Daily Archives: October 14, 2012

In August 2009, an Israeli academic and political activist by the name of Neve Gordon published an Op-Ed article in the Los Angeles Times in which he reluctantly called for a gradual international boycott against his own nation. Gordon felt that such dramatic action was required to overcome the deep structural inequities between Jews and Arabs in Israeli society and the occupied territories, and to force the government back toward the goal of a two-state solution.

Three years later, Gordon's academic home, the Department of Politics and Government of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, is on the verge of being closed down by the Israeli Council for Higher Education, a highly unusual act in Israel. It is hard not to draw a direct line between Gordon's call for a boycott and the council's impending decision on Oct. 23.

A committee appointed by the council in 2010 to review all political science departments in Israeli universities arrived at a rather discordant set of conclusions regarding the department at BGU. On one hand, it made suggestions that one often finds in external reviews of university departments, proposing curricular changes, a more coherent undergraduate program and three to four additional faculty hires.

But the committee also trained its attention on the "community activism" of the department's members, many of whom, like Gordon, are highly critical of Israeli government policy. Following that, it made a vaguely articulated call for "a balance of views in the curriculum and the classroom." If changes were not made, the committee opined, "Ben-Gurion University should consider closing the Department of Politics and Government."

In fact, changes were made, to the satisfaction of the committee chair. But the Council for Higher Education appointed another committee that persists in recommending that the department be essentially closed down.

Why should this matter to us? First, academic freedom by which I mean not an approved set of pro/con views but rather tolerance in and outside the classroom for diverse perspectives argued logically and respectfully is an important foundation of democracy in the United States, in Israel and around the world.

Second, we in California are familiar with attempts to set limits on academic freedom. Over the last decade, self-anointed guardians of academic freedom have attempted to upend it by insisting on balance in university courses or on limitations on the right of free speech by faculty members and students. The most recent attempt is House Resolution 35, which was passed in the Assembly in August. This "nonbinding" resolution urged California's state universities to combat anti-Semitism on campus. That sounds good, but as framed, it could have the effect of censoring views critical of Israeli policy.

Efforts to infringe on academic freedom have deep roots in the state. At the dawn of the McCarthy era, California mandated that public employees, including UC professors, sign a loyalty oath requiring them to forswear any allegiance to the Communist Party. Famously, in 1949 the German-born medieval historian Ernst Kantorowicz refused to sign such an oath, though he was hardly a communist. Kantorowicz's grounding as a medievalist and his experience as a person of Jewish origin in Nazi Germany led him to conclude that "history shows that it never pays to yield to the impact of momentary hysteria, or to jeopardize, for the sake of temporary or temporal advantages, the permanent or eternal values."

The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the importance of academic freedom in its 1967 Keyishian vs. Board of Regents decision, which overturned a New York law that required teachers to sign a loyalty oath: "Our nation is deeply committed to safeguarding academic freedom, which is of transcendent value to all of us and not merely to the teachers concerned. That freedom is therefore a special concern of the First Amendment, which does not tolerate laws that cast a pall of orthodoxy over the classroom."

It is this very principle that is under siege in Israel. The country's universities, including Ben-Gurion, are internationally renowned for their research prowess and scholarly excellence. They aspire to be cutting-edge centers of research and teaching; to succeed in this task requires openness to a wide and diverse range of opinions, hypotheses and methods. But with the threat to close down the BGU department, that ideal is under assault by the very body entrusted with upholding it.

Read the rest here:
In defense of academic freedom

The irony was blatant and disheartening and sad, but perhaps with a lesson for us.

On a London holiday last weekend, I took advantage of a walk somewhere else to cut between Westminster Cathedral and the Houses of Parliament, just for the experience.

What I actually found was a fiery, though mostly peaceful, demonstration of several hundred Muslims against the dumb, 13-minute anti-Islam Innocence of Muslims video that has provoked riots in Muslim countries around the world, with more than 50 deaths, as well as a fatwa against the filmmaker.

But this was in the very heart of one of the worlds great democracies, literally in the shadow of the House of Commons, where there is the renowned Question Time and the traditional exchange of shouted challenges and insults over public policies.

Yet one of the signs carried by some demonstrators said: Freedom of speech is not freedom to abuse.

Yes it is.

In the United Kingdom, the U.S. and democracies around the world, freedom of speech is the freedom to say almost anything (excepting the fire-in-the-theatre clear and present danger) with the democratic belief that such unfettered debate ultimately will produce the best understanding, ideas, solutions and outcomes.

