Support grows for Arab-American journalist Helen Thomas

Resistance is growing to stop the most recent attack by Wayne State University against renowned Arab-American journalist Helen Thomas. Demonstrations, petition drives, support statements and more continue to demand that the university restore the Helen Thomas Spirit of Diversity in the Media Award.

Thomas is a world-renowned investigative journalist and WSU alumna. She was fired in May from Hearst News Service because of her staunch anti-Zionist position and her willingness to challenge U.S. and Israeli actions regarding Palestine. WSU used Thomas’ anti-Zionist comments made in her keynote talk at a Dec. 2 diversity conference in Dearborn, Mich., as a pretext to strip her name from the award.

The Arab American Student Union at WSU sponsored a well-attended protest at the administration building Dec. 10, supported by the Palestine Cultural Office, the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice and others. The protest received widespread coverage in the local media, including one of the largest Arab-American newspapers in the U.S., the Dearborn-based Arab American News.

“We strongly disagree with Wayne State University’s decision,” reads an editorial in its Dec. 11-17 edition of the newspaper. “We categorically reject equating Zionism with Judaism. ... Thomas was applauded when speaking truth to power until the power was Israel.”

The newspaper warned, “Unless this issue is properly addressed and corrected, this hastily made decision will negatively impact relations between the university and the Arab-American community for many years.” WSU has thousands of Arab-American and Muslim students, staff and faculty, reflecting metro Detroit’s large Middle Eastern population. The National Arab American Journalists Association, an organization with 250 members in the U.S., has also issued a statement denouncing this and other attacks on Thomas.

Wayne State and U.S.-Israel

Besides the billions of dollars the U.S. government gives Israel annually, the apartheid state benefits from assistance by U.S. colleges and universities. Numerous academics, graduate students and others have been fired or had their careers sabotaged for questioning their universities’ actions towards Israel, for supporting Palestine or even for just questioning U.S.-Israeli policies.

Wayne State is no exception. Former Wayne State president, Irvin D. Reid, joined at least 280 college and university presidents, the U.S. Congress and others in condemning a boycott against Israeli academic institutions by Britain’s University and College Union. Reid called the proposed boycott “a fundamentally indefensible action.” (Wayne State media release, Aug. 9, 2007)

Wayne State is fast increasing its partnerships with the garrison settler state of Israel, at a time when Israel is becoming more of a pariah throughout the world for its brutal apartheid actions against Palestine, attacks on Lebanon and other countries such as Iran.

Over the last year, three delegations of Wayne State officials have visited Israel. The latest included Wayne State provost, Ron Brown, the university’s chief academic officer and Medical School dean, Valerie M. Parisi. The first was in 2009 under the auspices of “TechTown,” essentially a research and patent bonanza for corporations mostly funded by taxpayers, student tuition dollars and cheap graduate student labor power.

Partnering with TechTown to prop up and cleanse Israel’s actions, as well as to consolidate and develop U.S. capitalist-imperialist plunder, is the Michigan Israel Business Bridge. A Dec. 8, 2009, presentation invited participants to “listen to [TechTown executive director, Randal Charlton’s] observations on the country and his thoughts on how TechTown and the surrounding community can partner with Israeli companies, entrepreneurs and scientists.” The Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice protested the event, demanding Wayne State divest, sanction and boycott Israel instead of “partnering” with the apartheid state. (mecawi.org)