To right: Unemployed, down and out. Anti-Semite Joel Kovel
The malicious anti-Semite Joel Kovel, author of the Israel-bashing hate propaganda diatribe, Overcoming Zionism, published by the anti-Semitic "Pluto Press," has been fired by Bard College. His "book" calls for Israel to be annihilated. It is a demonization of Zionism that is no doubt popular in Iran, and it is celebrated on the web sites of Neo-Nazis and Holocaust Deniers. Betsy Kellman, director of the Michigan Anti-Defamation League chapter, has described the book as dealing in "anti-Semitic canards." A shallow Marxist, Kovel had been the "Alger Hiss Professor of Social Studies" at Bard, a title so funny I really would not know where to begin to mock it!
Bard is generally one of the most extremist monolithically Far Left colleges in the US, and also one of the least respectable academically. To its credit, the wonderful Prof. Jacob Neusner taught there for many years. For a while Bard even lost its academic accreditation altogether. Some call it Osama Bard Laden.
Was the pseudo-scholar Kovel too much of a bigot even for Bard? Actually Bard claims Kovel was canned all because of money. Bard lost some serious money in the scam run by Uncle Bernie (Madoff).
The full story is here.
Note the delicious part of that news story, in which Kovel accuses Bard of being a Zionist lapdog institution:
'His faculty letter concluded this way: .If the world stands outraged at
Israeli aggression in Gaza, it should also be outraged at institutions in the United States that grant Israel impunity. In my view, Bard College is one such institution. It has suppressed critical engagement with Israel and Zionism, and therefore has enabled abuses such as have occurred and are occurring in Gaza. This notion is of course, not just descriptive of a place like Bard. It is also the context within which the critic of such a place and the Zionist ideology it enables becomes marginalized, and then removed.... In his letter, Kovel argues that his position at Bard deteriorated as his opposition to Zionism grew and became more public.'
Poor baby - muzzled and prevented from bashing Israel on campus!! We know how rare it is to find bigots denouncing Israel and Jews on American campuses these days. But who knows, perhaps the University of Tehran is hiring? Actually, Bard College is ganging up with the Hamas "school" calling itself Al-Quds University in "educational collaboration." I guess Bard will help the Hamas build rockets with longer ranges to be able to hit more Jewish children.
Kovel, who appears sometimes with Ben Gurion University's own venomous Israel hater Neve Gordon, currently the chairman of the department of political science there, is the latest in the list of anti-Semitic pseudo-academics to be canned from academic institutions. He now joins Norman Finkelstein, Ward Churchill, and others on the list of recipients of unemployment insurance. We wonder if Ben Gurion University will ever have the courage of DePaul University and Bard College and evict its full-time anti-Israel pseudo-scholarly propagandists!
Meanwhile Kovel's anti-Semitic "book" was distributed for a while by the University of Michigan, but they later repudiated it and stopped the distribution. Pluto Press has published dozens of anti-Semitic and pro-Syrian books and is thought to have financial ties to the Syrian Baathists.
The leftist moonbatocracy is having hysterics and numerous web sites are bellowing about the "Israel Lobby" suppressing academic freedom. Now where have we heard that before?
Crybaby Kovel issued his own statement, carried here. You will note that he spends much of the time in this statement bragging about his "scholarly credentials" consisting of a series of bash-Israel articles for Tikkun Magazine, the pro-LSD anti-Israel hippy magazine run by pseudo-rabbi Michael Lerner.
If you would like to send a Yasher Koach to the heads of Bard for this uncharacteristically courageous decision, write:
President Leon Botstein: president@bard.edu
Executive Vice-President Dimitri Papadimitriou: dpapadimitrou@bard.edu
5 comments:
Anti-Zionism -- opposition to the State of Israel as a special province for Jews (or any religion), to the detriment of others living there -- is hardly anti-Semitic as this author claims.
Many Jews in the United States -- and I include myself among them -- are becoming increasingly fed up with Israel's actions, which it purports to take in the name of Jews everywhere, and so warrants special attention by Jews everywhere.
The state of Israel itself, and not those who criticize it, has become the Jewish peoples' own worst enemy. (Is it any wonder that fundamentalist -- that is "fascist" -- Christianity is the largest and most powerful supporter of the State of Israel and its actions in the world?)
Joel Kovel is a brilliant author. Read his book! I found it filled with sometimes very personal, other times historical insights that spoke deeply to me.
You can mock him all you want, but just be aware that by doing so it is YOU who are attacking the best of what Judaism has to offer, as well as defending a new blacklist occurring in universities of Jews whose scholarship is impecable but who are fired precisely because of their conclusions that follow from their excellent research.
