The UnCivil University: Intolerance on College Campuses

(Paperback)

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In the name of academic freedom, the core values of higher educationhonest scholarship, unbiased research, and diversity of thought and personhave been corrupted by an academy more interested in preserving its privileges than in protecting its own integrity. The American university has lost its civility. Nowhere is this loss more apparent than in the rise of anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism on college campuses. This book documents the alarming rise in bigotry and bullying in the academy, using a range of evidence from first-hand accounts of intimidation of students by anti-Israel professors to anti-Semitic articles in student newspapers and marginalization of pro-Israel scholars. The UnCivil University exposes the unspoken world of double standards, bureaucratic paralysis, and abdication of leadership that not only allows but often supports a vocal minority of extremists on campus.

Reviews

The UnCivil University is one of those rare books that shines a light on a problem that many have been too blind to see or too ashamed to acknowledgenamely, the rise in anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism on the American college campus. Gary Tobin and his colleagues document this troubling development with meticulous care, showing how at many leading universities a small but aggressive minority has succeeded in sowing hatred for Israel and hostility toward Jewish students and faculty who dare to defend the only free and democratic state in the Middle East. This is a timely book, because the agents of bigotry and unreason on the campus have advanced very far toward their goal of closing down enlightened debate on the future of the Middle East. If they succeed, all of usJews and gentiles alikewho believe in the ideals of pluralism and rational discourse will be the losers. The publication of this volume represents an important step in restoring a civil and enlightened university. -- James Piereson, executive director, John M. Olin Foundation
The one-sided coercive atmosphere prevalent on so many of our campuses is depriving an entire generation of the kind of education they deserve. When it comes to social, political, religious, and ideological matters, the academy has too often shown a pronounced preference for only one perspective. As this important book makes clear, it is high time for all of us to insist that colleges promote a civil yet robust exchange of ideasthe very foundation of a liberal education. -- Anne D. Neal, president, American Council of Trustees and Alumni
Gary Tobin and his co-authors identify a pernicious trend on college campuses and devote their considerable analytical ability to finding ways to combat it. Anti-Semitism is a blight on any society; it has no place in civil discourse. As this book makes clear, much work remains before it is banished to history forever. -- Tom Lantos, Congressman, Democrat, San Francisco, San Mateo
In this alarming, well-sourced analysis, researchers for the Institute for Jewish & Community Research find anti-Israel propagandists using the banner of academic freedom to intimidate, marginalize and indoctrinate....They include practical recommendations, clear-headed rebuttals to opposing arguments, interviews with varied students, and sober deliberation on the universitys responsibilities. * Publishers Weekly *

Author Bio

Gary A. Tobin was president of the Institute for Jewish & Community Research (IJCR) and director of the Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University for fourteen years. His books include Jewish Perceptions of Anti-Semitism, Rabbis Talk about Intermarriage, and The Trouble with Textbooks. Aryeh Kaufmann Weinberg is a research associate at IJCR. Jenna Ferer is a former research associate at IJCR.