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June 18

Michigan Severs Ties to Controversial Publisher

In September, the University of Michigan Press faced intense criticism from pro-Israel groups — and questions from some regents — over its distribution of a book called Overcoming Zionism, which argues that the creation of Israel was a mistake and urges adoption of the “one state” solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in which Israelis and Palestinians would form a new country, without a Jewish character. Michigan wasn’t the publisher, but it distributed the book under a deal with Pluto Press, a leftist British publisher with extensive lists on the Middle East and international affairs.

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Some critics of the book demanded that Michigan stop distributing the book, which it briefly did, and cut ties to Pluto immediately. The university declined to do so, and resumed distributing the book, citing both contractual obligations to Pluto and concerns that halting distribution because of content would raise issues of academic freedom. By the end of this year, however, Michigan will no longer be distributing the book or have any ties to Pluto Press.

Michigan says that this is because of appropriate new rules about the press role in distributing books it hasn’t itself vetted. But Pluto sees the new rules as window dressing that gave the university an excuse to satisfy Pluto’s critics while avoiding the appearance of doing so.

The Michigan-Pluto relationship is typical of the deals struck by many university presses in the United States with foreign publishers of academic work. By handling distribution and some publicity for overseas publishers, American publishers earn some revenue and build ties to the international publishing world. Many presses have a number of such relationships and they aren’t much remarked upon, but they mean that someone looking at the University of Michigan Press Web site would find books from Pluto, including Overcoming Zionism. That book, by Joel Kovel, a Bard College professor, set off letter-writing and e-mail campaigns to Michigan leaders demanding that ties to Pluto be cut.

While Pluto publishes many serious scholarly works — by professors from all over the world — it is different from American university presses in that Pluto has an explicitly radical agenda. Among those who publish with Pluto are Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, bell hooks, and Ariel Dorfman. The Middle East books include many that are sharply critical of Israel and sympathetic to the Palestinian cause.

When Michigan decided not to call an immediate halt to its Pluto ties, it announced a review of procedures for distribution relationships with other presses. That review resulted in new guidelines adopted in January stating that Michigan will consider such relationships only with a publisher “whose mission is aligned with the mission of the UM Press and whose academic standards and processes of peer review are reasonably similar to those of the UM Press.” The university said it would apply these new standards when existing contracts expire, as is the case with Pluto right now.

When the guidelines came out, many in publishing assumed Pluto was destined to be kicked out of Michigan’s universe because its publishing program seeks to advance political goals, while Michigan publishes books with political goals, but has a peer review system based on scholarship. But in an interview Tuesday, Peggy McCracken, an associate dean at Michigan who is chair of the executive board of the press, said that politics wasn’t the issue. She said that because Pluto doesn’t have peer review on the Michigan model, it would be inappropriate to keep the ties. She said Pluto uses peer review on proposals and chapters, but not the finished manuscript.

“The issue is review procedures,” she said.

Asked if critics of Overcoming Zionism had now achieved their goals, McCracken said that was not the case. “The initial decision of the executive board of the press was that it would not make a decision based on a particular book,” she said. McCracken added that “certainly the free and open exchange of ideas is th foundation of everything we do at the university.”

McCracken said that the executive board of the press — made up of faculty members — made the decision that Pluto did not qualify. She declined to say whether the vote was unanimous. McCracken said she received more than 800 e-mail messages with advice on the matter.

Roger van Zwanenberg, chairman of Pluto, said that there was no doubt in his mind but that for political opposition to a book critical of Israel, his press and Michigan’s press would still be doing business. “What this tells you is that there are dark forces in America who would like to control the flow of ideas, and they are powerfully organized and they are very dangerous,” he said.

Many American academic authors come to Pluto because of its independence of such forces, and he said that makes Michigan’s move all the more disappointing. He said that Pluto planned to seek another American publisher to handle distribution in the United States.

The University of Michigan Press knew “from day one of our contract” that Pluto’s peer review was not identical to that of a university press, van Zwanenberg said. So the “sudden hurdle” of having identical peer review to a university press was “a facade,” he said, to hide the way the university “has not stood up for free speech.”

