UC Santa Barbara Ends Investigation of Professor for Anti-Israel E-mail

Since late April I have been following the case of Professor William I. Robinson at UCSB, who became the subject of an official university investigation after sending the students in his Sociology of Globalization class an e-mail comparing the Nazi treatment of Jews with Israel's actions towards Palestinians. The e-mail ignited a firestorm of controversy and led the university to launch the investigation.

Exactly two weeks ago, my organization, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), sent a letter protesting the investigation of Professor Robinson for speech that, in our professional estimation, was protected by academic freedom. Today Professor Robinson received the verdict:

June 24, 2009

TO: Prof. William Robinson
Department of Sociology

FR: Gene Lucas
Executive Vice Chancellor

Re: Charges Committee Findings

I have received the report of the Charges Committee regarding charges brought against you. The Committee did not find probable cause to undertake disciplinary action in this matter.

I have accepted the findings of the Charges Committee. Accordingly, this matter is now terminated

Under the Campus Procedures for Enforcement of the Faculty Code of Conduct, "the complainant and/or faculty member complained against may request, in writing, from the Charges Officer, a summary of the Committee's findings." If you would like such a summary, please make such a request to Prof. Scharleman, the Charges Officer.

The case has launched intense debate as to the nature of professional standards, campus attitudes about Israel, indoctrination, and academic freedom. But as I concluded in my first blog entry about this case, I did not believe this case could rightly end any other way.

Stripped of the jargon of sociology and the politicization of the issue by both sides, the question becomes whether or not the professor in what essentially amounts to a global politics class can give his opinions about global politics. While many of his critics would prefer to see the Professor Robinsons of the world denied this right, in the end, we all benefit from classroom and academic discussions in which the exchange of ideas is as free as possible.

Comments

[altohone]

The fact that the investigation was launched speaks volumes.

That this professor was cleared is hardly reassuring.

Strange the report doesn't speak to wether or not the investigation should have even begun.


These organized efforts are not only backfiring, they are exposing the network, tactics, immorality and even criminality.
Americans are ill-informed on this issue by design, and that is a crime.

[arle]

One thing neocons and Zionists have as a common cause -- the destruction of academic freedom and the censorship of any information or analysis that counters their propaganda. Our universities and colleges have become our last bastion of freedom in the face of the erosion of Constitutional protections and the crumbling of our news media in the hands of corporate interests. We need to protect our schools and our professors!

[Ashley14]

The National Association of Scholars has commented on this story, specifically on Professor Robinson's academic field, Critical Global Studies.

"What's Critical about Critical Global Studies?" http://www.nas.org/polArticles.cfm?doc_id=915

[Sentientbeing09]

Its not mentioned in any of the articles, but I suspect the photographs under discussion that the pro-Israel lobby are not happy with are those compiled by Professor Finkelstein:

http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/deutschland-uber-alles/,

Powerful imagery.

Robinson's email is published in full here

http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/21648,

and you can make up your own mind about the content without the misty filter of any of the pro-Israel lobbies.

The ADL ignited this witch hunt? After reading their mission statement one wonders at point did the ADL stop being human-rights and equality advocates and become full-fledged members of a bullying pro-Israel lobby,

["The Anti-Defamation League was founded in 1913 "to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all." Now the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency, ADL fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects civil rights for all."]

Yeah you read that right. The ADL protects civil rights for all.

Except Gazans and Jewish Professors critical of Israel

[Sentientbeing09]

It looks like action take by pro-Israel supporters has backfired. They definitely picked the wrong guy to intimidate, theres a telephone interview with him here:

http://intifada-palestine.com/2009/06/22/prof-william-robinson-tells-about-his-battle-with-the-anti-defamation-leagueadl-over-academic-freedom/,