And, by doing so, you increasingly alienate more Jews in the U.S. who are learning to absolutely hate what Israel has become, and what it is doing in our name. That's not what the Judaism I learned all those years in Hebrew School and since is supposed to be about.
Mitchel Cohen
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, NY
Your article about Joel Kovell. I do not necessarily agree with all of his view points but as a Jew and a strong advocate for academic freedom I am opposed to all purging of academics because of their politcal views. This smells like the McCarthy years of blacklisting. Just like Norm Finkelstein who's next? They will come for you next on the far right.
Joel Kovell needs to have his job reinstated right away.
Your blog does not speak on my behalf as a sephardic Jew. There are many Jews like myself that support a two state solution ending the occupation in the West Bank. The settlers are nothing but religious finatics from Brooklyn that don't serve a day in the IDF yet allow other Israelis to be killed in action. This is now how I was brought up in Hebrew School.
Our tax dollars does not need to gop towards occupation in the Palestinain territories.$2.5 billion could jump start and help the unemployed here in the US. No more military aid to Israel,Saudi Arabia,Kuwait,etc.
Money for jobs not for the military industrialized complex as the great Dwight D Eisenhower warned us about.
Call me what you want I can care less if you call me a self hating Jew. I am only posting this because I care a lot about Israel's future.
I ask my fellow American Jews not to be fooled by unconditional support for Israel. The Christian Right such as the Jerry Fallwells and Pat Robertsons only have one agenda. They are the real anti semites their agenda is give us all the weapons to kill all the Arabs and than the right Wing Christian Coalition will than try to force convert us to Christianity or die like they did during the inquisition 1492 Spain.
As for Aln Dershowitz I am hereby issuing a PIE Fatwa against him to have him PIED for his actions advocating torture. he should be fired from Harvard how about that.
How dare you speak on behalf of me and other American Jews.
Jeff Peress
Long Island,NY
"WHEN PIES ARE OUTLAWED OUTLAWS WILL THROW PIES"
"YIPPIES ARE BACK!!!!!!! COMING TO A NEIGHBOURHOOD NEAR YOU"
"Anti-Zionism ... is hardly anti-Semitic as this author claims."
Anti-Zionism is the prominent form of Jew-hatred in our day. It is the acceptable banner under which all Jew-hatred today is expressed in "polite society" today.
"Many Jews in the United States -- and I include myself among them -- are becoming increasingly fed up with Israel's actions,..."
Many Jews are hardly Jewish in their minds, but assimilated to the pagan religion of today: Political Correctness, or more accurately, Cultural Marxism.
"This smells like the McCarthy years of blacklisting."
McCarthy happened to be quite right. Because he was not listened to, now 50 years afterward the United States of America has a Marxist for a president, acting in opposition to everything America stands for.
"Your blog does not speak on my behalf as a sephardic Jew."
You mean it does not speak on your behalf personally. "Sephardic" has nothing to do with it. The race card is as equally invalid here as it is in America.
"There are many Jews like myself that support a two state solution ending the occupation in the West Bank."
Maybe in the United States, but not in Israel. Has something to do with being in proximity to the situation, I guess.
"The settlers are nothing but religious finatics from Brooklyn..."
The first Zionists were nothing but idealistic fanatics from Russia and Yemen. If they were right, then so are the Jews of Judea and Samaria; and if the Jews of Judea and Samaria are wrong, then so were the first Zionists.
"This is now how I was brought up in Hebrew School."
Then you ought to question that Hebrew School. Maybe they missed teaching a few things.
"The Christian Right such as the Jerry Fallwells and Pat Robertsons only have one agenda. They are the real anti semites..."
It's possible. However, weighing the future possibility of a Christian Right offensive against the Jews and the present reality of the Marxist Left war on us, I know which should be given higher priority.
"[Dershowitz] should be fired from Harvard how about that."
I thought you were for academic freedom? Or does it apply only to anti-Zionists like Kovell?
"How dare you speak on behalf of me and other American Jews."
How dare you say you care about Israel's future? You spout nothing but anti-Zionist diatribes. Anti-Zionism is the new Nazism. Anti-Zionism is treason against the Jewish people. Concessions to the "Palestinian nation" are Jewish self-destruction.
"YIPPIES ARE BACK!!!!!!! COMING TO A NEIGHBOURHOOD NEAR YOU"
Radicals from the 1960's are Marxist traitors, all of them. McCarthy was right.
So wait, are you for the firing of Joel Kovel because he is an anti-Zionist? This ties in perfectly with your undying support of a theocracy committing such atrocious acts in recent times! Go ahead and spend your life defending them; if my people have turned into people like you I denounce Judaism.
"Bard is generally one of the most extremist monolithically Far Left colleges in the US, and also one of the least respectable academically."
You might want to check U.S.News & World Report on that one..jackass.
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