Joel Kovel, a former professor at Bard College and the author of a book," Overcoming Zionism," which argues for the replacement of Israel with a bi-national state, has been dismissed from his post at Bard, Inside HigherEd reports. The college says Kovel’s dismissal is a result of the economic crisis and poor evaluations from students. But Kovel isn’t buying it. He says he was ousted because of his politics.
Here’s part of Kovel’s response, from his website:
This document argues that this termination of service is prejudicial and motivated neither by intellectual nor pedagogic considerations, but by political values, principally stemming from differences between myself and the Bard administration on the issue of Zionism. There is of course much more to my years at Bard than this, including another controversial subject, my work on ecosocialism (/The Enemy of Nature/). However, the evidence shows a pattern of conflict over Zionism only too reminiscent of innumerable instances in this country in which critics of Israel have been made to pay, often with their careers, for speaking out. In this instance the process culminated in a deeply flawed evaluation process which was used to justify my termination from the faculty.
For some more background, check out this November 2007 piece by Michal Lando in the Jerusalem Post, which unpacks Kovel’s skirmish with the University of Michigan, which was distributing "Overcoming Zionism" in the United States.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
