William I. Robinson is a sociology professor in the University of California, Santa Barbara
A Jewish sociology professor undergoes investigation over drawing an analogy between Nazi atrocities and the Israeli massacre of Palestinians in Gaza.
The probe by the University of California, Santa Barbara, will look into allegations of improper conduct and anti-Semitism against William I. Robinson, who compared Israel's three-week-long onslaught against Gazans to the Holocaust.
Robinson in January sent an e-mail to 80 of his students, in which he juxtaposed photos of Jews killed by the Nazis and similar photos of Palestinians killed in Israeli incursions.
"Gaza is Israel's Warsaw - a vast concentration camp that confined and blockaded Palestinians," Israeli Ynet news quoted the e-mail entitled "Parallel images of Nazis and Israelis."
The email said Israel is subjecting Palestinians "to the slow death of malnutrition, disease and despair, nearly two years before their subjection to the quick death of Israeli bombs."
"We are witness to a slow-motion process of genocide...," Robinson wrote in his e-mail. The move drew sharp criticism from Jewish groups and two students who quit the class and filed complaints, leading to formation of an ad hoc committee by the university's Academic senate.
The committee is to investigate if Robinson has violated university policy that bans professors from intimidating students and using campus resources for personal, political reasons unrelated to their classes.
Robinson, however, has rejected the allegations, arguing that it was within his rights of academic freedom to challenge students with controversial topics.
He called the investigation a "violation of academic freedom," saying that the students have formed a support committee and outside academics, including noted sociopolitical analyst Noam Chomsky, have publicly sided with Robinson.
A Jewish sociology professor undergoes investigation over drawing an analogy between Nazi atrocities and the Israeli massacre of Palestinians in Gaza.The probe by the University of California, Santa Barbara, will look into allegations of improper conduct and anti-Semitism against William I. Robinson, who compared Israel's three-week-long onslaught against Gazans to the Holocaust.
Robinson in January sent an e-mail to 80 of his students, in which he juxtaposed photos of Jews killed by the Nazis and similar photos of Palestinians killed in Israeli incursions."Gaza is Israel's Warsaw - a vast concentration camp that confined and blockaded Palestinians," Israeli Ynet news quoted the e-mail entitled "Parallel images of Nazis and Israelis."
The email said Israel is subjecting Palestinians "to the slow death of malnutrition, disease and despair, nearly two years before their subjection to the quick death of Israeli bombs."
"We are witness to a slow-motion process of genocide...," Robinson wrote in his e-mail. The move drew sharp criticism from Jewish groups and two students who quit the class and filed complaints, leading to formation of an ad hoc committee by the university's Academic senate.The committee is to investigate if Robinson has violated university policy that bans professors from intimidating students and using campus resources for personal, political reasons unrelated to their classes.
Robinson, however, has rejected the allegations, arguing that it was within his rights of academic freedom to challenge students with controversial topics.
He called the investigation a "violation of academic freedom," saying that the students have formed a support committee and outside academics, including noted sociopolitical analyst Noam Chomsky, have publicly sided with Robinson.
Courtesy: Press TV
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