Sanford G. Thatcher, director of the Penn State University Press and president of the Association of American University Presses, said he valued the work done by Pluto and other presses. But he said that Michigan’s experience may suggest the down sides for university presses of relationships with such publishers.

“On a practical business level I would weigh the potential political fallout heavily in deciding whether to distribute a foreign press’s titles, especially after what happened at Michigan,” he said. “Most people simply are not aware that distributed titles are not vetted by the distributing press in the same way its own titles are, so there is always the danger that Michigan experienced of having its own reputation for high standards of peer review sullied by association.”

Some of the pro-Israel blogs that first raised questions about Overcoming Zionism are praising Michigan for its latest decision. These blogs describe Pluto’s Israel-related publishing as anti-Semitic and say that the University of Michigan shouldn’t have played any part in helping those books find readers.

A blog that has defended Pluto is arguing that the “Zionist thought police” inflamed the situation, leading the university to adopt procedures that assured that it would have no choice but to cut ties to Pluto. And that blogger didn’t even think Overcoming Zionism was that thoughtful a book in its critique of Israel.

— Scott Jaschik

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Comments

Suppression of free speech

Shame on zionists for seeking to suppress views they disagrees with. What next: book burnings?

Shame on the University of Michigan Press for caving into this pressure.

Gavin Moodie, Principal Policy Adviser at Griffith University, Australia, at 6:50 am EDT on June 18, 2008

Repression By Bureaucratese

I have not read Joel Beinin’s book, and I do not care what it says. This was a cowardly act of repression by the University of Michigan. Acting as a book distributor is much like a university renting out its space to outside groups for lectures, as opposed to hosting its own lectures (which is the analogue of publishing its own books). No one should demand that outside groups meet the same academic standards as the university. It’s a business relationship that benefits the university press while at the same time it benefits the public by allowing greater access to ideas. No one intelligent imagines that the University of Michigan Press is publishing these books. What’s next? Will controversial books be purged from the university bookstore, or the university library?

There can be no doubt: the only reason for this new policy is to ban Pluto Press and any other controversial books from being associated with the University of Michigan. That’s not a proud decision for any university.

John K. Wilson, collegefreedom.org, at 7:40 am EDT on June 18, 2008

Smart Move

The University of Michigan Press made the right decision. Pluto’s free speech isn’t being interfered with. Michigan just doesn’t want to be distributing Pluto books anymore, given the objectionable and racist content of many of the books. This is a victory for Michigan’s first amendment. Too bad some people will use this incident to spread and generate conspiracy theories about Jewish Americans.

Mort, Good Decision at University of Michigan, at 7:40 am EDT on June 18, 2008

This is a good example of how much muscle the Israeli Lobby has in the US. The U of Michigan should be ashamed to cave in to the unjustified bantering of the Israeli groups who seek to control American thought and policy. More than ever we need balance and perspective into Middle East situations, clarity that was brought by publishers like Pluto. Now we have closed another window of understanding, further blinding Americans to the realities of the Middle East, and all because of the power and fear created by those Isreali groups who would subvert American direction to aid only their interests,the Isrealis, against another. We need an unbiased approach to these matters, a perspective which is blocked by Isreali attemprs at information control.

Sheldon Green

Sheldon Green, at 9:00 am EDT on June 18, 2008

Not a conspiracy

What conspiracy? The right wing Zionist lobby targeted the University of Michigan and applied enough pressure to force them to sever ties to Pluto. No conspiracy — it’s a transparent fact, and a chilling one. Attention all university presses: if you publish or even distribute anything critical of Israel, you will be treated the same way. My understanding of how free speech works is you use your own arguments to combat ideas you don’t agree with. For the far right free speech is to to keep speech free from opposing viewpoints.

Alan Jacobson, Wayne State University, at 9:10 am EDT on June 18, 2008

“Michigan Severs Ties ...”

Just curious to know if the opponents of Kovel’s book have written anything refuting its arguments. Calling it racist without any specific evidence is not an argument.

