University of Michigan Press to Continue Publishing Joel Kovel’s “Overcoming Zionism” After Initially Dropping Book Due to Rightwing Criticism
Last week the University of Michigan Press voted unanimously to continue distributing books from the London-based independent publishing house Pluto Press. The controversy began earlier this summer when the university press initially decided to stop distributing Joel Kovel’s “Overcoming Zionism: Creating a Single Democratic State in Israel/Palestine.” [includes rush transcript]
We turn now to an important victory in the battle for free speech here in the United States. Last week the University of Michigan Press voted unanimously to continue distributing books from the London-based independent publishing house Pluto Press. The controversy began earlier this summer when the university press decided to stop distributing a new book by author and activist Joel Kovel published by Pluto Press. It’s called “Overcoming Zionism: Creating a Single Democratic State in Israel/Palestine.”
The press dropped Kovel’s book in August after receiving a series of threatening emails from a rightwing pro-Israel group called Stand With Us. But faced with a growing campaign led by fellow academics and civil libertarians, the board overturned its earlier decision regarding distribution of Kovel’s book. Last week’s key decision to continue ties with Pluto Press came in the midst of a series of events organized around what rightwing groups called “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week.”
Joel Kovel is an antiwar activist and former Green Party candidate for Senate. He is the author of over ten books. “Overcoming Zionism” is his most recent book. He joins me now in the firehouse studio in New York.
- Joel Kovel, activist and author of over ten books. His latest book was temporarily dropped by University of Michigan after an initial controversy. It’s called “Overcoming Zionism: Creating a Single Democratic State in Israel/Palestine.”
Filed under: Books, social & economic justice, US Politics
see video: Zionist Pressure Fails to Stop Overcoming Zionism Book The distributor dropped his book after receiving threatening emails from a Zionist pressure group. But the Committee for Open Discussion of Zionism was able to convince them to continue distributing it.
“Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords, not just to me, but to all of creation.”
This is your opinion, which more than half the people of the world disagree with. It is no more valid that opinion of Osama bin Laden that all non-Muslims must be enslaved or killed.
You don’t seem to care what the Koran says, so why should I care what the Bible says? You are a Christian supremacist and as any religious supremacist you are either a hypocrite or cannot follow simple logic. Or both.
“What is one example of where the U.S. government needs to stop supporting the radical Muslims”
Are you really that ignorant? I can provide a thousand examples. How about billions of petro-dollars that fuel Islamism all over the world? How about Islamist Gulf States being considered allies by the Department of State? How about terrorist fronts like CAIR or ISNA constantly being propped as moderates by the Department of Justice, the Pentagon, and the White House?
“one example of where and how they need to start supporting moderate Muslims?”
All the radical Muslims (whether it is an Middle Eastern section of the FBI’s translation unit that celebrated 9/11 attacks or Muslim prison chaplains that act as al-Qaeda recruiters) must be kicked out of the government and replaced by Muslims whose first priority is well-being of the United States, bit expansion of Islam.
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