Daphne Anson: Mad Dogs and Englishmen – UK Universities Give the Go-Ahead to Hate-Spewing Extremists on Campus

Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East. (From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Sunday, 20 February 2011

Mad Dogs and Englishmen – UK Universities Give the Go-Ahead to Hate-Spewing Extremists on Campus

Islamic extremists spewing out hatred on UK campuses have become a grim feature of life on many British campuses, especially in London. In addition to the implications for public safety generally, this situation has created an atmosphere of intimidation and fear for Jewish and pro-Israel students.

For such Islamists, it’s effectively a case of “Carry On Hate Speaking,” courtesy of the authorities who, despite expectations, have in a newly published report announced by Professor Malcolm Grant, Provost and President of University College London (UCL) ,signally failed to grapple meaningfully with this issue.

Professor Grant chaired the working group of the umbrella body of university chiefs, Universities UK, and can be seen in the video below. “Views expressed within universities ... may sometimes appear to be extreme or even offensive, “ he explains. “However, unless views can be expressed they cannot also be challenged.” Thus the report gives the go-ahead to universities to continue inviting extremists onto campuses in order to “engage” with them.

Not surprisingly, the Union of Jewish Students maintains that Universities UK has accordingly “failed to provide any clear, practical guidance to the sector on the issue of hate speech and extremism on campus. The report provides no answers whatsoever.”

The following is a cross-post on the subject by Jonathan Hoffman, co-vice-chair of the UK Zionist Federation, entitled “University Hate Speech Report: A Whitewash”. (It also appears at http://www.thejc.com/blogpost/university-hate-speech-report-a-whitewash):

After it was revealed that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab – who tried to blow up a plane on Christmas Day 2009 – had been President of Islamic Society at UCL, Universities UK – under pressure from the government – set up an Inquiry into Extremism on Campus. It was clear from the start that it was going to be a whitewash: http://www.thejc.com/blogpost/campus-extremism-university-heads-are-taki...

And so it ha proved. The members of the Inquiry – headed by Professor Malcolm Grant of UCL – very quickly changed its focus from "extremism" to "guaranteeing free speech” – a laughable inversion of what the Inquiry was supposed to be about.

Its Report has just been published:http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/Publications/Documents/FreedomOfSpeechOn...

There is no list of hate speakers and events which have caused offence. And the recommendations are a fudge. For example there is no mention of compulsory filming by university authorities of hate speech meetings.http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/29079/hate-war-campus-be-stamped-out

The universities have proved themselves abjectly incapable of setting their own house in order. The time is long overdue for David Willetts – the Universities Minister – to step in.

(See also: http://www.thejc.com/node/45437
http://www.thejc.com/node/44355
http://www.thejc.com/node/44348)

And as wise commenters on the Guardian's notorious Comment is Free website observe, in response to a typical "weaselly"Al Grauniad article on the subject:

'Hamza Andreas Tzortzis will address the University College London Islamic Society ...

Mr Tzortzis, ... was a trustee of Green Crescent, a British charity placed under investigation ... for links with Islamist terrorism.

Mr Tzortzis ... is a former researcher for the hardline Hittin Institute and chaired the launch event of iERA, an umbrella organisation hosting many well-known British Muslim extremists who preach opposition to democracy and hatred against homosexuals and Jews. He also has links to the extremist and separatist group Hizb ut Tahrir ....

At UCL's Islamic society's Islamic Awareness Week in February 2008 invited speakers included Abu Mujahid, who has incited Muslims to condemn homosexuals because Allah "hates" them.

Murtaza Khan, who was filmed in a television documentary delivering a diatribe against Jews, Christians and "filthy non-Muslim doctors", was invited to speak at the another event ... in December 2007.'

and

'Universities have a duty to protect students who come to study in them. If speakers speaking at the invitation of certain societies engage in hate speech or speech verging on hate speech - eg against Jews or non-Muslims, gays etc, then no University could justify inviting the speaker.

The same would go for extreme right-wingers who might aid in creating an atmosphere which was intimidating to ethnic students.

But somehow when extreme anti-liberal, racist, sexist, homophobic views are expressed by extreme Islamists, Universities - if this article is anything to go by - tend to excuse them in the name of "openness" in a way which would probably not apply to extreme right-wing speakers.

The idea that those views contribute to "openness" when they relate to closed-mindedness is very strange.'

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/feb/18/ucl-student-extremism-constructive-engagement)

2 comments:

Daphne Anson20 February 2011 at 08:25
This German blog (in English) is of relevance and interest - it's about LSE:
http://www.achgut.com/dadgdx/index.php/dadgd/article/free_speech_and_hate_speech/
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shomer20 February 2011 at 22:49
Londonistan rulez OK?
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