Tom Paulin, Mona Baker, and now . . .
Andrew Wilkie, Nuffield Professor of Pathology, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford, UK. funded by the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine have just got a grant from the Wellcome Trust and are funded by the Medical Research Council, Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Wolfson Foundation, E.P. Abraham Research Fund and the Nuffield Medical Trustees, and Oxford University (and funded by, or of interest to, the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS).
(Others who share Professor Wilkie's views. Potential consequences of Prof. Wilkie's views.)
Watch the blogosphere get to work: Stephen Rittenberg saw it at International Academic Friends of Israel. Then Naomi Ragen picked up on it, then Charles Johnson.
Ragen wrote:
Dear Dr. Wilkie,As the emails poured in, Wilkie sort of apologized and the University of Oxford promised to investigate.
Ah the wonders of the internet. No longer can closet anti Semites ply their trade under the cover of darkness. Now the entire world knows who you are, as your disgusting bias in dealing with Amit Duvshani is now out there for all to see. The Jews have been living in the land of Israel for three thousand years. Indeed, as Disraeli pointed out, while your ancestors were still swinging from the trees, ours were priests in the Temple of Solomon.
You can accept or reject Mr. Duvshani on the basis of his academic qualifications. But to reject him on the basis of his qualifications as a human being because he served in the Israeli army and defended the Jews in their ancestral homeland shows me, an Israeli, a Jew, the author of six books, one play, and numerous articles that you Brits are still swinging from the trees in a Neanderthal morality that stinks of eras only lately ended.
For shame, Herr Professor. For shame Oxford.
Naomi Ragen
Some choice comments. Iowahawk is in fine form, as usual. (And
here's another parody.)
This is pretty common attittude in the UK. I"ll never forget talking to a British chap who had gone to the same Univ as me in the US (U Penn). When I asked him how he had liked it, he replied, bluntly, that it was too overrun with Jews and Asians. Moreover, the Jews and Asians were all striver types eager to be doctors or bankers and were none interested in poetry or philosophy as he was.Prof. Wilkie has gotten many letters by now, and has recanted as much as he is going to, but will he face any consequences? Will policies against discrimination be enforced? If you want to keep up the pressure on his sponsoring institutions, here are some email addresses. I'm not going to quote these long letters here but they are good models.
it brings to mind the Irish fellow who referred to the Israelis as "Jew bastards" in casual conversation with me. I really never thought I'd live to see the day when such blatant bigotry is "cool" again among supposedly educated people.
ive been surprised by how often you can just pick up a phone and get someone, and how often the antisemetic ones will attempt to backtrack (i did that once with that scummy bookstore, i think near cambridge, that boycotted israeli books, i got a couple of staff members to finally say that they thought the policy couldnt be justified); i think its worth making the calls, sending email, you wont change their antisemetic little minds if theyre true antisemites, but you might get the ones who are just "fashion" anti semites to rethink their position, at the very least youll let the scums know that out there in the real world there are people who find their views disgusting
I'd be interested to know more about this professor, particularly his age. The very fact that he would have responded to this applicant, in such a racist way, via email indicates a certain ingnorance about the way information gets around these days. I imagine he is sitting back in his office muttering about these "damnable blogs," dismayed that so many people seem to care about his email. I'm sure in the old days that such a matter wouldn't have gotten around, but by now his email is probably up on dozens of blogs, and will probably make its way to "Best of the Web," and will probably make Instapundit and Andrew Sullivan, and then who knows. A couple years ago, only a select few would have heard about his bizarre racist rantings. Today, the whole world knows.
I don't doubt that hateful biases are enshrined at reputable academic institutions (witness Columbia University which hired both Paulin and De Genova). What I doubted was that an educated University professor would actually document his hateful bias in a real world situation -- i.e. rejecting a job application. That part seemed incredible to me.
As for the apologies. All pretty much standard stuff from the file of canned obligatory responses. Columbia did the same with De Genova. Nothing will happen to this guy. In fact, he is likely already a hero to a large part of the academic left and Oxford will be afraid to touch him for violating their hiring policies, assuming they cared to do so in the first instance.
Well, I'll be... He is reading his mail. I just got a message from him that says:
"All I can say to you is that my apology is genuine. -- Andrew Wilkie"
I replied that as a Jew whose father was the victim of antisemitic prejudice and quotas in higher education during the 1930's and whose mother's family was wiped out by the Nazis in Poland and Vienna, I would take him at his word.
I am a student at the University of Oxford and words fail me. . . . He broke about a dozen of the University's own rules and there should be no legal problem in removing him from his post. Whether The Powers That Be in the University fully realise just what it is this creep's gone and done and will throw the book at him is another matter.
Ive just met an Jordanian Lady, who is here to recieve Chemotherapy. We talked (she has no idea Im Jewish) and as she talked about her wonderful life saving treatment..she mentioned ALL of her Physicians that have keep her alive for these 3 years...ALL...are Jewish...What can I Tell Ya?
UPDATE: Charles has the latest, and Oxblog is also on the case. The story has legs. (Don't worry, Glenn, we're carrying on fine without you.)
UPDATE: It's in the British press.
Mr Duvshani told The Telegraph that he was shocked by the email. Speaking from his home in Tel Aviv, he said: "I was appalled that such a distinguished man could think something like that. I did not expect it from a British professor. I sent similar applications all round Europe and did not have another response like that. Science and politics should be separate. This is discrimination." Mr Duvshani said he would not be put off coming to Britain, because "I think there are better people than him there". He said, however, that he was unlikely to accept any position offered by Oxford University.No shit. And Imshin uncovers the fact that Wilkie does collaborate with Israelis when it suits him. So he's a hypocrite too. (No permalink - use Allison's summary and links.)
UPDATE: Even more links and comments on this story.
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