The job of a union is to support its members in any workplace contretemps that may arise, but for CUPE Local 4600 and the Canadian Association of University Teachers to protest Carleton University's firing of a suspected terrorist is simply beyond the pale.
Hassan Diab, 55, was teaching a summer-school sociology course at Carleton, but the university axed him after a B'nai Brith Canada news release remarked on his presence there. French authorities allege that Diab, a Lebanese-born naturalized Canadian, led a group that bombed a synagogue in Paris's rue Copernic 29 years ago. Three French men and one Israeli woman died in the bombing, which injured 20 other people. Diab is accused of making the bomb and leaving it in a bag on a motorcycle parked by the synagogue, timed to explode just as worshippers were set to exit the synagogue after Friday night services. His extradition hearing will be held in January 2010.
Although German intelligence reports linked Diab to the bombing, there is no question that he is innocent until proven guilty. There is also no question that when a teacher, at any level in the educational system from kindergarten through university, is accused of a crime, he or she is removed from contact with students until the case is resolved. That's a basic tenet that James Turk, executive director of CAUT, should be aware of--in fact, the removal of people from their jobs, when they are accused of serious crimes, extends beyond education to other fields. Instead, Turk is slamming Carleton's action as a craven cave-in to "external pressure" and CAUT, which appears to be as misguided as Turk is, is talking about censuring Carleton by asking professors not to work there and deterring groups from holding conferences on campus. Meanwhile, CUPE has pronounced itself "alarmed" and will grieve Diab's firing. What CUPE should really be alarmed at is Diab continuing to teach until the courts resolve his case.
As Frank Dimant, executive vice-president of B'nai Brith, said: "Canadians should be extremely concerned that an alleged terrorist, accused of committing such heinous acts, will be teaching our youth at a leading Canadian university." Turk claims that universities should be "insulated from these kinds of pressures." If that's the case, why stop at having an accused terrorist teach a course? Students could also be taught by people facing charges for all kinds of crimes--sexual assault, murder, the making and distribution of child pornography. One has to wonder if CUPE and CAUT would rush to defend the continued employment of individuals facing those types of accusations.
Let due process play itself out. If Diab is innocent in the bombing, then he can be welcomed back to campus. But until the matter is dealt with, Carleton has a moral obligation to keep him out of the classroom.