Joel Weisberg

Overview

Joel Weisberg has expressed support for anti-Israel activist Professor Imad Ahmad Barghouthi, who is affiliated with Hamas. He has also defended anti-Israel activists and endorsed an anti-Israel agitator.

As of September 2019, Weisberg was the Herman and Gertrude Mosier Stark Professor of Physics and Astronomy and the Natural Sciences and Professor Emeritus of Physics and Astronomy at Carleton College (Carleton).    

Supporting Imad Ahmad Barghouthi

Weisberg signed an open letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in support of Professor Imad Ahmad Barghouthi, that was co-published in May 2016 by the anti-Israel Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) organization and the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI). 

The letter called upon Prime Minister Netanyahu “to order the immediate release of Dr. Imad Ahmad Barghouthi from Israeli military custody.” 

Palestinian Astrophysicist Professor Imad Barghouthi of Al Quds University was sentenced in 2016 to seven months in prison for incitement to violence.

Barghouthi is a vocal supporter of Hamas's military wing — the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades — and has called for killing and being killed in the name of Islam.

An October 22, 2014 video showed Barghouthi at an Al-Quds university Hamas rally, draped in a Hamas banner, [00:00:33] urging students to design precision guided missiles, and sniper rifles as [00:01:11] “weapons ofthe resistance” to [00:02:35] kill “zionist soldiers” in their bedrooms.

Defending Anti-Israel Activists

Weisberg signed a 2017 letter, condemning a decision by Fordham University’s (Fordham) dean to block the establishment of a Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter on campus. The letter was authored by the anti-Israel JVP organization.

In 2016, Fordham reportedly blocked the formation of a Fordham SJP chapter “based on the reported behavior of other [SJP] chapters on other campuses,” indicating that “the establishment of a local branch could be ‘polarizing’ and pose a safety concern to students and faculty.”

Signatories demanded that Fordham “immediately rescind the rejection of SJP as a student group on campus, apologize to the students affected by this harmful decision, and reaffirm Fordham’s commitment to free speech and academic freedom.” 

The petitioners also highlighted SJP’s BDS activity, characterizing SJP’s efforts to promote anti-Israel boycott as part of “a time-honored non-violent mode of political expression.” The petition accused Fordham’s administration of a “fundamental misunderstanding of what boycotts are, the purpose of a university, and the goals of SJP.”

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) in cooperation with Palestine Legal (PL), and civil rights attorney Alan Levine sued Fordham on behalf of four students in April 2017. A New York court annulled Fordham’s decision in August 2019, mandating that the university recognize SJP as an official club. 
 
Fordham appealed the ruling to the NY State Supreme Court Appellate Division in January 2020. On July 24, 2020, Fordham SJP students filed a brief asking the appellate court to deny Fordham’s appeal of the lower court’s decision.
 
As of October 2020, a variety of groups, not directly involved in the case, filed amicus briefs with the Appellate Division for the court's consideration including JVP. 

Endorsing an Anti-Israel Agitator

In 2018, Weisberg signed a petition, expressing support for anti-Israel activist, Lara Alqasem, demanding that the Israeli government permit her into the country. 

In October 2018, Alqasem was detained at Ben Gurion airport after trying to enter Israel, because of her anti-Israel activism and, specifically, her support for the BDS movement. Alqasem was granted entry into Israel after appealing to the Israeli Supreme Court.  

Social Media and Weblinks

University Website: https://apps.carleton.edu/media_relations/experts/profile/?username=jweisber

Second University Website: https://people.carleton.edu/~jweisber/resuweisberg.htm