Algemeiner Audio Prompts Threat of Justice Dept. Investigation Against Brooklyn College
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Alan Dershowitz BDS audio BDS Brooklyn College CUNY trustee Former Special War Crimes Prosecutor for the US Dept. of Justice Jeffrey Wiesenfeld Jeffrey Wiesenfeld Brooklyn College Neal Sher title six
Picture of the east quad of Brooklyn College.
Former Special War Crimes Prosecutor for the US Dept. of Justice Neal Sher and CUNY trustee Jeffrey Wiesenfeld are holding a press conference today calling on Brooklyn College to adopt new policy changes in light of recent events surrounding a BDS (Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment) event aimed at Israel in which four Jewish students complained of being unfairly singled out and then removed from the audience.
Recent audio released by The Algemeiner appears to contradict original claims by Brooklyn College officials that the students were being disruptive throughout the first speaker’s address. The incident is especially egregious taking into account that the school’s Political Science Department co-sponsored the event.
Sher said he plans on calling on the Justice Department to open an investigation into the school’s conduct if it is unwilling to take responsibility and address the issues that led to the students’ eviction.
“It seems rather clear that school officials simply didn’t tell the truth about what happened,” says Sher.”It seems to me the students were unfairly removed from the event and when a stink was raised they just made up a story,” he added.
“Federal civil rights law, under Title VI, gives Jewish students the right to be free of a hostile environment and here you have a case where a university’s actions created a hostile environment. If there’s student harassment of Jews you have to take action.”
A Brooklyn College spokesman told The Algemeiner Wednesday that the audio file had been given to investigators and would be used as part of an inquiry the school has launched. The spokesperson declined to comment further.
Wiesenfeld insists that institutional change needs to be made, and went beyond the incident of the students being evicted, making the assertion that laws were broken just by having the Political Science Department co-sponsor the event.
“This was not an academic pursuit–it’s propaganda–which is actually prohibited in universities. The American Association of University Professors has standards that have been in force since 1916 that say professors may not proselytize, they must give two sides of an issue, and they are to spur academic discussion and research–that’s being violated,” he said.
Wiesenfeld believes there are two major changes that need to be addressed. “Look at groups who are not poised to engage in debate, conversation, reason, and true discussion, but are looking to proselytize by force, and have a record of doing so and have exclusionary tactics should not be invited on campus. And secondly amend the bylaws of the state university by the legislature and signed by the governor where the department chairs will be chosen by the president of the college” instead of by the professors.
Wiesenfeld says that part of the problem is pro-Israel academics feel threatened in liberal arts environments and top-down governance would provide a more balanced faculty. “What you have now is the inmates running the prison,” he says.
Alan Dershowitz was at the center of the battle against the BDS event and says that the school has its work cut out for it. “There will be a lot of tests coming up. One test will be whether the Political Science Department will be willing to sponsor the right wing of opinion relating to Israel. For example: would they sponsor Naftali Bennett or the Zionist Organization of America? There’s going to be tests to prove whether they’re really neutral, to see if they pass the “shoe on the other foot” test. And I think there’s going to be blisters,” he said.
10:57 pm
I graduated from Brooklyn College and have no faith that BC President Gould will conduct a fair and impartial investigation of events surrounding the February 7th hate-fest, on campus. Under her “leadership,” Brooklyn College has had an increasing hostile milieu for Jewish students and faculty. President Gould should be given her walking papers and told not to slam the door on her way out.
12:35 pm
Do you think this is why these groups try to stop others from videotaping them. Just this past week, Florida Atlantic University campus police twice prevented a counter jihadist group from filming anti-Israel speakers. It was illegal.
It is time to bring lawsuits against these offending universities.
11:26 am
As I said previously, this is an international BDS tactic. It works for them in the UK and they succeed in getting anti PSC/BDS attendees removed and even banned. They have what they call debates, but never invite anyone onto their panels who might hold an opposing view. The university chancellors are not interested to correct this dissemination of propaganda to ignorant naive students. Lets hope that in the US you wll be more successful in stopping this appalling indoctrination on university campuses.
11:22 pm
Three cheers for Alan Derhowitz, Neal Sher and CUNY trustee Jeffrey Wiesenfeld.
It’s about time someone brought these bastards to account.
10:57 pm
Talk of a University investigation is cheap. What is needed for change is to hit the University in the pocket book, i.e., sue the college, the individual college administrator who refused to act and was complicit in the violations, as well as the individual student and professor organizers of the event. Such a lawsuit is the only way to get results. In addition, seek a criminal investigation by the justice department or D.A. The lawsuit is needed a.s.a.p. so that people’s testimony can be recorded in depositions, least they later claim they can’t recall what happened so long ago. I hope someone in NYC acts fast on this.
9:24 pm
David Horowitz had been reminding everyone for years that teachers and universities are REQUIRED to follow the 1916 standards rather than preach antisemetic anti American venom.
10:59 pm
That’s why only a lawsuit will get results. It’s only when people suffer monetary damages that their behavior changes. Such a suit would also send a message across American college campuses that failure to protect the rights and freedoms of all students will result in damages. A suit against the anti-Israel activists is necessary to bankrupt their morally bankrupt agenda.
12:03 am
You are so right. When the pitch is skewed and the referree primed to remove opposing players a few minutes into the game, one must call “foul play!” (Shades of Lance Armstrong.) Regretfully, the results of such an uneven playing field are far more serious than just the Tour de France! A fine and severe reprimand, providing recognition of this ACADEMIC FARCE is an excellent idea!
4:43 pm
BRAVO dear Sirs, all my deep appreciation for countering bigoted and also racist hate-propaganda and those responsible for spreading fecal-antisemitism by “President Gould” and her playmates [the profoundly discredited socalled pol. sci "department"] on the trashheap aka Brooklyn “College”.