[Marxism] Zionism: York U. Prof: sues for 10 Million...

[davidquarter@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

http://www.thevarsity.ca/news/870837.html

AND

http://www.thevarsity.ca/news/870837.html?page=2

More PR woes for York University: $10-million defamation suit by prof
By STEPHEN HUI
Published: Monday, February 21, 2005

TORONTO (CUP) - While York University and its faculty union won't discuss the
status of his complaint, a professor demanding $10 million in damages and an
apology from the university for alleged defamation says he's confident he'll 
win if it
goes to arbitration.

Social science professor David Noble maintains the university damaged his
reputation, discriminated against him, and violated his academic freedom when it
issued a press release Nov. 19, 2004, condemning material he distributed at a
campus event a day earlier as "targeting Jewish members of the York community."

"By assassinating my character, I assume they hoped to silence me," said Noble,
who is Jewish.

The York University Faculty Association agrees with the professor and is 
formally
supporting his grievance, which also calls for the university to send out a 
second
press release acknowledging the first one was in error and a breach of the 
union's
contract with the administration.

The press release appeared to bring the university and its fundraising 
organization,
the York University Foundation, together with student groups Hillel and 
Solidarity for
Palestinian Human Rights to denounce the material, of which Noble distributed
several copies at an SPHR film night.

But the pro-Palestinian group issued its own statement disowning its 
participation in
the university's release several days later.

Noble's two-page document suggested the university's recent decisions to crack
down on pro-Palestinian activists and bring the Toronto Argonauts' football 
stadium
on campus may have been influenced by the political views and business interests
of some of the foundation's board members.

The document linked several board members to Israeli fundraising organizations,
alleging the foundation is "biased by the presence and influence of staunch pro-
Israel lobbyists, activists, and fundraising agencies."

"It identifies the directors of the York University Foundation and some of the
organizations to which they are affiliated, and the identification of various
organizations that raise money for and lobby for Israel," Noble said.

That's it," the professor added. "So, there's absolutely zero ethnic 
identification."

Within 24 hours of the document's distribution on campus, the administration 
issued
its press release. The next day, there was an article in the Globe and Mail; 
coverage
in the Toronto Star followed the day after.

In the release, the president of the university, Lorna Marsden, referred to the
document as "highly offensive material, which singles out certain members of the
 York community on the basis of their ethnicity and alleged political views."

According to Noble, despite the union's insistence it be taken down, the 
release is
still available on the university's website.

"To be clear, the university did not allege anti-Semitism nor did we name the
individual," said Nancy White, York's director of media relations. "However, it 
is our
view that this kind of material diminishes our sense of community in a 
university
environment."

White disputed the allegations in Noble's document.

"We don't take positions on foreign policy matters," she said.

In SPHR's statement Nov. 24, the group claimed the administration asked two of 
its
spokespersons to condemn material they hadn't seen. Noble's document was
appended to that statement, which slammed "continuing and dangerous attempts to
conflate opposition to Zionism and Israeli policies with unqualified 
anti-Semitism."

Furat Al Yassin, who was quoted as SPHR president in the university's release, 
was
out of the country and unavailable for comment, according to Shadi Hajjara, the
group's Toronto regional co-ordinator, who said he supports Noble's $10-million
grievance.

Asked what stage the grievance was in, the faculty union's communications 
officer,
Jay Rahn, said, "Nothing's changed," but wouldn't comment any further.

White also refused to comment on the grievance, saying it's a personnel issue.


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