Excellent piece by Juan Cole on the persecution of Joseph Massad at Columbia
an its disturbing implications -
The new McCarthyism
A witch hunt against a Columbia professor, and the New York Times'
disgraceful support for it, represent the gravest threat to academic freedom
in decades.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Juan Cole
April 22, 2005 | A member of the U.S. Congress calls for an assistant
professor at a major university to be summarily fired. The right-wing
tabloid press runs a series of vicious attacks on him, often misquoting him
and perpetuating previous misquotes. Opinion pieces attacking "tenured
radicals" and questioning professors' patriotism use him as their
centerpiece. All of these attacks are spurred by a propaganda film made by
an advocacy group, in which anonymous accusations are made and the professor
is not given an opportunity to respond to the allegations.
It is not 1953, the Congress member is not Sen. Joseph McCarthy, and the
professor is not being accused of being a communist. No, it is 2005, the
Congress member is Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., and the professor is being
accused of being anti-Israel.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2005/04/22/mccarthy/index.html
(You just have to click a page and watch an ad to read it)
All the best
A
Alison Croggon
Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
Editor, Masthead: http://masthead.net.au
Home page: http://alisoncroggon.com
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