Those protestors in Parliament Square raging against freedom of speech were enjoying the protection of British democracy. Hopefully, the religious zeal-fueled irony was not lost on the most thoughtful among them.

But the headlines and TV reports, of course, have been mostly about the least thoughtful, the angry, violent and hate-filled minority of Muslims in Egypt, Pakistan, Yemen, Libya and some other Muslim and Arab countries.

Minority, you ask? These mobs?

See original here:
Frank Denton: Freedom of speech versus fatwa

Credit: James Lynch Jr. | The News Herald

Freedom defensive lineman Javairius Bennett (85) chases the East Rutherford quarterback out of the pocket and forces an interception in Friday's 42-14 win.

Freedoms gameplan was to control the clock while churning the ball via the rush. The Patriots accomplished that, galloping for 351 yards rushing en route to a 42-14 South Mountain 2A/3A Conference home triumph against East Rutherford on Friday.

We knew that they were a really good team only losing to Burns by five points, said Freedom coach Mike Helms. I thought this was one of the top three teams we have played up to this point. That is a credit to us. We played really well.

Freedom (7-2, 3-1) utilized the ground attack 52 times (80 percent) compared to 13 plays through the air. Running back David Burgess rushed 25 times for 206 yards and a touchdown, the sixth time this season hes gone for more than 200 all-purpose yards.

The senior standout also eclipsed the 3,000-yard barrier on the ground and now has 3,179 yards rushing in his three-year varsity career. This fall alone, hes at 195 carries for 1,736 yards (8.9 yards per carry)and 20 TDs.

Senior quarterback Shawn Fairchild completed 10 of 13 passes for 84 yards while also rushing 13 times for 46 yards and two touchdowns.

We were looking to come out and set the tone. I think we had a good gameplan coming in. The offensive line did a very good job, said Fairchild. We worked well around (East Rutherfords) blitzing. Coach Helms did a very good job of changing around the play calls. We had a lot of success with the read in the second half, which allowed us to run the ball well.

Freedom junior speedster Khris Gardin returned the opening kickoff 83 yards for a score. The wideout also caught eight passes for 76 yards. ERs first possession was stopped when Patriot linebacker Cameron Storie picked off an Austin Hollifield pass at the Cavs 42. Freedom then put together a seven-play, 42-yard drive capped by Fairchilds 1-yard TD run.

ER (4-5, 2-2) produced a touchdown on a 39-yard pass from Hollifield to Lovell Robinson to make it 14-7, then moved near midfield on the potential tying drive in the second period before Freedoms James Caldwell returned an interception 30 yards inside the red zone. Chris Bridges pounded home a 9-yard run to put the Pats back on top by two scores.

Read the original:
Freedom blows out 3rd straight opponent as Burgess surpasses 3,000 yards

By BILL WARD | TBO.com Published: October 14, 2012 Updated: October 14, 2012 - 12:01 PM

Freedom senior Faith Woodard, the Tampa Tribune's two-time Female Athlete of the Year and an all-Hillsborough County performer in basketball and track and field, made a verbal commitment to Georgetown University following her visit to the historic school this weekend in Washington, D.C.

Woodard made the commitment to the Hoyas' basketball program, a member of the Big East Conference, after experiencing the school's Midnight Madness session Friday night. She said her decision was strongly influenced by the school's academic tradition and location, as well as the reputation of a basketball program that has produced many NBA players. Founded in 1789, Georgetown is the oldest Jesuit and Catholic university in the United States.

''I knew Georgetown was a great school and a great opportunity but coming up here and seeing the campus just solidified everything I thought,'' Woodard said. ''I knew it was Georgetown and USF and it was a really, really tough decision but it came down to Georgetown and the education I can get here.''

''When I saw the Washington Monument, the White House, the memorials -- it was breathtaking. I'm saying to myself 'I'm in Washington, D.C. and the opportunities and connections you can make here are amazing.' I was so excited to be in the midst of that history, it pretty much sealed the deal for me. I'm extremely happy about my decision and relieved I've made it, too.''

The 6-foot-2 Woodard recently transferred to Freedom from Riverview. Last season at Riverview, Woodard was the Sharks' leading scorer and rebounder with 21 points and 11 boards per game. She had more than a dozen other Division offers besides Georgetown and USF, including the University of Southern California and UCF.