Arthur Rymer, at 9:10 am EDT on June 18, 2008

University Presses and Distribution

As a former Big Ten University Press Director, I view this decision with great sadness but it was inevitable. We distributed for a number of presses whose lists complemented our own, and the income was a vital part of both our survival and in raising recognition for our work as a fine publisher. However I was always concerned that one of the more controversial titles we distributed would land us in trouble. The University has a right to protect its position, and although books are (or should be) clearly listed under imprimatur in a catalog, nonetheless that catalog goes out under the banner of the University. I suspect the nature of the content was less important than the national press coverage — i.e. it’s less about the ‘Israel lobby’ than it is about university PR departments. And to be honest there are plenty of decent independent publishers that Pluto would probably be better off with.

Nicholas Weir-Williams, Publishing Consultant, at 9:10 am EDT on June 18, 2008

What unintellectual idiots the left brings to defend it

You guys are pathetic, just pathetic. If the U. Michigan had been discovered to be distributing, exclusively and without review, thirty or so right wing books that bashed the Palestinians, denied their claims to a state, attacked and mischaracterized Islam and talked about the great worldwide conspiracy of terrorists, every single one of you so called “free speech” advocates would have been marching in the street to kill it.

And what would your argument have been? That the books are political, non-academic and polemical, and occasionally racist. Or, put another way, exactly what Pluto Press books are.

It is quite clear that your problem is not that the distribution deal was cancelled, but that it cancelled books you agree with. What intellectual cowards you are.

This was a clear example of taxpayers in a democracy saying “we do not want to subsidize one side of a political debate” and taking action to stop it. Nothing more and nothing less.

Ivanhoe, at 10:10 am EDT on June 18, 2008

Poor old U of M

According to the article, “Roger van Zwanenberg, chairman of Pluto, said that there was no doubt in his mind but that for political opposition to a book critical of Israel, his press and Michigan’s press would still be doing business. “What this tells you is that there are dark forces in America who would like to control the flow of ideas, and they are powerfully organized and they are very dangerous,” he said.”

Well shiver me timbers! “no doubt.......dark forces.....powerfully organized........very dangerous.”

The university assembled a committee, looked at the issues, heard many different viewpoints, and then made a business and academic decision.

The irony is that the UofM decision not to renew their link with Pluto Press may well boost sales of the controversial book, an outcome that probably eluded Van Zwanenberg who’s busy out fighting demons, dark forces and other sacred cows rather than watching the bottom line.

Chuck, at 10:40 am EDT on June 18, 2008

UM Press & Pluto

In my view, American universities on the whole have neglected the obligation to remain neutral on contentious issues, and have been swift to endorse a number of ideological causes to the point of creating entire departments around them. (Women’s Studies and Black Studies are obvious examples.) Something of the same sort was obvious in UM Press’s entente with Pluto Press. That house, like a number of others, is devoted to advancing an ideological monoculture, and by taking it under its wing, UM Press implicitly endorses that agenda. This is wrong in principle, as well as politically embarassing.

If it had been a matter of a single book expressing the views of its author, but not those of the entire publishing enterprise, then cries of censorship would have been justified. But as things actually stand, the critics either miss the point or are motivated chiefly by sympathy with the Pluto Press viewpoint.

Fossil, at 11:15 am EDT on June 18, 2008

All the old and by now totally transparent lies are there in UM press pretending that this is a dispute about editorial procedures. Of course it;s about Kovel’s book and about Pluto;s left authors.There should be a boycott of the U of M press.

Jesse Lemisch

Jesse Lemisch, at 11:50 am EDT on June 18, 2008

A good decision

The University of Michigan was right to discontinue its relationship with Pluto Press. It may well be that the furor over Kovel’s book brought the matter to a head, but there is no reason why a tax supported public institution should be the American publisher of so politically focused an entity as Pluto Press.

It is not the role of universities to promote political points of view. There is nothing to stop Professor Kovel from submitting his book directly to university presses. But it is easier to get polemical and propagandist books published by presses that are more interested in promoting political positions than assessing scholarly value. By publishing books by Pluto Press without their own vetting process, the University of Michigan was essentially allowing someone with a political agenda to circumvent the refereeing process that would be generally expected from an academic press.

There is no vast Zionist conspiracy controlling speech on college campuses. In fact, college campuses are the center of opposition to American support for Israel. It is precisely the one-sided anti-Israel tone of much of academia that has made it the focus of political activity by Israel’s defenders.

