Joint Statement

Douglas Card, an adjunct professor of sociology at the University of Oregon, complained that he was defamed in a column by Daniel Pipes and Jonathan Schanzer, originally published in the New York Post and later posted on the Campus Watch website. Specifically, Card contended that the column mischaracterized his classroom conduct and an exam he gave in his class. The column stated:

University of Oregon: In a course entitled "Social Inequality," the sociology department's Douglas Card reportedly called Israel "a terrorist state" and Israelis "baby-killers" and insisted that students agree with his view that Israel "stole land" on the final exam. One student said Card bashed Israel and Jews "at every opportunity."

Card has now made the exam in question available to Pipes and Schanzer. They have found that the exam does not state that Israel "stole land." It does contain two questions which refer to Israel. Question 66 is a true-false statement which refers to a statement by Card in his lecture: "Both the Israelis and the Palestinians have been victims of history and both deserve a fair and secure settlement." The correct answer is "true." Question 80 is a multiple-choice question "America and Israel tend to have in common that both are A. Rather rich and successful countries B. Generally "democratic" C. Highly developed, having spread across the landscape and used technology to create wealth. D. There because their newly arriving populations pushed out other people who had already been living there E. All of these." Card graded the exam as stating the correct answer is "E. All of these."

Pipes and Schanzer hold that endorsing answer D is tantamount to saying that Israel "stole land"; it is also historically inaccurate.

Card emphatically denies making the statements in class attributed to him in the column. Further, he condemns anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. He also condemns professors who use their classrooms to promote anti-Semitic and anti-Israel beliefs and recognizes the danger of espousing such views-particularly on university campuses. Card expresses his horror at the wave of anti-Semitic events around the world in recent years and is especially troubled by the attacks on Jewish students on college campuses.

Based on these statements, Pipes and Schanzer are now convinced that Card does not condone extremism in the classroom.