From: gerald_a_levy (gerald_a_levy@MSN.COM)
Date: Tue Apr 29 2003 - 16:51:24 EDT
I received the following via Cyrus. More distressing news. If the following legislation passes, there will be a wave of fierce struggles in defense of civil liberties and academic freedom in colleges in the US and the specter of mass firings of Leftists. In solidarity, Jerry ----- Original Message ----- From: mideast To: jebari@hotmail.com Sent: Monday, April 28, 2003 11:54 AM Subject: Republicans planning to introduce legislation to purge the Palestinian viewpoint from US colleges Fighting the First Amendment on America's Campuses: Colleges Not Teaching Pro-Israel Views May Lose Funding Congress To Debate 'Ideological Diversity' Legislation Republican members of the Senate are planning to introduce legislation designed to prohibit criticism of Israel on American college campuses. The third-ranking Republican member of the U.S. Senate, conservative Rick Santorum (Pa.), plans to introduce so-called "ideological diversity" legislation that would cut federal funding for thousands of American colleges and universities if those institutions are found to bepermitting professors, students and student organizations to openly criticize Israel, which Santorum considers to be an act of "anti-Semitism." Santorum wants to rewrite the federal funding formula under Title IX ofthe Higher Education Act to include "ideological diversity" as well assexual equality in education as a perquisite for federal funding. Joining Santorum is another Senate conservative GOP stalwart -- and aleading pro-Israel ideologue -- Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.) who has his own scheme to call for a federal commission -- critics call it a "tribunal" to be established under Title IX to "investigate"anti-Semitic incidents on American campuses. This is no "conspiracy theory." It's a fact -- but not one that is getting much attention except in a few high-level circles. Although the average American student or college professor has not heard of the Santorum-Brownback scheme, Wayne Firestone, director of the Center for Israel Affairs for the Hillel Foundation, says that "Everywhere I go,this is the lead topic. This is drawing a lot of interest." In fact, it was Firestone's organization, Hillel -- which has units on campuses across America -- that first leaked word of Santorum's scheme. Further details appeared in a circumspect report on April 15 in thesmall- circulation New York Sun, a stridently pro-Israel"neo-conservative" daily published in Manhattan. Hillel told its supporters that Santorum, along with several other members of the Senate, had invited representatives of a number of powerful Jewish organizations to attend a private meeting on Capitol Hill in order to discuss the senators' concerns about growing criticismof Israel on American college campuses. The senators in question -- all Republicans -- were: Santorum, Robert Bennett (Utah), Sam Brownback (Kansas), and newly-elected Norm Coleman(Minnesota). In addition, Senate Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.), and his GOP colleagues, Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and George Voinovich(Ohio) sent staff representatives. Jewish organizations represented at the private meeting were the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of B'nai B'rith, the Zionist Organization ofAmerica, the American Jewish Committee and Hillel, represented by theaforementioned Firestone and his college Jay Rubin, Hillel's executivevice president. Louis Goldstein, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S.Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, represented the Bushadministration. During the private Senate session -- of which there are no transcripts available to the taxpayers who footed the bill for the enterprise -- anADL representative reportedly claimed to the gathering that the ADL's"annual audit" of anti-Semitic activity in America had detected anincrease by 24% of anti-Semitism on U.S. college campuses in the year 2002. That 24% increase -- even by the ADL's own admission --constituted only 21 actions. However, the ADL definition of "anti-Semitism" is so broad that itlargely includes even the mildest criticism of Israel that doesn'thappened to be framed in the particular parameters that the ADLdetermines to be acceptable. In the meantime, word of the Santorum-Brownback initiative is spreading among leaders of theeducational community. However, spokesmen for universities and educational organizations arebeing quite circumspect about commenting too quickly or too loudly, recognizing that they, too, could be accused of encouraging"anti-Semitism" if they dare to speak out against the thought controlmechanism that Santorum, Brownback and their allies want to set inplace. Santorum is rapidly emerging as one of Israel's leading Senatespokesmen. He is one of the chief co-sponsors of the so-called SyrianAccountability Act that accuses Syria of supporting terrorism anddeveloping weapons of mass destruction and demands that Syria withdrawfrom Lebanon. Forces now clamoring for war against Syria are using theseallegations as the foundation for launching a war against the Arabrepublic. American Free Press
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