After 9/11, when the far-right became the self-appointed guardians of everything, one of their favorite places to target has been the universities. This is especially true of Middle Eastern studies departments. American Likudniks such as Daniel Pipes and his organization CampusWatch have targeted professors (and students) whose views they don't like.
Mainly those targeted are professors who speak out on the Palestine/Israel conflict. CampusWatch has gone after Edward Said, Sami Al-Arian, and many others. Just take a look at their website - sorry, you have to find it yourself, I'm not giving you the link - and tell me what they're doing is not a neo-McCarthy witchhunt. (On the side, Pipes was also appointed by Bush to the US Institute of Peace, albeit during a congressional recess so he wouldn't have to face confirmation.)
Now they are targeting Professor Joseph Massad of Columbia University. The reactionary New York Sun and New York Daily News have called for him to be fired. His colleagues are fighting back and asking all those concerned about academic freedom to sign a petition on his behalf.
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