After earning first team all-county honors in basketball, Woodard went straight to the track for Riverview. There, she qualified for the Class 4A state finals in four events. There, she won the high jump at 5-8 and placed sixth in 400-meter in 56.74 seconds. Her father, Sterlin Woodard, told the Tampa Tribune his daughter will also compete in the high jump for Georgetown.

Read the original post:
Freedom's Woodard commits to Georgetown

By BILL WARD | TBO.com Published: October 14, 2012 Updated: October 14, 2012 - 12:30 PM

TAMPA Freedom senior Faith Woodard, the Tampa Tribune's two-time Female Athlete of the Year and an all-Hillsborough County performer in basketball and track and field, made a verbal commitment to Georgetown University following her visit to the historic school this weekend in Washington, D.C.

Woodard made the commitment to the Hoyas' basketball program, a member of the Big East Conference, after experiencing the school's Midnight Madness session Friday night. She said her decision was strongly influenced by the school's academic tradition and location, as well as the reputation of a basketball program that has produced many NBA players. Founded in 1789, Georgetown is the oldest Jesuit and Catholic university in the United States.

''I knew Georgetown was a great school and a great opportunity but coming up here and seeing the campusjust solidified everything I thought,'' Woodard said. ''I knew it was Georgetown and USF and it was a really, really tough decision but it came down to Georgetown and the education I can get here.''

''When I saw the Washington Monument, the White House, the memorials it was breathtaking. I'm saying to myself 'I'm in Washington, D.C., and the opportunities and connections you can make here are amazing.' I was so excited to be in the midst of that history, it pretty much sealed the deal for me. I'm extremely happy about my decision and relieved I've made it, too.''

The 6-foot-2 Woodard recently transferred to Freedom from Riverview. Last season at Riverview, Woodard was the Sharks' leading scorer and rebounder with 21 points and 11 boards per game. She had more than a dozen other Division offers besides Georgetown and USF, including the University of Southern California and the University of Central Florida.

After earning first team all-county honors in basketball, Woodard went straight to the track for Riverview. There, she qualified for the Class 4A state finals in four events. There, she won the high jump at 5-8 and placed sixth in 400-meter in 56.74 seconds. Woodard's father, Sterlin Woodard, says his daughter will compete in the high jump for the Hoyas' track team.

Read the rest here:
Freedom's Woodard commits to Georgetown basketball

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held next week in Alabama to commemorate the location where an iconic Freedom Riders bus was burned more than 50 years ago.

On May 14, 1961, on a trip designed to test a Supreme Court decision banning segregation interstate bus segregation, seven members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) departed from Atlanta on a Greyhound bus. An angry white mob met the bus at a station in Anniston, Ala., where its tires were slashed and windows were shattered. The bus driver later stopped to change a tire and the bus was set on fire as passengers were attacked as they fled. Related attacks in Birmingham drew national and international headlines, leading to a crush of new Freedom Riders, many of whom were jailed.

It was an event that fueled the civil rights movement in a very positive way, said Pete Conroy, co-chair of Freedom Riders Park. It was a bad day that created a more positive future.

The parks design has yet to be finalized, but its four-plus acres on Highway 202 near Anniston between Atlanta and Birmingham, Ala., will contain the exact location where the bus was burned, changing the course of the nations civil rights movement.

This is going to be an outdoor park focusing on this piece of the puzzle, Conroy said. The tone will be entirely positive.

Freedom Rider Bill Harbour, one of the first to exit a bus in Montgomery, where he reportedly encountered a mob of 200 people wielding pipes and baseball bats, survived the riots but saw his life changed forever, beginning with his expulsion from Tennessee State University.

This will be a place for education, contemplation and reflection that shows how a bad event triggered good things, unity and wonderful partnerships, Harbour said in a statement.

The two-part event, which is free and open to the public, will also feature musical and guest presentations. Other Freedom Riders, including Charles Person and Hank Thomas, will also be on hand, as will Janie Forsythe McKinney, who, as a young girl, brought water to Thomas as he fled a burning bus.

The event will continue later that evening at Jacksonville State Universitys McClellan Center, where opera singer K.B. Solomon will present a tribute to singer-civil rights activist Paul Robeson.

Im so pleased to have the opportunity to visit my Anniston home, experience the excitement of a new unity and perform to what is sure to be my favorite audience ever, Solomon said in a statement.

Read more:
Freedom Riders Honored At Park Groundbreaking