UCLA prof reprimanded for linking to website advocating boycott of Israel

From the LA Times:

In a situation that stirred questions about academic freedom, a UCLA professor has been asked not to link his class online syllabus in the World Arts and Cultures/Dance Department to a website that called for a boycott of Israel, according to the head of the campus faculty Senate.

The link from class materials last quarter to that boycott campaign stepped too far into political activities, according to Andrew Leuchter, chairman of UCLA’s faculty Senate. Leuchter said the professor, David Delgado Shorter, has agreed not to repeat the link in future courses. But Shorter said he made no such promise.

Shorter said his understanding was that he agreed to continue discussions over linking to outside websites and that he awaits an explanation detailing campus policy about such matters. He said the link to the Israel boycott was just a number of suggested links for the class to explore in his winter term course “Tribal Worldviews.”

He said he discussed in class the point of view of people who are against the boycott. And, he said the links were not required reading for students and were “only provided as a clearinghouse” that students could choose to look at if they wanted. He said he did not know whether he would use the Israel boycott one again since he changes his courses every year.

The UCLA faculty leadership acted in response to a complaint from the AMCHA Initiative organization, a group of Jewish faculty who have in the past accused UC campuses of ignoring acts of anti-Semitism against Jewish students and of allowing protests against Israel’s policies to turn into harassment of Jews at UC. In response to a previous allegation from the group, the U.S. Department of Education last year said its civil rights branch is investigating whether UC Santa Cruz is a hostile environment for Jewish students.

For more on AMCHA see this post here, and for the situation at UC Santa Cruz here, here and here.