Two weeks ago, I suggested that some bloggers were rushing to judgment in the case of accusations brought by a student at Berkeley against a graduate student teacher who, she claimed, told her class that the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was an authentic document written by Jews. At the time, the only testimony relating to events in that classroom came from the accuser and the accused. I believed that more evidence was necessary before reaching a conclusion.
The University has since conducted an investigation and found the charges to be without merit. Although the thoroughness and objectivity of that investigation can certainly be questioned (the administration apparently didn't bother to invite Ms. Klein to present her side), it doesn't appear that there's any more evidence supporting the charges today than there was two weeks ago. In fact, the only eye-witnesses who have come forward have supported Mr. Kadhim's sorry story. And, according to the Bulletin, Berkeley Hillel director Adam Weisberg has said
. . . he is confident university officials will continue to act responsibly and probe any alleged incidents of anti-Semitism that occur. He also emphasizes the university took Klein's complaints seriously.
Nevertheless, the University's investigation is being characterized in very serious circles as a "whitewash." The Editor of DAFKA.com has made a point of privately expressing his extreme displeasure with my position on this issue, and has likewise visited various comment threads to drop similar invective against anyone else who doesn't accept his (i.e., Ms. Klein's) version of events without question. He can take great comfort in the groundswell of support he's receiving elsewhere. But he's not going to get it here. At least not yet.
After spending way too much time digging for background on this story, I still find nothing that either substantially confirms or refutes Ms. Klein's specific accusations. Mr. Kadhim, in the meantime, has been busy revealing himself to be, at best, a bigot who is neither capable of nor interested in minimally researching one of the world's most infamous and vicious hoaxes. That wouldn't seem to bode well for his graduate studies. But.
THAT SAID, Kadhim now claims
My name is destroyed in certain circles.
I don't know what circles those would be, but my suspicion is that this incident will only serve to further any career he may have contemplated in Middle Eastern Studies in this country. Sad, but true. How does a lowly unknown graduate student come to the favorable attention of the likes of Edward Said and John Esposito? This is how.
This whole incident has a very bad smell to it all around. And this is hopefully my last word on the subject. The chips will fall where they may.
-----------------------------------
ADDENDUM: Well, apparently not the last word. Judith Weiss has reminded me of an important issue that I didn't address, and most certainly should have.
There's simply no excuse for this:
An official statement from the university this week concluded that, following a probe, "there appears to be no basis" to Klein's charge. Professor Daniel Boyarin, the dean of the Near Eastern studies department, took it further than that.
"This complaint has been investigated by the deans and they have concluded that it is a lie," Boyarin wrote in an e-mail to the Bulletin.
As many others have pointed out, Professor Boyarin appears to make a habit of calling people liars. But it's one thing to employ such, er, rhetoric, when expressing his personal political opinions. It's simply outrageous, offensive and inappropriate for a university department head to make such a statement about a student, especially given the lack of hard, cold evidence to back it up.
