[News] Leaked email reveals ADL advice to universities urging anti-Palestine crackdown
Anti-Imperialist News
news at freedomarchives.org
Wed Sep 17 12:11:18 EDT 2014
Leaked email reveals ADL advice to universities urging anti-Palestine
crackdown
Submitted by Ali Abunimah on Tue, 09/16/2014 - 21:45
*http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/leaked-email-reveals-adl-advice-universities-urging-anti-palestine-crackdown*
As college students go back to class across the US, the Anti-Defamation
League <http://electronicintifada.net/tags/anti-defamation-league> (ADL)
is urging a renewed crackdown on Palestine solidarity activism on campus
-- and at least one California university leader appears to be receptive.
University of California, Davis
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/university-california-davis>
Chancellor Linda Katehi's office shared an email (full text below
<http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/leaked-email-reveals-adl-advice-universities-urging-anti-palestine-crackdown#email>)
from Seth Brysk, Central Pacific Regional Director for the ADL, with all
of her university's senior leadership on Monday.
The email warns about an upcoming day of action for Palestinian rights
and calls for extra security and "discipline."
It singles out the advocacy group American Muslims for Palestine
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/american-muslims-palestine> (AMP)
for special attention and makes thinly-veiled allegations of anti-Jewish
activity.
The distribution list Katehi's office sent Brysk's memo to includes more
than two dozen top administrators who make up the Council of Deans
<http://provost.ucdavis.edu/councils-and-committees/deans.html> and Vice
Chancellors
<http://www.ucdavis.edu/administration/vice-chancellors.html>, and Nick
Crossley, the "emergency manager" of the UC Davis police department.
Reached by telephone, the ADL's Brysk was unwilling to discuss the email
with The Electronic Intifada. "That was intended for the person I sent
it and I have no comment," Brysk said. "I'm not sure how you got hold of
it and I'm going to hang up now."
Katehi became notorious as the "Pepper Spray Chancellor" after
university police attacked dozens of students protesting peacefully
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/10/uc-davis-pepper-spray-settlement_n_2450631.html>
against tuition fee increases with pepper spray in 2011.
In 2012, Katehi led a delegation of US university leaders
<http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/ucd/katehi-leads-delegation-of-university-leaders-to-israel/>
on a propaganda tour to Israel organized by the American Jewish
Committee's Project Interchange -- an initiative aimed at fostering
support for Israel among US elites.
After Gaza
"We write to you today to provide information and recommendations about
how to respond to conflicts that may arise on your campus due to the
recent conflict in Gaza," the ADL email states.
"In the wake of the recent crisis, anti-Israel organizations are placing
increasing pressure on academic institutions to engage in a 'Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions' (BDS) activities [/sic/]," it adds.
The ADL email warns Katehi to "Be aware of the discourse around the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict that takes place on your campus and the
potential for escalation."
It urges her to "Review student codes of conduct to ensure that activity
which is detrimental to the free exchange of ideas is not allowed on
campus."
It also cites "Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 particularly
the responsibility of the school not only to investigate an incident,
but to take prompt and effective steps to eliminate any hostile
environment" -- an implicit threat of legal action if the university
does not sufficiently crack down on Palestine-related activities.
Targeting Muslim students
The ADL email describes American Muslims for Palestine as "the leading
organization providing anti-Zionist training and education to students
and Muslim community organizations around the country" and alleges that
"AMP advocates for a variety of BDS-related initiatives -- all in an
effort to isolate and demonize Israel and Jewish communal organizations."
It also states that AMP's call for a day of action is "scheduled for the
evening before the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah."
Neither AMP nor the Palestinian-led BDS movement advocate for actions
targeting "Jewish communal organizations."
They call for actions aimed at institutions complicit with Israel's
violations of Palestinian rights, including universities and corporations.
The allegation that AMP targets Jewish groups and the reference to Rosh
Hashanah appear to be an effort by the ADL to stoke religious tension
and to portray Palestine solidarity activism as anti-Semitic -- a common
and increasingly shrill tactic of anti-Palestinian groups.
The email was forwarded from the chancellor's office with a note stating
"For your information," suggesting that the chancellor considers it to
be sound advice that her subordinates should adopt.
It is a reasonable assumption that the ADL has sent similar emails to
other university leaders across California and perhaps other states.
A person familiar with UC Davis distribution lists told The Electronic
Intifada that it was unusual for such communications from private
advocacy groups to be shared in this manner with the university leadership.
Amid its call for "discipline," legal warnings and the demand for
outright prohibition of certain activities, the ADL urges Katehi to
"Send a senior university official to potentially hostile events and
prior to the start of the event have him or her remind those in
attendance of university codes of conduct regarding free speech and
civil discourse."
The ADL's description of campus activities related to Palestine as
"hostile events" suggests that the university should treat them as
security threats.
The reference to "civil discourse" in this context is particularly
chilling following the firing of Steven Salaita
<http://electronicintifada.net/tags/steven-salaita> by the University of
Illinois for no discernible reason other than his expressions of horror
at Israel's latest massacre in Gaza.
"The ADL has always been in the business of censoring Palestine's
narrative and promoting Israel and Zionism but they are going a step
further by recruiting UC Davis and other university leadership to
effectively employ prior restraint on Palestinians' free speech," AMP
chair Hatem Bazian told The Electronic Intifada.