It is not the role of a university to defend or condemn Israel or Zionism. At its best it can try to take an honest look at the history of the region and shed light on the current issues. Pluto Press is not an objective observer of contemporary issues and there is no reason that the people of Michigan should be taxed to promote their views.

Jonathan Cohen, Professor of mathematics at DePaul University, at 12:40 pm EDT on June 18, 2008

Promoting critical thinking (but no conclusions, please!)

Perhaps it’s naive of me, but I know that the term “critical thinking” or its equivalent is often tossed about on most campuses as a basic learning outcome for all undergraduates, and to my mind that term summons up notions of instructors showing students how to investigate, analyze, interpret, and ultimately evaluate arguments that may be in conflict with one another in order to understand what counts as good argument, strong evidence, etc. But if that’s to work, you have to have something argumentative, some topic or claim, worth arguing about to start with. We don’t learn to be active investigators of those matters that are nearly uncontestable (you may know these as “the basic facts")—we learn to be active investigators by wrestling with difficult, sometimes controversial, material about which reasoned arguments may arise.

I haven’t read the book and so can’t speak to its scholarly merits, but that doesn’t seem to be the focus of concern in the comments here since virtually no one has commented on the actual substance of this book or its academic merit; even the U. of Michigan’s public statement given in the article is vague at best on this point. Instead, everyone seems more concerned with whether it’s permissible for a University to publish or distribute a work that is controversial.

Universities are absolutely not only entitled to but obliged to make available scholarship that otherwise would find no voice because of its controversy. Moreover, the University is itself purposed with furthering knowledge and inquiry, it has every right to “defend or condemn” what it must in the course of advancing that most fundamental value.

If we are not permitted to defend or condemn—that is, to arrive at a conclusion, to state an evaluation having reviewed available evidence and arguments—anything of substance about which intelligent people may reasonably disagree, how do you expect instructors to foster the development of critical thinking in their students? If we aren’t permitted to read and discuss difficult matter such as this, what hope do we have of teaching our students to be critically aware or to produce thoughtful, defensible arguments of their own? And if we don’t have the spine to foster publication or distribution of a book of academic merit weighing in on a controversial issue and instead bow to whatever constituency cries “foul” loudest, what example of academic integrity are we then setting for students?

The problem as I see it isn’t that the University might seem to defend or condemn a position by way of the scholarly books it publishes or distributes. The problem is that the University can’t stop hiding behind its Legal and PR depts. long enough to see the value of publicly defending the process of academic debate even of controversial issues made manifest in the books it publishes or distributes, the speakers it invites, or the conferences it hosts.

Marius, A Leftist Who Condemns U. of Michigan Press, at 3:15 pm EDT on June 18, 2008

We Do Need Politics

Jonathan Cohen writes, “It is not the role of universities to promote political points of view.” No, but it is the role of universities to encourage people with political points of view to express themselves. And that is exactly what this decision endangers.

As for the suggestion in a different comment that the defenders of Pluto Press would be on the opposite side if it was a conservative book in question, that may be true of some people (on either side), but not me. And I hope there are others with the integrity to oppose censorship, no matter which view is being censored.

Also, my apologies for mixing up Joel Beinin and Joel Kovel in my earlier comment(I wish the IHE comments would let you read the story while you comment).

John K. Wilson, collegefreedom.org, at 3:20 pm EDT on June 18, 2008

Michigan Severs Ties...

Another victory for the Zionist lobby as well as illustrating the current spineless nature of American higher education. I’ve not read this book but anything by the highly accomplished and qualified author of RED BAITING IN THE PROMISED LAND is. This is again another pathetic decision on the part of a University that should be defending the dissemination of alternative points of view rather than suppressing them. Another sad day for academia and another nail in its coffin.

Viper, at 6:00 pm EDT on June 18, 2008

IHE’s clumsy commenting system

I agree with John K Wilson’s substantive comments and I also share his wish that Inside Higher Education would allow one to read the initial story and comments while posting one’s own comments. I normally have to open a second window to ensure that I refer to earlier material accurately.

