Faculty Anti-Semitism, Part One: Michael Chikindas at Rutgers

This is a two-part three four-part post, on the phenomenon of anti-Semitism among university faculty members. Part One addresses the situation of Prof. Michael Chikindas at Rutgers, who has been sanctioned for posting anti-Semitic memes on his Facebook page.  Part Two will discuss Hatem Bazian, a lecturer at UC Berkeley and a founder of Students for Justice in Palestine, who has circulated equally bigoted images via Twitter. Part Three will respond to some of the defenses that have been raised on behalf of Chikindas and Bazian.

Michael Chikindas is a tenured professor of Food Science at Rutgers University. He is also an anti-Jewish bigot, as is evidenced by his Facebook posts, which often feature classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and grotesque cartoons that would be thoroughly familiar to readers of the Daily Stormer.  Chikindas's anti-Jewish ravings were first reported by the website Israellycool, and later by Tablet, The Algemeiner, and NJ.com, and other sites.  Chikindas is nothing if not inventive.  He claims not only that Israelis were responsible for 9/11 -- as do many well-known conspiracy theorists -- along with the standard Holocaust denial, but also that Jews, masquerading as Turks, were responsible for the Armenian genocide.  Perhaps needless to say, Chikindas denies any anti-Jewish prejudice, and claims that he is merely an anti-Zionist.  You can see several of Chikindas's posts after the jump [I am not putting them on the main page for obvious reasons] and decide for yourself about the relationship between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.

Meanwhile, Rutgers president Robert Barchi and Chancellor Deba Dutta have issued a strong condemnation of Chikindas's bigotry, and announced that he will not be allowed to teach required courses, so that "No Rutgers student will be required to take a course that he teaches." Chikindas has been removed from his position as the director of the Center for Digestive Health, and "No Rutgers employee will be required to work in an administrative unit that he heads."  Finally, the university is exploring further disciplinary proceedings against Chikindas, under the terms of the faculty union contract, that may possibly lead to "suspension at less than full pay."

After the jump, I will post several of the offensive images from Chikindas's Facebook page, and comment on the disciplinary measures taken against him.  Tomorrow, I will also post some similar images that were tweeted by Hatem Bazian. I am a little hesitant to post such venomous memes, but I decided it was necessary to illustrate the point about anti-Semitism in the guise of anti-Zionism, and I am confident that readers of The Faculty Lounge will recognize them for what they are.

 The images below do not leave any doubt about Chikindas's sentiments, but that does not mean that all of President Barchi's disciplinary measures are justified. 

There is more of this stuff, but I think that's enough to convey the general tenor of his posts. And it is easy to see why Rutgers President Barchi decided to take action.  Academic freedom does not entitle a faculty member to teach any particular class, nor to hold an administrative position, so the first two measures regarding Chikindas seem reasonable enough for the protection of students and staff.  The potential suspension of Chikindas, which is under investigation but has not been determined, is more problematic.  In 1967, the Rutgers Trustees adopted the following Statement of Academic Freedom, which is also incorporated in the contract with the Rutgers faculty union:

Outside the fields of instruction, artistic expression, research, professional and clinical practice, and professional publication, faculty members, as private citizens, enjoy the same freedoms of speech and expression as any private citizen and shall be free from institutional discipline in the exercise of these rights. The conduct of the faculty member shall be in accordance with standards dictated by law.

In other words, a faculty member can be disciplined for bigoted speech within the course of his or her academic or related work, but not for purely "extramural" speech. (This accords with AAUP principles as well.)  Chikindas's Facebook-posted anti-Semitism has nothing to do with his field of food science, so it would seem that "institutional discipline" -- which would include suspension, but not administrative re-assignment -- should be barred on academic freedom grounds.  This is the position taken by my own university regarding the Holocaust denier Arthur Butz, who teaches electrical engineering, and I think it is the right result.

