Netanyahu tells Israel ‘We are at war’ after Hamas launches an unprecedented attack, killing at leas

I had never heard of this guy until you brought him up, but it looks like his work was controversial over 15 years ago. I can’t see it surviving in today’s political environment. He probably wouldn’t be able to just retire these days.

 

That just shows how long he was "controversial" (i.e., a known white supremacist). He retired in 2014.

 

There should always be an out to fire or break a contract “for cause”. I think this racist Palestenian professor should qualify, but that may be up to the terms in his contract.

Obviously there is some debate about when or if speech constitutes “cause”. How far is too far? This guy went all the way, so it shouldn’t be that debateble. But surely some of it is less obvious (such as the previous calls to boycott Israel, to which some far right Israelis and Americans wanted to blacklist even that type of protest). I’m sure more than a few calling for that professor to be fired voted for Trump for President, for example. So their view cannot possibly be anti-racism, it’s more of a plea to hypocrisy on the left. A Palestinian who exhibits clear racism against Israeli’s and whites is low hanging fruit for people just looking to score points… even if they themselves have exhibited their own racism in the past.

 

I don't think there is a single person on this message board that disagrees with this. It's kept me awake at night thinking about how can I go about my daily life when the people over there are going through the most horrific thing one could even think about? I am referring to innocent citizens of course and not hamas.

 

Harvard, Wharton and others losing MAJOR donors because they have refused to denounce the attacks and Hamas.

University Loses Funding on Israel Stance as College Donors Apply Pressure (newsweek.com)

The University of Pennsylvania has lost one of its biggest longtime donors while several other institutions are reportedly facing pressure from powerful financial backers over what they see as insufficient condemnation of Hamas' attack on Israel.

Jon Huntsman, a former U.S. ambassador to China and Russia, told Penn President Liz Magill that his family will "close its checkbook" on future donations to the university.
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But some of the most intense demands calling for Harvard and other elite schools to denounce students who criticize Israel have been made behind the scenes by Wall Street financiers who donate to the universities, The New York Times reported. They make up a "powerful block of donors" to such colleges as New York University, Stanford and Cornell.

Kenneth Griffin, the founder of the hedge fund Citadel, told the newspaper that in a private conversation with Penny Pritzker, senior fellow of the Harvard Corp., he urged Harvard to come out strongly in defense of Israel after the student groups released the statement blaming Israel for Hamas' attack.

Harvard loses another major donor over its 'dismal failure' to take an 'unequivocal stand against the barbaric murders' of Israelis by Hamas | Fortune

The Wexner Foundation became the latest donor to pull support from Harvard University over its response to the Hamas attack on Israel.
The foundation’s wealth is derived from L Brands, the former parent company of retailers Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works.

The philanthropy, chaired by Leslie Wexner and Abigail Wexner, said in a letter to the Harvard Board of Overseers Monday that it was ending its “financial and programmatic relationship” with the university. The foundation supports up to 10 government and public service professionals from Israel each year to pursue a one-year degree from the Harvard Kennedy School.
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The Wexner Foundation’s letter describes a relationship that goes back decades. A building at the Kennedy School is named for Leslie Wexner, who donated funds for its construction.

Harvard didn’t have an immediate comment.

Donors and alumni at some US colleges have been pulling support over the institutions’ response to the Hamas attack on Israel, which killed at least 1,400 Israelis. The latest break follows a move by Israeli businessman Idan Ofer, who with his wife quit board posts at the Kennedy School last week.

 

For sure it should be handled on a case by case basis. In this case, it's clear cut. Fire him. This isn't rocket science.

 

The Wexner Foundation speaks with great moral authority about right and wrong, and those that accept his money understand that:

One of the more perverse aspects of the Jeffrey Epstein story is how the predator’s power flowed from a man who made his fortune selling lingerie to generations of women and teens in malls across America. Epstein’s emetic symbiosis with his chief benefactor, Leslie Wexner — known as the “Merlin of the Mall” because at one point his company owned Victoria’s Secret, Abercrombie & Fitch, Express, and Bath & Body Works — is explored in Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons, a three-part docuseries out July 14 on Hulu. (This after that other Epstein confidante, Ghislaine Maxwell, was sentenced on Tuesday to 20 years in prison.)

“Turning a blind eye is a very key phrase with this series,” says director Matt Tyrnauer. Epstein had been introduced to Wexner in the mid-1980s by an insurance executive and soon became money manager to the mall magnate at a time when his company (then called the Limited, later renamed L Brands) was riding high. The documentary shows how Epstein was given full power of attorney, replaced Wexner’s mother on the board of the Wexner foundation, and even shacked up in a house on the property of Wexner’s Xanadu in Ohio. Epstein’s money, Upper East Side mansion, and even the Lolita Express — originally a Boeing 727 owned by L Brands — would all come from Wexner.