Gavin Moodie, Principal Policy Adviser at Griffith University, Australia, at 6:55 pm EDT on June 18, 2008

To all those commenters blasting Zionists and U Mich

you keep repeating- Zionist pressure, the evil Zionists...Can’t criticize Israel...etcDid you numbskull parakeets ever hear of the term “Shoddy Scholarship"? “Piss poor research"? There is no problem with legitimate criticism anywhere- but inaccuracies touted as truth is unacceptable for a publisher no matter what the subject. I bet some of you geniuses read the “Israel Lobby” and then didn;t even bother the scholarly critique that deemed it smelly. I guess its always easier to blame the Zionists

Jack Durham, at 9:05 pm EDT on June 18, 2008

Like the campaign against Norman G. Finkelstein, the campaign against Pluto Press and the buckling of the University of Michigan Press is absolutely disgraceful. As the shame adheres to DePaul University in the one case, so it taints the University of Michigan in this case. Absolutely disgraceful.

Wayne Kraft, at 9:10 pm EDT on June 18, 2008

Good Decision UM Press

I fully support this decision. If my public University was distributing books published by the KKK Press or the Nazi Press (which would resemble Pluto Press books) I would protest against it too.

Smarter heads prevailed.

George Roy, Pluto anti-Semitism is not for a respectable University, at 11:40 pm EDT on June 18, 2008

Disgrace without End

Like the One United Michigan’s campaign against Proposal 2 and Ward Connerly or the U of Michigan’s clumsy, absurd attempts to stifle its own Prof. Carl Cohen’s criticisms of Ann Arbor’s rank racial preferences and double standards in admissions, the University of Michigan Press now confirms how absolutely disgraceful things are at the UofM.

It is absolutely disgraceful indeed.

Shawna, at 11:40 pm EDT on June 18, 2008

Another mark against free speech

Add this to the growing list of victories for those who oppose debate about Israel and its policies.

A month or so ago, Politics and Prose, the well regarded bookstore in DC, invited Palestinian-American professor Dr. Sari Makdisi, author of “Palestine Inside Out,” then disinvited him because of his political positions, and then invited him again.

Check out MuzzleWatch, an excellent blog maintained by Jewish Voice for Peace. They track “efforts to stifle open debate about US-Israeli foreign policy.”http://www.muzzlewatch.com/

izsteve, at 6:05 pm EDT on June 21, 2008

Who needs the University press?

Samizdat lives. The repression of viewpoints has always been impossible. Today we have the internet... who needs the university presses, which must have to bend to powerful lobbies in order to survive? If we lose the internet, we’ll still get the alternate viewpoints, because if an idea is weak, and not based on truth, it doesn’t resonate with people. The death knell to any idea is the support of the state via force. Prop its corpse up with sticks and dress it in all the finery you want, force everyone to genuflect before it, and it is still dead, dead, dead.

Loch Wade, director, Boulder Arts Cooperative at BAC, at 1:30 pm EDT on July 3, 2008

Overcoming Zionism

I believe the Talmud states quite clearly that Judaism is about,” love and service” and that Jews will return to a promised land by “peaceful ways".

http://www.jewsagainstzionism.com/zionism/index.cfm

Shalom

Blair M. Phillips, Mr. at The Phillips Family, at 10:25 pm EDT on July 3, 2008

Cohen remark

‘there is no reason why a tax supported public institution should be the American publisher of so politically focused an entity as Pluto Press.’

This is actually the same argument the conservatives use to campaign against so-called ‘liberal’ books. Why should taxpayers support anything, I wonder?

The question really should be the opposite, Why should taxpayers not see some of their money go towards the maintenance of a pluralist society, i.e., one in which numerous points of view are made available to them?

Giordan, at 7:05 am EDT on July 4, 2008

A great book.In fact the best of the lot.This book First lady president is a fictional take on a US presidential election campaign featuring a female candidate. It is a story of how such a figure might emerge as the first ever serious female candidate in a U.S. presidential election, and what opposition — both culturally and politically — that she might encounter.I was rather amused to see this book.I would have given the movie a rating of 10.Overall a great movie recommended for any Fictious fans.

็ำwilson, at 11:25 am EDT on August 4, 2008

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