Tomorrow’s post will discuss Hatem Bazian, a lecturer in the Department of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley, whose Twitter feed has circulated equally offensive memes.  

Comments

[rob apuzo]

more immigration = more anti-semites; american proles are not

[Deep State Special Legal Counsel]

What is it with these professors? Arthur Butz, now this guy? They have too much time on their hands. They have achieved some degree of creative and professional status and economic security and resort to this? Why? The sad thing is that these goofs will get cited to as expert AUTHORITY on "news" websites like the Daily Stormer, Info Wars and Breitbart news. These are the "good people" on the other side.

[Stan Nadel]

I think the academic freedom argument is misguided here. The notion that Chikindas could conceivably treat a Jewish student fairly is simply not credible given his level of bigotry against Jews-no more so than if he were an avid Nazi or KKKer. The fact that their bigotry is irrelevant to the course material is no assurance of fairness to students. And he teaches grad level courses--could he be a mentor to a Jewish grad student or give fair letters of recommendation? I don't think so. Nor, given the fact that such bigotry is rarely directed only against Jews, is it safe to assume he wouldn't also discriminate against members of some other groups. That being the case he is so compromised as a teacher that he has no place in a university classroom even if his courses are not required and can be avoided by Jewish students.

[mb]

Note that he has lectured and visited in Israel several times yrs ago before Rutgers! He was at the Technion in Haifa and elsewhere....Adds another strange note to his mania...

[anon]

For those who would deny it (hopefully, some will try) I can personally attest to the Jew hate in legal academia, and I mean at the highest levels.

There are the open statements, e.g., "the last thing we need around here is another middle aged, straight, cisgender, Jew male," Have we ALL not heard some variant of this?

Then, there are those who cloak their Jew hate in anti Israel garb. We've seen much of this debated here in these pages, and it always becomes quite clear that those who say that they "love Jews" but "hate Zionists" are actually full hate for Jews.

The actual Jew hate that is displayed above is more rare, I think. Legal academicians like to think of themselves as sophisticated, highly successful competitors. Most were pampered in elite families and did well on standardized tests, in elite colleges and some did well in law school (many, not so much, but graduated from elite law schools nevertheless).

As Ann Richards said (in a different context) "they were born on third base on think they hit a home run."

For these snarky and usually very immature, self regarding, egotists, Jews are a threat. Pure and simple.

[Mark Regan]

On the reasons why Rutgers adopted a Statement of Academic Freedom in 1967. Did it have something to do with Eugene Genovese's 1965 statement welcoming the impending victory of the Viet Cong, and Nixon's calling, I think, for Genovese to be fired?

[Deep State Special Legal Counsel]

So, Professor Ckikindas teaches how and when to drop fries and they call that "Food Science?" I guess if one puts meat and lettuce together between two pieces of bread at Subway, they are called "Sandwich Consultants."

[Deep State Special Legal Counsel]

I looked at this guy's curriculum vitae: It can be summed up in one sentence. Does Yogurt make you poop? And us tax payers funded this Yokel.

[Jeff Rice]

Sir Moses Finley (nee Moses Finklestein) was fired from Rutgers in 1952 for refusing to state whether he was a communist. After establishing himself as a distinguished historian and Chaired Professor at Cambridge, he was invited back to Rutgers in 1972 to deliver some lectures. Genovese, contra to the report above was not fired (despite pressure brought to bear on Rutgers President Mason Gross. Gross stood up for academic freedom. Genovese did leave Rutgers shortly thereafter, first for George Wiliams University in Montreal and then to the University of Rochester where he became Chair of History etc.

[concerned_citizen]

Stan wrote in part, "...even if his courses are not required and can be avoided by Jewish students".

While I'm not sure I agree with his larger point (not sure I disagree yet, either), I wanted to focus on this last bit.

Are his courses also offered by other professors? If not, having him teach only non-required courses could still be viewed as being a limitation on Jewish students' access to courses.