On August 20 2009, Neve Gordon, the chair of the Department of Politics and Government at Ben-Gurion University (BGU) and a long-time Ta’ayush activist, published an op-ed piece in the LA Times. In his piece, Gordon has called Israel an Apartheid state and voiced his support for the BDS campaign as the only means of saving Israel from itself. The response was a firestorm. BGU’s president, Prof. Rivka Carmi, personally led the attack against Neve: she threatened to fire him, said he is “welcome to consider another professional and personal home,” and argued that his views are not protected by his academic freedom. The message is clear: anyone who voices criticism of the sort Neve has is risking a public smear campaign if not his or her job.

Please write President Carmi (rcarmi@bgu.ac.il) to protest her treatment of Neve and her understanding of academic freedom and freedom of speech. Please also sign the online petition.

Additional links in English:
Haaretz Article
“The Nation” Article
MuzzleWatch (Jewish Voice for Peace)

Additional links in Hebrew:
Ynet Article
Haaretz Article
A second Haaretz Article
A third Haaretz Article
A second Ynet Article
Walla Article