Harvard Didn’t Cancel Kenneth Roth; It Decided Not to Honor an Antisemite (Connecting the Dots: Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Human Rights Watch & Soros Funding, All Networking)
Israel365News
JONATHAN S. TOBIN | OPINION | JANUARY 15, 2023
https://www.israel365news.com/365388/harvard-didnt-cancel-kenneth-roth-it-decided-not-to-honor-an-antisemite-opinion/
Cancel culture in academia is a serious problem. There is
no sector of American society in which dissent is so routinely crushed, or
where free speech is most endangered, as the country’s leading institutions of
higher learning. So, the story that someone was supposedly denied a fellowship
at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government because of his political beliefs seems to fit
into a familiar pattern of shunning and silencing those who don’t adhere to the
orthodoxies worshipped by the elites.
That’s what leading outlets of liberal opinion, and even
a group well-known for its battle for free speech on college campuses, are
claiming has happened to
Kenneth Roth. According to the former head of Human Rights Watch (HRW) and his
influential supporters, he was snubbed by Harvard because of his “criticism” of
Israel.
The conceit of his whiny lament in The
Guardian and a dishonest editorial in The Boston
Globe lies not only in the assertion that Harvard treated Roth
unjustly. More outrageous are the claims by both pieces that the university’s
behavior is a symptom of the way criticism of Israel and other left-wing causes
are shut down by “wealthy donors”—a thinly disguised attempt by The Globe to
throw shade at the Jews—and right-wing extremists.
This narrative is not just misleading and deeply unfair
to Kennedy School Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf; it turns the discussion about the
attitude toward anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiment on college campuses on
its head. Indeed, far from being an example of how supposedly courageous
truth-tellers about Israeli atrocities are being muzzled by the all-powerful
“Israel lobby,” Harvard’s move is a rare instance of a leading academic
institution’s taking a stand against antisemitism, rather than
tolerating it.
Pro-Israel voices are silenced
At universities and colleges around the United States,
the field of Middle East Studies—and now even Israel Studies—is being taught by
professors openly hostile to Zionism and the Jewish state. And it’s not exactly
a secret that scholars seeking tenure in those departments, or any in the
liberal arts for that matter, know that they must keep secret any sign of
support for Israel or any belief or affiliation that might contradict reigning
leftist/intersectional dogma.
This is the case even at the Kennedy School, as is
ironically evident in Roth’s allegations. These include the claim that
Elmendorf told scholar Kathryn Sikkink that he rejected Roth over “criticism of
Israel.” Yet, Sikkink herself is a malicious foe of Israel who, as the
left-wing magazine The Nation reported
in its article about the controversy, used HRW’s biased research to put forward
her own argument falsely claiming that Israel, the only democracy in the Middle
East, is among the world’s most repressive nations.
The issue at Harvard—or anywhere else in academia—isn’t
that anti-Israel scholars can’t get jobs or be given a platform for expounding
their ideas. As it happens, Roth already has a fellowship in hand at another
Ivy League institution, the University
of Pennsylvania, which granted him the title of “Global Justice
and Human Rights Visiting Fellow,” an honor that makes a mockery of both
concepts.
Indeed, Zionists with prestigious academic appointments
are not so much outliers as they are an endangered species, while those
prepared, like Roth, to falsely smear Israel as an “apartheid state” or to
treat the existence of the one Jewish state on the planet as a crime which must
be erased, are smack in the mainstream.
Seen in that light, the effort on Roth’s behalf isn’t so
much wrongheaded as it is a case of the left-wing academic and media
establishment trying to gaslight the American people into thinking that it is
those who lie about Israel who are being persecuted, rather than the other way
around.
By deciding to deny Roth the honor of a fellowship, the
Kennedy School wasn’t punishing him for holding a minority opinion; it was
rightly seeking to distance itself from a person who—despite his Jewish origins
and the fawning support he gets from the liberal corporate media and left-wing
activist groups like the American Civil Liberties Union—one of the leading
proponents of antisemitic attacks on the state of Israel.
Contrary to the disingenuous talk about his merely being
a critic of Israel, Roth turned HRW, a group that prior to his becoming its
head, was respected as an unbiased advocate for human rights around world, into
an organization obsessed with
the cause of delegitimizing Israel and valorizing those seeking its
destruction.
