Tuesday, November 28, 2006
The Lunatic Professor Noble
1. Last year I published a piece on the lunatic anti-Semitic Luddite from
York University, David Noble, here:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=19932
Here is a selection (go to web page for full article):
Noble combines Luddism and dislike of Christianity with utter contempt and
hatred for Jews and Judaism. He is a leftist hater of Jews who himself
was born Jewish, a fact that helps him defend himself against charges of
anti-Semitism. Self-hating Jewish academics are common on campus today,
and range all the way from the phony sophisticates like MIT.s Chomsky and
NYU.s Tony Judt, all the way down to the vulgar neo-nazi buffoonery of
DePaul.s Norman Finkelstein. Like those others, Noble has a long history
of bashing Israel and demonizing Zionism. He has maliciously tried to
stir up anti-Jewish passions at York, where he alleges that the board of
the York University Foundation, the school.s fundraising arm, is biased by
.the presence and influence of staunch pro-Israel lobbyists, activists and
fundraising agencies.. Meaning Jews.
In late November 2004, Noble got into trouble for biting the hand that
pays his York salary. He was attacked by his own administration for
handing out information sheets regarding the York Foundation. He
maintained that the presence of Jews on the board affects the .political
conduct of York's administration. in important ways, such as the
.silencing of pro-Palestinian voices. on York.s campus. The University
then issued a press release on Nov. 19, 2004, condemning material Noble
had been distributing at a campus event a day earlier as "targeting Jewish
members of the York community." Noble is tied to local pro-Palestinian
groups, who back him in his nuisance litigation against York. Meanwhile,
he has been condemned by the Canadian Jewish Congress and the United
Jewish Appeal Federation of Greater Toronto for his anti-Jewish and
anti-Israel activities.
But Noble.s latest high-visibility antic has been against the right of
Jewish students at York University to observe Yom Kippur. Most
universities try to accommodate Jewish students, often asking professors
not to schedule exams in the Jewish High Holidays. York actually cancels
classes altogether. Noble maintains that this is .discriminatory and
illegal., because classes are not cancelled (unless later made up) for
every holiday of every other conceivable religious persuasion. Chris
Morley, a spokesperson for Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, said canceling
classes on holidays .is a decision the university has the authority to
make,. adding that .it seems the York policy is reasonable..
Prof. Martin Lockshin, an observant Jew who teaches at York and is on the
university.s senate, said that the holiday policy follows a general York
principle of respecting religious diversity; but - more importantly - it
avoids problems that would be created when many students and faculty
cannot attend class. York also holds no classes on Christmas and Good
Friday, but Noble threatened to hold classes on Good Friday as a political
statement. Noble demanded that York stop accommodating Jewish students
and he threatened to hold classes on the Jewish High Holidays to show his
contempt for them. When threatened by the administration, Noble claimed
he would henceforth cancel all classes for any holiday of any sort for any
religion, including those of Bahais, Zoroastrians, and Wiccans.
Now just for the record, on Yom Kippur the Jewish students at York (Jews
are 10% of the student body there) fast for 26 hours, pray the entire day,
and may neither write nor use electricity. So it makes perfect sense to
make accommodations for them, and I am sure that if anyone can find any
Christian, Hindu or Moslem holidays on which people fast for 26 hours,
York would similarly be happy to oblige them.
*****
Anyway, now Noble is suing his own university again and some Jewish groups
for pointing out that he is an Anti-Semite:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1164149417204&call_pageid=968350130169
Professor suing York U.
Jewish groups also target of lawsuit
Claims they suggested he was anti-Semitic
Nov. 22, 2006. 01:00 AM
LOUISE BROWN
EDUCATION REPORTER
History professor David Noble is suing York University's fundraising
foundation and several Jewish organizations for defamation, claiming they
suggested he is anti-Semitic to try to gag criticism of their activities.
Noble, 61, who is Jewish, has brought a $25 million lawsuit against the
York University Foundation, including outgoing York president Lorna
Marsden, as well as the Canadian Jewish Congress' Ontario region, Hillel
of Greater Toronto and the United Jewish Appeal of Greater Toronto for
their criticism of flyers he distributed.
The flyers accused the university of being biased in favour of Israel and
restricting pro-Palestinian groups on campus more harshly than others.
Noble distributed the flyers, titled "The Tail that Wags the Dog," on
campus in 2004. They named directors and staff of the York University
Foundation and cited various members' links with pro-Israel agencies, such
as the United Jewish Appeal.
In response, Noble said, members of Hillel of Greater Toronto sent a fax
to the university expressing concern that the flyer suggested "Jews
control York University" . something Noble denies having said.
He said he criticized York figures for their political views on Israel,
not their ethnicity or religion.
The university later issued a news release condemning what Marsden called
"this highly offensive material, which singles out certain members of the
York community on the basis of their ethnicity and political views."
While it did not name Noble, it quoted a Jewish student leader who was
concerned about "such inflammatory material," and said "it is unacceptable
for any students to be exposed to this type of bigotry."
Angry his claims were being called bigoted, Noble has already filed a
union grievance seeking an apology and $10 million in damages for
defamation.
Noble has also filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission
against York for its long-standing practice of cancelling all classes on
Jewish high holidays, such as Yom Kippur.
York established the policy years ago at the request of Jewish students,
but it allows any student to obtain a change of schedule if a class
conflicts with a religious holiday.
In response, Noble, an outspoken critic of the policy, cancels his own
classes on Muslim holidays as well.
"Look, I have very diverse classes and I want to dramatize the point that
we are a multicultural, publicly funded university, so we should either
recognize all religious high holidays or none," he has said.
York has an estimated 5,000 Jewish students, roughly 10 per cent of its
student body, and it began cancelling classes on Rosh Hashanah and Yom
Kippur 40 years ago.
Last year, Noble said he would hold classes on the Jewish holidays in
defiance of York's policy, but he changed his mind after a student filed a
complaint and he received threatening phone messages.
*****
3. Dhimmi Watch story:
http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/014198.php
4. Lego Concentration Camp Sets:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/793427.html
