A much welcomed guest post from Roy Vega, a historian trained at one of Norway’s most prestigious universities – NTNU.
By Roy Vega, historian from NTNU
These days, secretary Anna Katharina Dahl at NTU-rector Torbjørn Digernes’ office has been busy until late at night, sensoring the emotionally laden e-mails of students and scholars from around the world. Never before has NTNU received so much international attention. Its bad that it is attention of such a critical nature - to the extent that it definitely harms the university’s scientific credibility as such. Now, its not the Israel or the Jews that have to fight for not being excluded in the academical society, the stage has swiftet 180 degress – it’s the NTNU university that might be excluded, for years. This is a time of reflection, in which some leaders might consider their role and responsibilities.
Sorry, Im a optimist, but not at all certain that this internal as well as strong international criticism will die down soon. With other words, when I write this, we really don’t know if November 12th is a beginning of an end or a start on something new, I personally hope for the both: NTNU’s attempt to be the first university in the free world to engage in an absolute, cultural and political boycott of Israel ended as a flop. Exactly the same way as it turned out when the city of Trondheim in 2005, when its council (ruled by the Sosialist leftparty, SV) tried to boycott Israel. Another flop.
Boycott or not: Finally NTNU can be forced to convert to a less prejudiced perspective on the world out there. Yes, even persons like me, sceptical to a 23. Arab state of Peace, placed on less than 0,2% land of the surrounding Arab world – (of all places) in the Middle of Israel, skeptical to the icon Arafat and the iconized group of the “Oslo agreement” - even I could put in some words one day. In a critical approach in the academy, as the academy actually should be, in order to balance the perspectives more. At least for some minutes. Just as a digression: I happen to search for the archive from the Oslo process some years ago. Then suddenly the archive was stolen one night in our Foreign ministeries, of those who have power to do so. Until this day, these archives, especially those parts who could track eventual, early ties to Moscow and Putins (now old) senior advicer Evgeni Primakov – is completely lost. In other words, its not only NTNU that has challenge with the integrity, its like a political frame of naked power out there also at the highest levels.
As a historian trained at the NTNU, I can assure you that there are electurers keeping a hight academical standard, but as we all know – the paradigm is often glued both to cultural and social codes, it appears as unwritten set of rules and is also affected by the Orwellian politically correctness in our media. A media which in this country still is dominated by two major opinion makers: The governmental broadcasting, NRK (Some 3 400 employed in total) and the Norwegian News Agency (NTB), under implicit Governmental funding as well. Together those institutions have introduced a political frame: They have for years placed both the selective, political-moral standards, sophisticatedly loaded rhetoric – and related linguistics and fraces, accordingly. This is after all also question of political power. A political loaded news agency (NTB) also pick a lot from other agencies – news that fits the above mentioned political correct standards! In Norway news-journalism happens to be in favor of the political left-of-centre. Should we accept this as media consumers? When the university in Oslo some years ago lifted journalism up to become media science on its higest, national academical level, Sigurd Allern became the first professor. His one of the most known stalinists in Norway, and he has still troubles looking back as well as sideways.
But all is not dark: We have got TV2 as a growing, independent TV-channel – but so far they hardly manage to break free from tight political correctness. Somewhat worse here than abroad. Read me correct: I am not asking for more conservative journalism, I am asking for political balance, academically as well as media-wise.
Its true what the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, claimed some days ago: The ongoing stream of electures on “Middle East and Palestine” on the NTNU this fall, carry all elements of pure political propaganda against Israel, implicit against Jews all over the world. Again: It is not that a critical, radical professor could not be invited for a guest electure! But when it’s a whole sequence of exactly the same type, voicing the same predictable and boring anti-Israel political approach, it has absolutely no business in a university auditorium, hiding under a academic umbrella. When the first year students of history for the first time should learn about the American revolution this fall. The frame was placed, accordingly: “The American revolution in the light of Karl Marx“. Needless to tell, lots of the students fell asleep.
After overwhelming reactions and protests from all over the world, the NTNU university has swift into a crise management modus these days: Now the boycott-problems has its backlash: How to come out of the boycott-mess with at least some parts of the face and head up? How to keep the reputation back? Should the board now say that the “-proposal to boycott Israel was voted down in the end” and/or – “put aside“, accordingly, or be even more self critical over the fasads – to put a psychological distance to the proposals itself? A proposal that has surfed through all filters there is on its way, from April, to the end station in November 12, on the table of the university board? Let me put this out in clear text: Just the thought of a serious university running its own, independent foreign policy is (read my lips) – insane. Folks, sorry to say – in this regard, life is not for amateurs.
The damage is done, not so much for Israel and Jews who – as you may imagine – should be excluded in what somebody thought should usher in a new academic, moral, international standard; but believe me, the backlash is extremely damaging for this university: Now it’s the entire NTNU that has to fight not to be excluded from the international society of academies! The leadership have simply no way out of the mess, but to suffer trouble with the reputation for years to come. Between you and me: I do think this boycott-mess should have a consequence for those leaders that let this case pass all the way to the top since April this year. That would be a visible task, in order to reestablish some moral standard, lets say, the other way.
If this also could bring in another paradigm in the very same university, with room for Jews in the overloaded “Palestine” (As we all know: This word in its connotation – includes all of Israel). If it could bring in some critical focus on Russia in the Middle East, on real ideology, goals and actions behind factions like Hezbollah, Hamas, Al Qaida, Taliban, Houdiths (Yemen), we are a step further. I am actually one of those who happen to be critical even to a 23. Arab state in the very middle of Israel, and I wish there was some room, a one day, or even just a few hours, where this critical approach should be allowed for and reflected upon. Maybe we, in this atmosphere even have set a standard for war, and not for peace. Simply because we are blinded by “politically correctness”. Well, the efforts to prevent NTNU and other universities to follow NTNUs boycott sample – has started today. We have all learned a lesson, and from that, there is a new beginning. We shall remain alert and demand a better, more open and including academy, which I still happen to be a part of.
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