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September 30, 2016 8:27 am
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New Batch of ‘Terror-Sympathizing’ Professors Added to Campus Watchdog’s Dossier of Radical College Faculty

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avatar by Lea Speyer

Screenshot of the Canary Mission professors database.

Screenshot of the Canary Mission professors database.

A covert campus watchdog group has added six new profiles to its online dossier of academics who sympathize with terrorists, a member of the organization told The Algemeiner.

The Canary Mission representative — who spoke on condition of anonymity — said that the professors have exhibited radical behavior, including the use of antisemitic rhetoric and — “the biggest revelation — explicit and implicit personal support for Palestinian terrorism and violence directed at Israelis and Jews.”

The professors are: Georgetown University’s John Esposito, a supporter of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement; Rabab Abdulhadi of San Francisco State University (SFSU), who is a national leader of the BDS movement and a founding member of the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI); Swarthmore’s Sa’ed Atshan, an “avid supporter” of BDS and featured speaker for the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) campus group; Stanford’s Joel Beinin, a founding member of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and backer of BDS; University of California, Irvine’s Mark LeVine, a member of JVP and proponent of BDS; and Duke’s Miriam Cooke, a terror sympathizer and BDS supporter.

In a 2015 Facebook post, LeVine shared a photo of a Palestinian child with a rock in his hand approaching Israeli soldiers. LeVine commented, “If I was Palestinian, my son would be there.”

mark-levine-facebook

Abdulhadi’s Academia.edu profile page shows a graphic of a raised fist, along with a call for a “Third Palestinian Intifada.”

rabab-abdulhadi-profile-page

In 2007, Cooke reportedly took part in a rally calling for the exoneration of former University of South Florida professor Sami al-Arian, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to aid terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

In a 2000 interview with the Middle East Affairs Journal, Esposito said of Hamas, “One can’t make a clear statement” regarding classifying the group as a terrorist organization.

Canary Mission told The Algemeiner that another “major common theme” of the speeches and online postings of the professors in question is “outright lying, omission of crucial facts and dehumanizing Israelis, while presenting Palestinians solely as victims.”

Beinin, for example, accused Israelis of carrying out “pogroms” against Arabs in east Jerusalem during a 2014 interview. Speaking at the 2014 SJP National Conference, Atshan blamed Israel for widespread honor killings and persecution of the Palestinian LGBT community.

This year, LeVine wrote an article perpetuating the false claim that Israeli leaders “brazenly” cut off drinking water to Palestinians during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, “without a care in the world.”

Canary Mission said that it has undertaken the task of tracking and exposing radical academics, because,

Unlike students who graduate and leave campus after a few years, professors stay around for decades.

Professors often have tenure, so it’s near impossible to have them dismissed from their positions, regardless of how biased, antisemitic and anti-Zionist they are. 

However, professors generally do care about their public image and scholarly reputation. It is therefore worthwhile for us to shine a light on their shoddy work and abuse of academic power, so that students can at least be aware of who they are dealing with, if not avoid those professors’ classes altogether.

Responding to request for comment on the addition of one of its faculty members to Canary Mission’s database, a spokesperson from UC Irvine told The Algemeiner:

The University of California, Irvine fully supports “The Statement of Principles Against Intolerance” approved by the UC Regents, which reaffirms the university’s long-standing view that: “Acts of hatred and other intolerant conduct, as well as acts of discrimination that demean our differences, are antithetical to the values of the University and serve to undermine its purpose.”

The regents and UCI also recognize that “Freedom of expression and freedom of inquiry are paramount” and the “University will vigorously defend the principles of the First Amendment.” We support these principles, from our policies and procedures to our communication and activities, which are woven into the university’s daily life.

To ensure alignment with the Regents’ statement, UCI Provost Enrique Lavernia this summer asked Douglas Haynes, vice provost for Academic Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, to lead a comprehensive assessment of UCI’s related policies, procedures and practices. Vice Provost Haynes is consulting with longstanding community partners as well as with students, the Advisory Council on Campus Climate, Culture & Inclusion, the Academic Senate, and other groups to provide an overview of existing support and educational programs, and make recommendations on additional steps the campus can take to ensure the full implementation of all elements of the Regents’ statement.

UCI is firmly committed to a positive campus climate for all members of our community. We look forward to Vice Provost Haynes’ assessment, expected to be completed by mid-October.

A spokesperson from Stanford told The Algemeiner that they are “not familiar with Professor Beinin or the issues” raised by Canary Mission. “With respect to antisemitism, Stanford has taken a number of actions, and we have an Acts of Intolerance protocol and also prosecute hate crimes,” the spokesperson said, adding, “We also uphold freedom of expression.”  

An SFSU spokesperson told The Algemeiner that the school is undertaking “a list of actions…to increase a positive campus climate and safe campus climate for all students…The safety of our students, faculty and staff are our top priority.”

Duke, Swarthmore and Georgetown did not respond to The Algemeiner’s requests for comment by press time.

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