The Views That Made Me Persona Non Grata at MIT
wsj.com
wsj.com
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/10/14/mill-o14.html
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20211012-david-millers-sac...
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/30/if-we-...
Obviously, he wasn't fired for 'criticizing Israel'.
He was fired for accusing Israel of 'ethnic cleansing' and indicated that Jewish students in the UK were 'pawns of Israel'.
Of his own investigation, he said: "Israel’s assets in the UK have been emboldened by the university collaborating with them to shut down teaching about Islamophobia."
Literally referring to Jewish UK citizens as 'Israeli Assets ' - while gaslighting at the same time, indicating they were after him for stopping his support of Palestinians, as opposed to his problematic rhetoric about Jews.
This is antisemetic ... and I have a higher bar for that kind of indictment frankly.
I would probably just make him apologize, but when you make inflammatory statements like that which are bigoted against a minority group, it's going to be a problem.
If he were to have made serious contemplation about Israel, and chosen his words, and provided evidence that somehow the Jewish community wasn't respectful of the material issues in Israel, then, he'd have a case.
He wasn't fired for something academic, or saying something uncomfortable to some i.e. 'I disagree with Israeli policy and think it's deeply problematic' - he was fired for much uglier language.
Any University professor would be fired for using that kind of language against Black or Latino students.
The 'comparable' issue is that US profs. are being disinvited/fired merely for indicating that they believe grades and awards should be based on merit, not race. Which is is not a racist or insensitive statement, even if some want to claim that it is.
As for 'Criticizing American Militarism' - that's just something that you made up.
Miller is not 'cancelled', he has a lot of support, he'll have a nice career somewhere else.
> Professor Miller has said that there is “an all-out onslaught by the Israeli government” to “impose their will all over the world”, and that all university Jewish societies (including Bristol’s), plus the Union of Jewish Students, are “directed by Israel” as part of this effort. More broadly, he says that Bristol Jewish Society belongs to a “Zionist movement” that he has characterised as “the enemy of the left, the enemy of world peace, and they must be directly targeted”. Miller says the goal is to “defeat the ideology of Zionism in practice” and “to end Zionism… as a functioning ideology of the world”.
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2021/03/why-academic-f...
The guy is a first class nut job
He said that Israel wants dominate the world, that Jewish students and the Bristol Jewish Student Union are Israeli assets and that their members should be directly targeted as they are “enemies of the left” what ever the fuck that means.
I also find it odd that you claim that Palestinian voices are some how being unheard if anything they by far have the loudest voice of any group under similar circumstances.
I’m also not entirely sure why would you gloat if Israel would become far more extremist and far more isolated than it is now, do you think it that would have any positive outcome for Palestinians?
“ I’m also not entirely sure why would you gloat if Israel would become far more extremist and far more isolated than it is now, do you think it that would have any positive outcome for Palestinians?”
I think this may play out like South Africa did.
Woof, so I change my position from 'just have him apologize' - to - he definitely losses his job over this, and may face criminal charges (although I don't think people should be charged for loose statements they make, if he formed an organization and made this an 'organizing principle' i.e. 'Jews must be targeted' - well, that would be 'hate speech', and I'm the last person to think that kind of thing applies, but I mean, this is bad.)
Academic freedom gives you a lot of room to make statements that you think are true.
Academic freedom does not give you the right to rally and politically organize, under the guise of said academic freedom, and then to directly promote the 'targeting' of minority groups.
And I say this as someone who views many Israeli state and foreign policy actions as being highly suspect.
It's a shame that this even has to be disclaimed to point out antisemitism. If he made a claim that Chinese students were pawns of the CCP and had to be "targeted", no one would need to say "and I don't support CCP policies" to make a credible allegation of racism.
There's nary that much real authority on the use of those words, so we're forced to be nuanced and come to our own conclusions.
For example, there's a big difference between 'agents of Israel' and 'Israel has direct influence among the student body' - even though they kind of mean the same thing.
And of course, the Israeli government does have very material influence, the CCP even more so, institutionally, it's a real issue but we have to be careful how we talk about it.
I also don't put to much stock in arbitrary comments made off of the cuff, and I think we should cut people some slack when speaking, which is different than what they might publish.
The word 'targeted' wasn't really brought to the fore in the Miller issue, which is too bad, because that one word in particularly is strongly indicting. If the Unis press release were to have made specific reference to this, there might be a lot less hubub.
As someone who had a Palestinian roommate, I must say that the west has done a great job whitewashing Israeli excesses and downplaying the racism that’s rampant in Israel. Part of this is indeed through soft censorship of viewpoints critical of Israel (they can exist in the narrow confines of academia, but never get major airplay). This poll is pretty damning, but it’ll never get the airplay it deserves: https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-israelis-say-no-vote-to-ara...
“ “ This is plainly antisemetic ... and I have a bar for that.”
Hopefully you apply that same bar to what people say about Palestinians, too. They have, for the longest time, been treated as subhuman in the west, with no consequence for the perpetrators of bigotry.
If someone said 'UK Muslims are 'assets' of Hamas'' - they would be fired and nobody would have much to say about it.
And FYI I'm no supporter of any 'side'.
His rhetoric is well within bounds, let him speak.
If he was disinvited, it doesn't matter because he wasn't censured.
If he was censured, it doesn't matter because he wasn't fired.
If he was fired, it doesn't matter because he'll get another job.
If no one will give him another job, it doesn't matter because he deserved it.