University fails in his efforts to cancel a lecture on the Israeli massacre of Gazans

Clark University President John Bassett fails in his efforts to cancel a lecture by Norman Finkelstein on the Israeli massacre of Gazans. Basset sparked student fury earlier this month after he nixed the appearance of Finkelstein -- an outspoken critic of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians -- for fear that any support would undermine a university-sponsored conference on the Holocaust. The Students for Palestinian Rights and other organizations responded by circulating petitions and organizing a protest rally in criticism of what they believed to be a violation of the right of freedom of speech granted under the First Amendment.

The American Civil Liberties Union also wrote a letter Basset, reprimanding him for infringing upon academic freedom. In the face of the angry outburst, Basset revoked the cancellation and rescheduled Finkelsteins appearance for Monday, after the conference "I freely admit that the process could have been better," Bassett said in a statement. "I should have begun by consulting with the leaders of the sponsoring student organization, not by announcing a decision." "My decisions along the way in this case were made in an attempt to balance two goods -- free inquiry and common courtesy to visiting speakers," he added. Finkelstein -- a son of Holocaust survivors -- describes Israel as a terrorist state which unleashed an ongoing ethnic cleansing campaign on the Palestinians in 1948. In his book The Holocaust Industry, Finkelstein asserts that the Holocaust has been overused and exploited to justify discriminatory Israeli policies toward Palestinians.

Universities in the United States and Europe, under increased pressure from political Jewish circles, have stepped up efforts to prevent high-profile critics of Israel from making presence at universities in recent months. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was scheduled to deliver a speech at the Webster University in Geneva, Switzerland and to later participate in a question and answer session, but the event was cancelled following pressure from the Israeli lobby.