In recent months, Limor Livnat, the Likud Minister of Education, has gone on a jihad against attempts by faculty members at universities and colleges in Israel to misuse and exploit the classroom for purposes of political indoctrination. In particular, she singled out Lev Grinberg, a sociologist from Ben-Gurion University and Avraham Oz, a theater professor at the University of Haifa, as people who have abused their position by attempting to indoctrinate students in their classrooms with their leftist extremist political agenda. That, however, is not even the tip of the iceberg of abuse.

There is nothing wrong with professors having political opinions, and - this will come as a grand surprise to some of you - I actually have a firm opinion or two of my own on matters of the day. But I have always maintained a solid separation barrier between my political opinions, which I feel free to express in the media and internet, and my classroom. The simple fact of the matter is that very few, if any, of my students even have the slightest idea of what my political opinions are, other than about matters of economic policy (which I teach, and even then I give Keynesians equal time for rebuttal), unless they stumbled on my articles on their own on the web.

None have ever suggested that politics has anything to do with grading or performance in my courses and some of my best students have been Arabs and Jewish leftists. Most of my students would be astonished to learn that I am not a true believer in Oslo, that I do not vote Meretz, and that I tend to support Republicans over Democrats. There is no way they could learn any of those things about me inside my classroom.

But Israeli academia operates under very different rules from those in my classroom. Israeli universities have long been in large part North Korean-style "re-education camps," in which politically incorrect non-leftist opinions are exorcised from the minds of young students. Israeli faculty from the extremist Left, especially in the humanities and the soft social sciences (political "science", sociology), see it as their sacred duty to utilize their bully pulpits in the classroom to intimidate students who refuse to mouth leftist homilies. While such bullying is familiar on American campuses, I suspect it is even worse in Israel.

The perpetrator of an attempt at classroom indoctrination described below is none other than Neve Gordon, the leftist extremist who believes that Israel is a fascist, terrorist, apartheid state, whose articles are published on Nazi and Holocaust-denial web sites, and who apparently believes freedom of speech should be restricted to leftists, while critics of the Left should be sued in harassment SLAPP suits for "libel".

I would like to ask you to read the following eyewitness account of just such an indoctrination session, held at Ben-Gurion University by Gordon in recent days. If you are as outraged by this as I am, please write to the Israeli Minister of Education and to the officials of Ben-Gurion University (addresses at the end of the article). Please urge them to take action against those involved in political indoctrination in the Ben-Gurion University classroom, and especially those involved in the following incident.

Eyewitness report from a Ben-Gurion University Classroom by Joshua Kahn (he can be reached at orple@riseup.net):

"The lecture began smoothly, with Neve Gordon giving a theoretical explanation of human rights (including the fundamental human right of free speech). It soon, however, turned very political. He presented a slideshow about the 'Separation Wall' and the injustices it causes to the Palestinians. He made many mentions of land being 'confiscated' by the Israelis and the 'humiliation' caused to the Palestinians due to lack of movement throughout the territories. On his power-point presentation, he mentioned that parts of the fence were electrified. However, I then corrected him that they were just electric monitors. He conceded on this point.

"My fellow students and I challenged him on his accusations and he became frustrated and lashed back due to the questions. He said he was more Zionist then any of us on the basis that he lives in Israel (although some in the class, including myself, are currently making Aliyah). He condescendingly remarked that we were just full of American propaganda. He then requested that we stop asking questions and try to learn something.

"I made a comment that Israel is in a war and fences and separation are necessary. He then made a comment about how during war millions of Jews were thrown in ovens. I asked him if he was comparing the situation in Israel to Nazi Germany and he did not answer. He then made another comparison of fenced in Palestinians and ghettos in Germany. He also claimed that when Jordan took control of the West Bank it was legal, but when the Israelis won the territory in war it was illegal.

"At the end, I was able to approach him. I asked how he could possibly justify standing in solidarity with Arafat after the Passover seder massacre. He became agitated and admitted that the picture has caused him troubles.

"I then asked how he could sue another professor for exercising his right to freedom of speech. He responded that we as Americans don't understand that in Israel it is acceptable to sue in such a case for libel and that in Israel his case is reasonable. I asked how he could use the Israeli system for his own profit when he criticizes it so greatly. He demanded to know if I thought he was anti-Semitic and if I knew what Professor Steven Plaut had said about him. I responded by saying I knew and could understand how people could come to that conclusion. He said that both Professor Plaut and he himself live under Israeli law and he has a right to use it to his advantage (even though he doesn't recognize Israeli law with regard to the fence or other security issues). He then said that Plaut should be responsible for what he said about Gordon and then stated that Plaut 'will pay.' Another student shouted, 'Don't be so sure.'

"He left in a huff, seeming very frustrated, annoyed, and agitated."

[End of eyewitness report.]

The eyewitness above is a student from overseas taking courses in the political science department at Ben-Gurion University and the incidents above took place in a course on conflict resolution in which Gordon gave the lecture.

If you would like to contact Limor Livnat, Minister of Education, about the above events, please write to:

Minister Limor Livnat
Ministry of Education - Minister's Office
Kiryat Ben Gurion
Jerusalem
Fax: 972-2-6753726
Email: llivnat@knesset.gov.il

To let the officials at Ben-Gurion University know what you think of this sort of classroom political indoctrination, contact:

Professor Avishay Braverman
President, Ben-Gurion University
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Beer-Sheva 84105 Israel
Fax: 972-8-647-2937
E-mail: avishay@bgumail.bgu.ac.il

Professor Jimmy Weinblatt
Rector, Ben-Gurion University
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
Tel. 972-7-6461105
Fax: 972-7-6472945
E-mail: weinb@bgumail.bgu.ac.il

Professor Avishai Henik
Dean of Social Sciences
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
P.O.B.653
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
972-8-6472945
E-mail: henik@bgumail.bgu.ac.il

And a copy should be sent also to:

American Associates of Ben-Gurion University
1430 Broadway
8th Floor
New York, NY 10018
Phone: 212-687-7721
Fax: 212-302-6443
E-mail: info@aabgu.org
Lis Gaines, President
Vivien K. Marion, Executive Vice President