"We are increasingly witnessing and documenting the Israelization of the
university and instrumentalizing academia into the /hasbara/ network,"
Bazian, a senior lecturer at UC Berkeley, added.
/Hasbara/ <http://electronicintifada.net/tags/hasbara> is the Hebrew
term Israel uses to describe its efforts to win global support.
The ADL email is another indicator that there will be no let up this
fall in Israel lobby efforts to use all repressive means available to
stigmatize and punish, if not shut down altogether, campus criticism of
Israel's crimes.
ADL email
From: Lori Hubbard lahubbard at ucdavis.edu <mailto:lahubbard at ucdavis.edu>
Subject: Fall Campus Activities
Date: September 15, 2014 at 9:26:19 AM PDT
To: "codvc at ucdavis.edu <mailto:codvc at ucdavis.edu>" codvc at ucdavis.edu
<mailto:codvc at ucdavis.edu>, Nick Crossley ncrossley at ucdavis.edu
<mailto:ncrossley at ucdavis.edu>
Cc: "'codvc-assist at ucdavis.edu <mailto:codvc-assist at ucdavis.edu>'
(codvc-assist at ucdavis.edu <mailto:codvc-assist at ucdavis.edu>)"
codvc-assist at ucdavis.edu <mailto:codvc-assist at ucdavis.edu>
/For your information./
From: Brysk, Seth [mailto:SBrysk at adl.org]
Sent: Friday, September 12, 2014 3:49 PM
To: Linda P.B. Katehi
Subject: Fall Campus Activities
Importance: High
Dear Chancellor Katehi,
We write to you today to provide information and recommendations
about how to respond to conflicts that may arise on your campus due
to the recent conflict in Gaza.
Over the last several years, we have seen individual students and
student groups critical of Israel attempt to stifle dialogue about
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by disrupting events on campus and
refusing to work with pro-Israel and Jewish student groups. In the
wake of the recent crisis, anti-Israel organizations are placing
increasing pressure on academic institutions to engage in a
"Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions" (BDS) activities.
You should be aware that American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), the
leading organization providing anti-Zionist training and education
to students and Muslim community organizations around the country,
recently issued a statement calling for an "International Day of
Action on College Campuses" on September 23. AMP advocates for a
variety of BDS-related initiatives - all in an effort to isolate and
demonize Israel and Jewish communal organizations. These efforts
serve only to polarize students on campus, inflame existing
tensions, and often isolate and intimidate Jewish students.
AMP's call for a "Day of Action" --scheduled for the evening before
the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah-- urges the elimination of study
abroad programs in Israel, a ban on university administrators
traveling to Israel, and scholars to refuse to participate in
research or conferences with colleagues from Israeli institutions.
Such tactics disrupt campus life and stifle the ideals of inquiry,
free expression, and the civil exchange of ideas - - precisely the
foundation on which university communities are built.
The Anti-Defamation League is a strong advocate of free speech and
we do not seek to censor or stifle opinions in the university
community. We have a long history of fighting for the ideals of
individual expression and the free exchange of ideas, even when we
disagree with the ideas being exchanged. However, no university
should countenance attempts to discourage and suppress free speech,
or harass and intimidate Jewish and other students. When this
occurs, as in the examples noted above, appropriate action should be
taken.
To address these concerns, we urge you to consider implementing the
following policies and practices in the coming academic year:
* Be aware of the discourse around the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict that takes place on your campus and the potential for
escalation.
* Review student codes of conduct to ensure that activity which is
detrimental to the free exchange of ideas is not allowed on campus.
* When an event takes place on campus where there is potential for
disruption, ensure that adequate security is provided to prevent
any dangerous escalation in the disruption and ensure the safety
of the speakers, organizers and attendees.
* Send a senior university official to potentially hostile events
and prior to the start of the event have him or her remind those
in attendance of university codes of conduct regarding free
speech and civil discourse.
* Remember the school's obligations under Title IX of the
Education Amendments of 1972, particularly the responsibility of
the school not only to investigate an incident, but to take
prompt and effective steps to eliminate any hostile environment
and to take proactive steps to prevent its recurrence.
* If the actions of the protestors violate any university policies
or codes of conduct, appropriately discipline those involved.
* Use your own right to free speech to condemn actions which go
against the ideals of the university.
* Reach out to individual students and organizations who may have
been negatively affected by an incident.
* Provide educational opportunities on campus that foster an
environment of inclusion, acceptance and respect.
As one of the country's premier civil rights organizations, ADL has
decades of experience in helping administrators and students on
campus respond to bigotry and intergroup strife. We would be happy
to discuss the challenges many campuses face today and to assist
your efforts to ensure that your campus remains a place where all
viewpoints can be discussed in an atmosphere of respect and
civility. We encourage you to be in touch with us if you have any
questions.
Sincerely,
Seth Brysk
Central Pacific Regional Director
Anti-Defamation League | 720 Market Street, Suite 800 | San
Francisco, CA 94102 Phone: 415-981-3500 | Fax: 415-981-8933 |
www.adl.org <http://www.adl.org>
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