Human
Rights Watch’s anti-Israel propaganda
HRW’s irresponsible
and mendacious anti-Israel activism is a matter of record, not merely the
opinion, as Roth’s supporters claim, of right-wing troublemakers. A good summary was
published by NGO Monitor, an important non-profit organization that keeps tab
on groups that specialize in fomenting antisemitism while operating under the
cover of the cause of human rights.
Most devastating was the criticism of Roth made by the
late Robert Bernstein, HRW’s founder, who wrote in The New York Times that
Roth isn’t just prejudiced against Israel. He’s a captive of leftist ideology
about colonialism, racism and white privilege. This, according to Bernstein,
caused Roth to erase any distinctions between democratic countries like the
United States and Israel—which may certainly be flawed and worthy of criticism
for some of their policies—and authoritarian and totalitarian states whose very
purpose is to eliminate human rights. In Bernstein’s words, Roth “cast aside
the distinction between open and closed societies.”
It is true that Roth and HRW have spoken up against
genuine human-rights violators like China, Russia and various dictatorships and
Muslim theocracies for their offenses. But treating a genuinely democratic
country like Israel, where the rule of law prevails and which is under siege
from forces bent on its destruction, as the moral equivalent of those nations
undermines the entire concept of human-rights activism or justice.
In Bernstein’s view, Roth had hijacked HRW and turned it
into an anti-Israel activist group that focused disproportionately on efforts
to support the Palestinian war on Zionism. Like others who smear Israel, Roth
ignored the fact that the anomalous situation in Judea and Samaria (the “West
Bank”) is due almost entirely to the Palestinians’ repeated rejection of peace,
support of terrorism and refusal to accept the legitimacy of a Jewish state, no
matter where its borders might be drawn.
Along with other so-called human-rights and international
organizations like the UN Human Rights Council, HRW was part of a network of
activists dedicated to demonizing Israel and Zionism. HRW is an avid supporter
of the antisemitic BDS movement and “lawfare” efforts aimed at manipulating
international law to make Israel a pariah. It is in this context that the onslaught
against Harvard must be understood.
Some of Roth’s calumnies against Israel are particularly
egregious. It wasn’t enough for him to spread falsehoods about Israel’s being
an “apartheid state,” or to make dishonest claims about its murder of civilians.
He even spread the blood libel that it was engaged in a racist attempt to deny COVID-19 vaccines to
Palestinians, when it was the Palestinian Authority that refused the Israeli
government’s offers of help in providing shots for Arabs living in the disputed
territories under the despotic rule of Mahmoud Abbas.
Yet, what also needs to be understood about the effort to
turn Roth into a martyr for academic freedom is that the debate isn’t merely
about his despicable record of anti-Israel bias. It’s part of the vicious
campaign to delegitimize Israel and Zionism that was the centerpiece of HRW’s
activity during his long tenure there.
Roth is a prodigious fundraiser. HRW was rewarded for his
calumnies against Israel with a $100 million grant from
left-wing billionaire George Soros’s Open Society Foundation. Though some on
the left treat any criticism of Soros as evidence of Jew hatred, his support
for anti-Israel and even antisemitic activism aimed at supporting the Jewish
state’s destruction renders their claims risible.
But Roth is also a terrible hypocrite when it comes to
raising money. He solicited a $470,000 donation from a Saudi
billionaire, and in return promised not to advocate for LGBTQ rights in Muslim
countries. Many on the left consider those who cite the fact that Israel is the
one country in the Middle East where gays have equal rights (Amir Ohana, the
new speaker of Israel’s Knesset, is gay) to be “pinkwashing.” But Roth was
prepared to sacrifice the rights of Muslim gays in order to get more cash with
which to attack the Jewish state’s existence.
An honest assessment of Roth’s record must lead to the
conclusion that he isn’t a “critic” of Israel’s, but rather someone who regards
its existence as a crime that must be atoned for by its destruction. His lies
about Israel and willingness to deny Jews rights he wouldn’t deny to anyone
else isn’t merely a controversial opinion; it’s a virulent variant of
antisemitism.
He wouldn’t be the only one with such vile opinions to be
given a prestigious perch at an elite university. But it is to the credit of
Harvard’s Kennedy School that it drew the line at giving him the kind of honor
he clearly doesn’t deserve.
Contrary to the arguments of the Foundation for
Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), a group that has stood up in the past
for conservatives, the issue at Harvard isn’t the defense of academic freedom,
but normalizing Jew-hatred.