How Leslie Wexner Helped Create Jeffrey Epstein

Amazing how the debate over cancel culture quickly reverses

 

Allahu Akbar

 

Agree that is a real possibility. The original attacks really had no military meaning and could only serve one purpose...terror. So perhaps their hope was to enrage Israel into a rash response that could result in greater loss/impact. I suppose they could have also hoped that Israeli response might have instigated a multi front war with Hezbollah/etc jumping in.

 

Anyone donating money to Harvard is already morally compromised or at the very least has strange priorities as to where money can do good

 

Taking hostages was the aim, they become either a bargaining chip to free prisoners or demonstrate Israelis would rather kill Palestinians than save the hostages.

 

Surely that was a Jeff Dunham bit.

 

Please tell me that's real.

 

Except they could have taken a lot of hostages without massive loss of life/random killing. And their leverage and world opinion would have been enhanced

 

Also, the UPenn protest by donors does not really seem related to the Hamas butchery, which should not be defended, but to any legitimization of the Palestinian cause at all.

The controversy began last month over a festival showcasing Palestinian art and culture, which Penn did not officially sponsor but held on its campus in Philadelphia. Jewish groups, ranging from the campus Hillel organization to the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League, objected to some of the speakers.

Ms. Magill, a lawyer, is a seasoned university administrator, but perhaps nothing had prepared her for the backlash to the Palestine Writes Literature Festival, which said it was the only North American literary festival dedicated to Palestinian writers and artists.

Among 123 cultural and literary figures presenting at the conference were Isabella Hammad, the British-Palestinian author of the 2023 novel, “Enter Ghost,” and Darin J. Sallam, a Jordanian writer-director whose 2021 historical drama “Farha” recounts the story of a Palestinian girl caught in the upheaval of 1948 as Palestinians were expelled or fled their homes during the birth of the Israeli state. (The American Jewish Committee also objected to the film.)

Conference organizers said they began hearing of complaints from local Jewish organizations in August. A letter from the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia to university officials suggested that the conference threatened the “well-being” of Jewish students and noted that its dates fell just before Yom Kippur.


Penn’s Leadership Under Fire From Prominent Donors

This looks like more of the "Palestine exception to Free Speech" - ‘The Palestinian exception to free speech’: Students and scholars feel muzzled on college campuses over tense topic - The Boston Globe

This Boston Globe piece from January refers to it

The result, they say, is a chilling effect on those studying Palestinian realities and experiences. Researchers and lawyers call the phenomenon the “Palestinian exception to free speech.”

University administrators, meanwhile, are stuck in the crosshairs as they risk being labeled antisemitic while trying to maintain freedom of speech, professors and researchers said.

Harvard has since backtracked and offered a fellowship to Kenneth Roth, the former head of Human Rights Watch. Roth said in an interview with The Boston Globe the reversal “does nothing to address the broader problem of academic freedom for less visible scholars and students who criticize Israel.”

Roth's story is a solid example

 

They could have, and I don't think the second part is true. Taking hostages isnt going to enhance anyone's opinion of you, particularly those in position to negotiate.

 

Enhanced vs murdering hundreds of innocent civilians was the point. No one is saying they would be viewed positively, it's degrees of negative

 

this is a sticky wicket. UN says Israeli military assassinated a journalist in WB during a raid in a refugee camp and that Israel must cooperate in the US led investigation.

Israeli forces killed Abu Akleh ‘without justification’, UN inquiry says (msn.com)

Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American and acclaimed correspondent for the Doha-based media network, was shot in the head while covering an Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank in May 2022.

“The killing of Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin is a direct result of Israel’s militarisation of law enforcement operations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” said Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission.

“Shireen Abu Akleh is another victim of the excessive and disproportionate force used by Israeli security forces in these operations. This was also an attack against journalists, who were all clearly identifiable, which is a recurring pattern identified by the Commission.”

The UN body recommended that the Israeli government cooperate fully with the United States investigation into the killing of Abu Akleh. It said it would provide the evidence it collected to the International Criminal Court for its investigation into the Situation in the State of Palestine.

 

In a strange way, it reminds me of the U of Texas donors becoming unhinged over students coming out against "The Eyes of Texas." Ongoing example of how donors to universities hate the students at their schools and are basically big babies.