Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Tough one to title. For those who may have missed it, the blog Harry's Place has been shut down by a British academic (or her supporters) named Jenna Delich for reporting on the fact that Delich had pointed out and recommended an anti-Jewish piece posted on the web site of David Duke to a discussion list of the British UCU (teacher's union). The vagaries of British libel law apparently make internet hosts all the more spineless.
A witty and to the point backgrounder (disturbing on several levels) is posted here.
Harry's Place has set up temporary digs here.
Engage has background here, Contentious Centrist here, ModernityBlog here.
Edit: For those who don't follow links, here's more of the gist:
The British Union of Colleges and Universities (UCU) hosts an email list with around 700 subscribers. The UCU has been known as a haven for a certain percentage of political activists with an anti-Israel obsession who, even against legal advice that such activity may put them at odds with British law, continue to desire to put forward an academic boycott (and any other boycott they feel they could get away with) of Israeli academics.
The email list is home, I'm given to understand, to some pretty strong arguments on this issue. In the course of one of these exchanges, Jenna Delich, a lecturer at The Sheffield College, linked to an essay at the web site of one, David Duke, in support of points being made:
John,
In support to your link this may be a long but also an interesting reading:
http://www.davidduke.com/general/humanitarian-disaster_595.html
No comment necessary. The facts are speaking for themselves.
Jenna
JENNA DELICH
Interesting on a number of levels including the fact that certain advocates of an anti-Israel boycott are completely unable to discern the point at which criticism of Israeli policy has put them square on the ground of outright anti-Semitic racism. Even if one didn't know who David Duke was, or who the author of the article in question was (Duke didn't write it), a quick look at the site or a read of the tone and tenor of the article should have given one all the clues they needed.
Harry's Place, in ordinary work-a-day blog manner, posted a comment on this turn of events on the list and somebody...I don't believe anyone knows who at this point...complained to HP's hosting service, threatening a suit, and said hosting service took down Harry's Place.
That is the short of it. A temporary HP is up at an ironically named web site, here.
Update: Harry's is back on the air and Delich suspended from the list.
'Academic' may be a pretty generous description. Looks like she's a relatively newly qualified teacher, the anti-semitic part likely not so new.
Britain is lost... can't even bring myself to include the great in its name.
Harry's Place has been under attack before. David T. was being sued by the local British branch of Hamas.
The fact that local fascists can claim to be victims, and the fact that they can make threats like this shows how the British government is supporting it's citizens. Whose side are they on, anyway?
..and welcome back, Sol!