In a saner environment than the one that currently exists
in academia and the establishment media, it would be the University of
Pennsylvania under fire from faculty, students, alumni and the public for
honoring an antisemite like Roth. Instead, it is Harvard’s Elmendorf who is
under intolerable pressure to reverse his stand and give Roth yet another
platform to advance his campaign to treat Zionism, the national liberation
movement of the Jewish people, as racism.
That the organized Jewish community has had little to say
about Roth and the attacks on Harvard’s stand against antisemitism also
provides more proof of the failure of American-Jewish leaders and their
preference for liberal causes that do nothing to protect the rights or the
security of the community they purport to represent.
Rather than meekly accept his claims of martyrdom, those
who profess to care about fighting Jew-hatred need to put aside political
differences and join in an effort to call him out for his lies. If Harvard is
ultimately forced to surrender on this issue, it will be a triumph for Roth’s
brand of left-wing antisemitism that is a growing threat to the ability of Jews
to speak up for Israel and Zionism in the public square, and especially in
academia.
Indeed, it isn’t Kenneth Roth who’s being canceled, but
all those who are willing to tell the truth about the leftist war on Israel and
the Jews.
Connecting the Dots:
R. Nicholas Burns is
a professor at John F. Kennedy School of Government and a director
at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Enzo Viscusi is
a dean's council member at the John F. Kennedy School of Government
and a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think
tank).
John C. Whitehead was
a dean's council member at the John F. Kennedy School of Government,
is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank)
and an overseer at the International Rescue Committee.
Christopher
Stone is a professor at the John F. Kennedy School of
Government and the president of the Open Society Foundations.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank).
George Soros is
the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, the
founder for the Soros Fund Management, his senior adviser was Mark
Schwartz and the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open
Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the International
Rescue Committee.
Mark Schwartz was
the president & CEO for the Soros Fund Management, George
Soros’s senior adviser and is a dean's council member at the John
F. Kennedy School of Government.
Mary M. Boies is
a dean's council member at the John F. Kennedy School of Government
and a director at the International Rescue Committee.
Princess Firyal was
a dean's council member at the John F. Kennedy School of Government
and is an overseer at the International Rescue Committee.
Samantha Power was
a professor at the John F. Kennedy School of
Government, a director at the International Rescue Committee, Barack
Obama’s aide and is the United Nations U.S.
ambassador for the Barack Obama administration.
Howard E. Cox Jr. is
a dean's council member for the John F. Kennedy School of Government,
a board of fellow’s member for Harvard Medical School and a
trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
George Soros was
the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Ann
M. Fudge is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think
tank) and was an overseer at Harvard University.
James E. Rogers is
a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a dean's
council member for the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
David M.
Rubenstein is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think
tank) and a dean's council member for the John F. Kennedy School of
Government.
John C. Whitehead is
an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a
dean's council member for the John F. Kennedy School of Government
and the chairman for Harvard University.
C. Douglas Dillon was
the chairman for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and an
overseer at Harvard University.
Henry Louis
Gates Jr. was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank) and is a professor at Harvard University.
Nemir A. Kirdar was
a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and is a dean's
council member for the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Harold
H. Koh was a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think
tank), the developments editor for the Harvard Law Review and
an overseer at Harvard University.
Paul E. Peterson was
a director of governmental studies at the Brookings Institution (think
tank) and is a professor at Harvard University.
Lawrence H.
Summers was a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think
tank) and is a professor; former president at Harvard University.
Judith
Rodin was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank) and the president for the University of
Pennsylvania.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was
a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and the Human
Rights Watch.
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation
to Promote Open Society, a benefactor for the Human Rights Watch,
his senior adviser was Mark Schwartz and is the founder for
the Soros Fund Management.
Mark Schwartz was
the president & CEO for the Soros Fund Management, George
Soros’s senior adviser and is a dean's council member at the John
F. Kennedy School of Government.
Resources: Past
Research
West Point Hosts First
Male Same-Sex Wedding (Past Research on the John F.
Kennedy School of Government)
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2013
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2013/11/west-point-hosts-first-male-same-sex.html
Mike Rowe on How Many
Are Following the ‘Worst Advice in the History of the World’ (Past Research on Harvard University & the University
of Pennsylvania)
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2013
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2013/11/mike-rowe-on-how-many-are-following.html
Israel Denies Work Visa
to Official from ‘Blatantly Hostile’ Human Rights Watch (Past Research on the Human Rights Watch (HRW))
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2017
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