Neve Gordon

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Neve Gordon, born 15 June 1965, is a Senior Lecturer and head of the Department of Politics and Government^[1] at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, who writes on issues relating to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and human rights. A third-generation Israeli, Gordon did his military service in a IDF Paratrooper unit, and suffered severe injuries in action at Rosh Hanikra, as a result of which he has a 42 percent disability. During the first Intifada he served as director of Physicians for Human Rights, Israel. During the second Intifada he was an active member in Ta'ayush, Arab-Jewish Partnership.^{[citation needed]} He self-identifies as a member of the Israeli peace camp, having described Israel as an 'apartheid state'.^[2]

Contents 1 Academic career 2 Publications 3 Views 4 Books 5 References and Footnotes 6 External links

[edit] Academic career

Gordon received his doctorate at Notre Dame University in 1999, and has been a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and the Watson Institute at Brown University.

Gordon has participated in the 'Humanitarian Action in Catastrophe' group at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute.^[3]

[edit] Publications

He has been published in The Nation, The Guardian, Ha'aretz, The Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, In These Times, The National Catholic Reporter, The Chronicle of Higher Education and CounterPunch.

Gordon was co-author, together with Ruchama Marton, of Torture: Human Rights, Medical Ethics and the Case of Israel and editor of From the Margins of Globalization: Critical Perspectives on Human Rights. His book Israel's Occupation is was published by the University of California Press late 2008. Gordon has become known through his views for social justice in Israel and his vocal criticism of Israeli policies, as well as a controversy involving Steven Plaut in which Gordon sued Plaut for libel. In May 2006, the Israeli magistrate court in Nazareth ruled in favour of Gordon, and ordered Plaut to pay Gordon 80000 shekels in compensation plus 15000 shekels in legal fees.^[4] Both sides appealed to the District Court in Nazareth and in February 2008, the court overturned all but one count relating to a publication in which Plaut called Gordon a "Judenrat Wannabe". The court then reduced the damages to just 10,000 shekels (about US$2,700), with no payment of legal costs required, because "Gordon put himself in the eye of the storm of public discussion". ^[5][6] There is an ongoing appeal to the Supreme Court of Israel.

[edit] Views

Gordon self-describes as a supporter of the two state solution and as a member of the Israeli peace camp. In his opinion, three essential conditions must exist to solve the peace process:

• 1. "Israel's full withdrawal to the 1967 border with possible one per one land swaps so that ultimately the total amount of land that was occupied will be returned."
• 2. "Jerusalem's division according to the 1967 borders with certain land swaps to guarantee that each side has control over its own religious sites and large neighborhoods. These two components entail the dismantling of Israeli settlements and the return of the Jewish settlers to Israel."
• 3. "The acknowledgment of the right of return of all Palestinians but with the following stipulation: While all Palestinians who so desire will be able to return to the fledgling Palestinian state, only a limited number agreed upon by the two sides will be allowed to return to Israel; those who cannot exercise this right or, alternatively, choose not to, will receive full compensation."^[7]

Directly after the February 2009 Israeli election, Gordon stated that it would have "devastating effects". He also stated that the new Yisrael Beiteinu party possessed 'neo-fascist' tendencies. He concluded that the Obama administration should pressured the Likud-based government coalition economically and politically to adopt the two state solution.^[7]

Gordon wrote in an Los Angeles Times editorial on August 20, 2009 that he had decided to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel movement. He described his change of views as "painful" given that, in his opinion, the movement contains "echoes of anti-Semitism" and has a moral double standard. He stated that Israel had become so right wing and 'an apartheid state' that he felt he had no choice but to support this course of action.^[2]

The Ben-Gurion University management responded by denouncing Gordon's views. The President of the University, Professor Rivka Carmi, said, "We are appalled by Dr. Neve Gordon's irresponsible remarks, that morally deserve to be completely and utterly condemned. "We disapprove of Gordon's disastrous views and reject his cynical exploitation of the freedom of speech in Israel and the university." Israeli Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar called Gordon's article "repugnant and deplorable.^[8] Religious Affairs Minister Ya'akov Margi called on the university to immediately suspend Gordon from his job and to publicly condemn his article.^[9]

[edit] Books

• Torture, Human Rights, Medical Ethics and the case of Israel, Zed Books, New York, ISBN 1856493148 (1995; editor, with Ruchama Marton)
• From the Margins of Globalization: Critical Perspectives on Human Rights. Lexington Books, Lanham, MD, ISBN 0739108786 (2004; editor)
• Israel's Occupation. University of California Press, Berkeley CA, ISBN 0520255313 (2008)

[edit] References and Footnotes

[edit] External links

• Gordon's personal homepage
• Bio at The Nation
• Znet Bio
• Neve Gordon can't take criticism, An article by Alan Dershowitz
• Anti-Israeli? You just don't like what I say, Gordon's response to Alan Dershowitz
• Gordon's article in Al-Jazeera