University
lecturer branded `racist' for weblink
by Simon
Aronowitz
simon at
thoughtcrimenews dot com
26th August 2003
The two leading Jewish newspapers in the UK last weekend kicked off a potential firestorm over the views held by university academics.
Dr Nat Queen, lecturer in mathematics and statistics at the University of Birmingham, has been lambasted for a link on his homepage to a website which accuses the US government of being satanic, criticises Israeli policy and questions what involvement Israel may have had in the September 11th attacks in the US.
Dr Queen, on learning of growing student activity organised to denounce
him, said that he was "distressed to hear that there is this sort of campaign" since
he was an advocate of free speech and explained to ThoughtCrimeNews.com
that he merely sought to present material that was not covered by
the mainstream media.
He also explained that the link in question had actually been posted on his website for 2 years, but the material on the site he linked to had only recently been updated. He did not however seem to feel that the new material warranted the removal of the link from his website, citing the principle of free speech.
Whilst the views presented on the site are not necessarily those of
Dr Queen's, he nonetheless faces a severe backlash if the National
Union of Students (NUS) or organisations like the Union of Jewish Students
(UJS) decide to organise against him.
ThoughtCrimeNews.com has carried articles pointing out the farce that
is the official explanation of the September 11th attacks, but the
so-called `shocking material' includes the contention that `Not only
did the
Israelis have prior knowledge of the 9-11 attacks, they were closely
involved in their implementation as well,' a view that is supported
by very little evidence. Indeed, the case for 9/11 being an inside
job on the part of the US government rather than that of Israel's
Mossad is far more compelling.
Dr Queen has been asked by the University Information Office to alter his homepage twice, so that it is made clear that the page is neither an official University of Birmingham publication, nor that it represents the views of the University. He was also asked to remove the University crest from his site.
ThoughtCrimeNews.com sympathises with Dr Queen's predicament. Rather
than debate him on the issues raised by the material, the reaction
of the press has instead served to encourage condemnation before the
information is even evaluated. A charge of anti-semitism sticks like
mud, but Dr Queen made it clear that he frowns upon the accusation
and has some Jewish ancestry himself. He draws a clear distinction
between criticism of a country or its policies and criticism of a whole
people or nation, a line which frequently gets blurred by mainstream
news.
Simply by putting the link on his website, Dr Queen has committed a thoughtcrime for seeking to prompt thought and debate on issues and information which the public would not normally hear about.
What may have rung alarm bells for the UK Jewish publications and student
groups was the picture of a US flag with a swastika replacing the 50
stars. There are many in the US and around the world who have drawn
parallels with Germany in the 1930's and the USA since September 11th
and see the police state descending as it did in Europe leading up
to World War II. Similarly, regular `alternative news' trawlers on
the internet have regularly seen articles accusing the US of being
a fascist state or of coming under extreme pressure from certain pro-Israel
lobby groups. To many, Dr Queen's experience could be considered tame.
Were he a lecturer on a US university campus, he would already have
faced the wrath of Daniel Pipes' biased CampusWatch organisation and
calls for his dismissal. Thankfully, no such organisation exists in
the UK. Yet.
Conveniently for both the Jewish Chronicle and London Jewish News/TotallyJewish.com
which have both run stories on Dr Queen's website, the professor was
unavailable
for comment last week, returning from holiday after the story had gone
to press. As such, the coverage has been one-sided in its allegations
of prejudice, racism and `anti-Israel' views.
Dr Queen originally came over to the UK from the US on a Fulbright
Scholarship in the 1960's and has remained here ever since. He felt
at the time
that the US was "not a free country" and has "never regretted the
decision" to
move here.
His University colleague, Sue Blackwell, has received numerous hate emails for her views and coverage of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people. Dr Queen on the other hand has received only one and pointed out that his website has seen a substantial number of hits recently.
ThoughtCrimeNews.com will be following this story closely to see if
it gets whitewashed in the national press and has extended an invitation
to Dr Queen to submit a full statement for publication.
Wednesday 27th August 2003
Dr
Nat Queen's response:
"I was
distressed to learn of recent attacks on my personal website.
When I
returned from a short holiday last week, I found an e-mail from a
journalist at the London Jewish News, who wrote: "It has been
brought to our
attention that your website features links to extremist sites featuring
attacks on Israel and against Jewish people." Another journalist
at the
Jewish Chronicle, referring to a particular link, wrote: "I would
like to
know why you have links [sic] to this website and whether you will
consider
removing it, given its anti-Semitic overtones."
This is
a serious misrepresentation of the purpose of my links. If those
links feature any "attacks", they are basically against undemocratic,
imperialist and oppressive government policies and their supporters,
whoever
they are, irrespective of race or creed.
The accusations against my website are particularly surprising, since
the
site clearly demonstrates that I strongly support human rights and
free
speech, and this applies to everyone. In particular, I unreservedly
condemn
anti-Semitism or any other form of racism or unfair discrimination
which
attempts to restrict the basic rights of any minority groups.
The links on my website which seem so objectionable to some people
contain a
huge amount of material, and I certainly do not agree with every word
of it.
Some of those links are intended to highlight and document particular
government policies, both historically and at present. Readers may
draw
their own conclusions.
I understand that one of my links points to a site whose style of
presentation may seem distasteful to some readers, and this is unfortunate,
given some of the content of that site which I think should be freely
available. Readers who don't approve of that site are free to ignore
it.
The link is intended to provide a thought-provoking alternative view
of US
government policies, which one cannot find in the mainstream press.
The purpose
of all my links should be clear from my website. The only views
which I express myself are stated there, and I stand by every word.
Free
speech is a cherished principle which I defend most strongly, and I
find it
heartening to have received strong support for this from many of my
colleagues and from other readers elsewhere. As one reader pointed
out, if
all websites were forced to remove any links to which anyone registered
an
objection, there would be nothing left of the web!
I am glad
to say that my university apparently defends the principle of
free speech on personal websites, at least if the sites make it clear
that
they are purely personal and not official university webpages."
Dr
Queen's homepage
The
`offending' link
TotallyJewish.com's
coverage (London Jewish News)
