When asked by reporters from The Ithacan whether Ithaca College practices academic freedom, I responded, without hesitation, that it does. Moreover, while I understand that some of my views might be controversial, no administrator has ever tried to censor or silence me during the 20 years I have taught in the writing department.

What I did not say is that while academic freedom is alive and well at the college, there nevertheless exists a kind of tacit agreement that certain subjects ought not to be discussed openly and honestly. I speak, of course, about the conflict between the Israeli government and the Palestinian people. The agreement seems to be that when and if one does speak about this conflict, certain restrictions need apply. Indeed, criticizing Israel will not be tolerated. Those who dare to break this taboo will quickly find themselves labeled extremists, or worse, even by people they had assumed were open-minded supporters of peace and social justice.

I speak not from mere observation, but from experience. At first, I was surprised by the insults, name-calling and threats. If I criticized my own nation, why couldn’t I criticize other nations? No problem, said my critics, with the exception of one inviolable country.

Perhaps Assistant professor of sociology Margo Ramlal-Nankoe’s struggle for tenure will create the possibility for an honest, open discussion about the decades-old tragedy in the Middle East. I’m sure that the majority of students, staff and faculty would welcome this dialogue.

Fred A. Wilcox, Professor, Department of Writing