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GWU instructor leaves after pro-Israel bias charge
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Published: 11/30/2007
An instructor at George Washington University quit after students accused her of a pro-Israel bias.
On Nov. 13, Hanna Diskin, a visiting post-doctorate fellow at the D.C. campus, told her "Arab Israeli Conflict" class that she was leaving because of complaints from some students.
According to reports in the Washington Jewish Week and the G.W. Hatchet, students said Diskin, who is based at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, presented only Israel's side of the conflict. In describing casualties, for instance, she would cite only Israeli numbers and would talk over students asking about the Palestinian side, the students said.
Reading was assigned from only two books: "A History of Israel" by Howard Sachar, a GWU emeritus professor, and "Myths & Facts," a compendium of pro-Israel arguments.
The Washington Jewish Week reported that American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise funded Diskin's post at GWU. The Cooperative Enterprise is headed by Mitchell Bard, the author of "Myths & Facts."
Bard told the Washington Jewish Week that his group, which funds more than 30 such Israel studies positions across the United States, has no input into who is hired or what reading materials are used.
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