On Thursday, April 30th, students at UC Santa Barbara demanded a meeting with UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang. They asked for an end to the witch-hunt against Professor William Robinson. Robinson has been targeted by the Anti-Defamation League because of his forwarding of images that made a historical comparison to the state violence of the Israeli military actions in Gaza with the state violence of the German Nazi Wehrmacht in Warsaw.

Professor William I. Robinson is scholar who has written books and articles on the subject of globalization, economics, and the third world struggle against imperialism and for social justice.

Students, faculty, and scholars have called on UCSB to end its investigation of Professor Robinson. “It’s nobody’s business -- especially when we’re talking about organizations outside of the university administration -- to try to dictate the content of his course,” Noam Chomsky said. “The course structure is up to the professor.” Chomsky added, "Charges of “anti-Semitism” are part of the ADL’s long-standing strategy to equate any criticism of Israel with anti-Jewish bias."

On Thursday, May 21st, a forum will be held at UCSB to discuss the principles and practices of academic freedom and the university’s related obligations. Read More

See also: Committee to Defend Academic Freedom at UCSB | Interview with William I. Robinson, The Battle for Global Civil Society | Transnational Capitalism, William Robinson | Democracy, Polyarchy, and U.S. Policy Towards Latin America