Guardian UK: Tony Kushner and the corporatisation of CUNY

Tony Kushner and the corporatisation of CUNY
My parallel experience of being smeared by Jeffrey Wiesenfeld has convinced me of the very real threat to academic freedom

Kristofer Petersen-Overton
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 10 May 2011


The taboo surrounding critical discussion of Israel in the United States never ceases to amaze me. But when the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York (CUNY) recently decided not to grant an honorary degree to Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Tony Kushner because of his views on Israel, it felt personal.

Three months ago, I found myself at the center of a similar controversy over my appointment to teach a course in Middle East Politics at Brooklyn College, a CUNY school. Lacking any evidence to support the charge, a local politician described me as "pro-suicide bomber" and pressed for my dismissal. Within 48 hours and before I had held a single session of the course, the college administration intervened to cancel my appointment. My case set off a groundswell of support from academics and activists around the world and Brooklyn College eventually reinstated me just in time for classes to begin.

Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, the board member behind the Kushner controversy, characterised Kushner's views on Israel as "extremist" and therefore unworthy of CUNY's recognition. Never mind that Tony Kushner is widely considered one of the greatest living American playwrights, his take on Israel was offensive to our man Wiesenfeld. When asked by the New York Times to elaborate on his objections, Wiesenfeld offered this piece of wisdom: "People who worship death for their children are not human … have developed a culture which is unprecedented in human history."

This kind of behaviour is nothing new for Jeffrey Wiesenfeld. He was involved with the smear campaign against me earlier this year, charging CUNY professors with running a "cabal that suppresses the very academic freedom they claim to uphold". One can only wonder if his failure to keep me out of the classroom earlier this semester influenced his determination to block Kushner's award. In any case, Wiesenfeld seems to fancy himself an ideological enforcer on Israel. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/may/10/tony-kushner-new-york

trustees went along. After reading Wiesenfeld's position on Palestinians, his objections to Kushner
are no surprise. That the others went along, I would like to see many pointed questions asked and
I hope the other trustees respond candidly.


K&R

where their best interests lie...

Usually it's nothing more than a phone call from the Governor's office

To paraphrase a famous Latin adage: De mortuis nil nisi bonum

We saw this just yesterday here on DU

nt

If you dare criticize Israel you are at best a non-entity deserving of nothing except perhaps derision,
at worst you're an anti-Semitic Nazi -- and there isn't much room at all separating the two.

nt

of Israels human rights history? A true friend tell you the things you need to know what what you want to hear.