The American Jewish Committee said today it is closely watching a dispute at the University of Texas at Austin over the proposed appointment of an Israeli-born historian to the university’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies this fall.
The squabble, which has been going on for a month, started when the university’s history department recommended that the Center appoint Abraham Marcus, a 31-year-old Tel Aviv University graduate now completing work on a doctorate at Columbia University. The proposal calls for Marcus, whose field is modern Arab history, to be appointed jointly to the history department and the Center.
The Center rejected the proposal saying that Marcus is not qualified for the position which includes supervision of advanced graduate students and running the center’s freshman program. The history faculty, which was asked by the Center to find a historian, maintains that Marcus is a qualified scholar of great promise.
This view is shared by Ira Silverman, who, as director of the special programs for the A JCommittee, heads a project urging American colleges and universities to establish guidelines in accepting grants and other funds from foreign countries. The University of Texas Center is partially supported by funds from Arab governments.
COMPROMISE WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE
Silverman told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today that it would be “shocking” if Marcus or any other qualified applicant was denied an academic position because of national origin. He said he believes Marcus “is well qualified” for the position. At the university, a compromise is being mentioned which would have Marcus appointed to the history faculty but not to the Center. Silverman said that while this could be acceptable it would “highlight the moral bankruptcy” of having academic decisions made for political reasons.
He added that if the university fails to appoint Marcus it would be “selling out cheap.” He noted that the University of Texas is one of the richest universities in the country with a steady infusion of Texas oil money. The Center reportedly receives about $100,000 a year from Arab governments. Silverman stressed that Marcus has not engaged in the public controversy over the appointment and is waiting for it to go through “channels.”
In proposing guidelines for schools receiving foreign money last March, Silverman said that some programs displayed an anti-Israel slant, were funded with the provision that Middle East studies not include Israel, or that Jews be excluded as instructors or students. The AJCommittee guidelines, which were aimed at preventing universities and colleges from agreeing to discriminatory practices or biased courses when accepting foreign money, went to 187 schools, including the University of Texas. Silverman said the University of Texas had not approved the guidelines as yet but has been approached by AJCommittee chapters in the area.
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