to pretend that they give a toss about holocaust victims.
AMCHA
Permalink Terry Gosden replied on
I see that this organisation AMCHA acting within America against Americans as very strange as I was led to believe that there was a Lwa which enabled freedom of speech.
If I or my family wanted to study the Middle East I would use this list to discriminate against those who do not stand up for peace and justice. If Israel is so Moral, and the claimed only democratically elected government in that region, why is it so scared of public scrutiny.
Why should it place so much pressure on America to boycott any UN vote on the matter.
And why is American foreign policy dictated by a foreign country, against the good standing of both itself, and individual Americans residing throughout the World.
It's your mess, and if you can see what the Worlds opinion is of you, on this issue, I truly believe you would be shocked. Not maybe at Government level, but on the streets. This is not Anti Semitic, but in defence of a Palestinians, living under occupation in their own land.
If it were the other way round, then if would write the same with Palestinians replaced by Zionist, and would still be in opposition to the awful situation which is being supported by the American Government.
Why is the American public only being allowed to hear what one side wants them to, this is unbalanced, unfair, and I truly believe, Un-American.
The Jewish group Amcha has NO SHAME or CONSCIENCE
Permalink Rima Najjar replied on
Let’s call for an honor list of academics who stand up against the Jewish state
FACT:
ONLY THROUGH VIOLENCE, ETHNIC CLEANSING, SUBJUGATION & OPPRESSION OF PALESTINIANS, BOTH CHRISTAN & MUSLIM, IS IT POSSIBLE FOR THE ZIONIST JEWISH STATE TO EXIST
In their shameless published blacklist of professors in Middle Eastern Studies at American universities, the Jewish pro-Israel activist group called AMCHA asks: "How can professors who are so biased against the Jewish state accurately or fairly teach students about Israel or the Arab-Israel conflict?"
The answer is: Professors "biased against the Jewish state" are professors who understand and can teach the Palestine-Israel conflict accurately and fairly by revealing to their students the degenerate nature at the heart of the Zionist Jewish state and exposing Zionist hasbara. Notice how the AMCHA smear group of Nazi monitors can't even bring themselves to use the word "Palestine" in describing the conflict. That's because they absurdly and viciously deny that Palestine and the Palestinians exist, even as they self-righteously (and properly so) come down hard on the Jewish Holocaust deniers.
But they have NO SHAME or CONSCIENCE when they deny the Palestinian Nakba or justify it.
EXPOSE #ZIONISM, the root cause of conflict in the Middle East - join the academic boycott of Israel as thousands of professors from all disciplines and from all over the world are doing and expose its rotten core. Share with your family, friends, and associates via email, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, or word-of-mouth.
WHAT DOES ZIONISM, THE ROOT CAUSE OF ISRAEL'S VIOLENCE IN HISTORIC PALESTINE, MEAN IN PRACTICE?
It means that Israel has A RIGHT TO SUBJUGATE & DISPOSSESS the Palestinian people and give their lands & property to Jews. It has the right to brutally stamp out any Palestinian resistance. And these rights are endowed, not by the Creator, but by military power, the United States and its allies.
....
Soooo, just to be clear on this,
Permalink Crunchy replied on
BDS is OK, boycott of Israeli (sorry, ZIONIST) universities, products, companies, whatever, is OK, but when an Israeli posts a list of anti-semitic or anti-Israeli professors online, then that's not OK?
I see.
Reply
Permalink Terry Gosden replied on
Yes it is
OK to Boycott a regime which suppresses the native population of a country and commits crimes, killing and incarcerating children. Everyone seems to say the mantra Israel ( Palestine) has the right to defend itself. Under international law, the Pallestinians have the right to resist. And if it were not for your elected representatives voting for a foreign entity, the Zionist regime would have been taken to task. And not destroyed as you are given to believe. And if you had a fair and balanced education on this issue. You would understand.
But obviously
Permalink Crunchy replied on
my comment got deleted.
LOL I don't know why I even bother.
There is a difference.
Permalink Jill F replied on
"Blacklisting" individuals is not the same as boycotting a business or a state. It's personal. It's an attempt to intimidate and persecute these individuals and prevent them from working and earning a living. It also endangers them, makes them a target for violent extremists. Businesses and states are non-human, artificially created public entities and do not have the same rights as humans--such as the right to life and privacy. A boycott is an ethical nonviolent way for ordinary people to make a statement and attempt to persuade much more powerful entities to reconsider their policies. It's not a personal attack on an individual.
Amcha hypocrisy
Permalink brenda replied on
Thanks for pointing out the flawed logic that underlies Amcha's (and those of similar) so-called defensive cries, namely that "Israel represents all Jews and that all Jews identify with Israel." Judaism deserves respect; Israel does not. They are far, far from synonymous.
Would Amcha be willing to publish a list of pro-Israeli academics? After all, Amcha asks "How can professors who are so biased against the Jewish state accurately or fairly teach students about Israel or the Arab-Israel conflict?" Should we not likewise ask "How can professors who are so biased FOR the Jewish state accurately or fairly teach students about Israel or the Arab-Israel conflict?"
More importantly, we should refrain from ostracizing any academic who voices an opinion, instead insisting that we seek out facts for ourselves. We know that all presentations of an issue hold some degree of bias. The trick is not to be swayed by soundbites, but to become intellectually self-reliant.
What are the Zio-Klanners at Amcha so afraid of?
Permalink Zionism Is Not Judaism replied on
Of course these would be defilers of the Jewish faith have no respect for academic freedom and freedom of speech. These modern day Theodore Bilbos have no respect for Judaism (by using it as a justification for their racism and their crimes), what makes one think they would have respect for anything that would empower and enable freedom, equality or democracy?
It is time to expose and confront these haters and retrogrades where ever and whenever we can.
Target list of “Pro-Balfour Declaration Thieves”
Permalink Marwan Yassir replied on
lot of suggestions for the Medias that are taking position against (ISRAEL=THIEVES OF PALESTINE STATE), In relation to the subject raised here, I would like to suggest the medias initiating a list of (Pro-balfour declaration thieves 1917). Hope you can keep contact for a meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE , for more. Please E-mail for further arrangement.
linking to sites like amcha
Permalink jon replied on
when linking to sites like amcha, you may want to use donotlink.com. it's a tool that allows you to link to a site without improving its search engine ranking.
keep up the good work ali abunimah!
List of professors
Permalink Joanne Loster replied on
Despite my own opinion, free speech allows any organization to publish anything. You need not agree. You can fight back with words,. You should. but be careful before saying they have no right to do this. Once freedom of speech is gone we are all its victims and can effect no changes in society