The SPME has publised Manfred Gerstenfeld’s article – NTNU, a Norwegian Hate University – which was originally published in Hebrew in the weekly Makor Rishon.

Scholars for Peace of the Middle East, which opposes academic boycotts has already informed the 30 000 academics on its worldwide mailing list about NTNU’s abuse of values of what a university should stand for. When the next biased lectures will be given there will be undoubtedly more bad international publicity for NTNU. Many scholars at that university live in the illusion that due to their research NTNU will become known internationally as a place of scientific achievement. Unless the university’s changes the content of its lecture series on the Middle East it is far more likely to be publicized widely as a hate campus.

SPME Faculty Forum Editor’ s note: To write a protest note to the rector of the NTNU please contact Prof. Dr. Torbjørn Digernes at torbjorn.digernes@ntnu.no

Meanwhile dean Torbjørn Digernes’ blog, Rektors side (Dean’s page), is no longer accessible. This might be related to the twenty-something protests made against the seminar-series, to Gerstenfeld’s article, or it might be merely a coincidence. There is no way of knowing and although this is just a wee bit suspicous, there is no need to cry “wolf”. Yet.

What we can say is that while dean Digernes himself “salutes” the organizing committee behind the seminar-series, which he finds a “praiseworthy initiative”, quite a few people beg to differ. This seminar-series, the protesters say, is just another unbalanced piece of anti-Israelism in the guise of respectable research. Why else would 100% of the lecturers be well known Israel-critics? Why else would the seminar-series completely disregard the Israeli narrative and focus exclusively on the Palestinian?

Dean Torbjørn Digernes remains silent on these issues. Akersgata – Norway’s Fleet Street – does not press the issue.

Chances are that when the Norwegian public does hear of this, it will be in the form of an angry denounciation of the omnipotent Israel-lobby which has had the audacity to interfere with the legitimate business of Norwegian academia.

Nevermind. Those of us who remember January 8th know that there is nothing the violent elements of the Palestine-lobby can do which they have not already done.