The Murdoch Times has, unsurprisingly, amplified a letter, supposedly signed by “more than 170 academics”, supporting Oxford University’s decision to host a ‘race realism’ event next week by Zionist white supremacist Nathan Cofnas.
Cofnas was a key trigger in false claims that Black Cambridge professor Jason Arday had plagiarised his work – the resulting media pile-on led to Arday’s death. The Times notes, also unsurprisingly, only that Arday denied the allegations – not that at least four investigations since his death have exonerated him of the smears.
The Times names only a handful of the claimed signatories – perhaps the rest want to remain anonymous. And one of those named is eugenicist Tory peer Toby Young, who is not exactly a noted academic and, as a eugenicist, has views similar to Cofnas.
Cofnas’s former colleagues at Ghent university – he is currently banned from the institution – described his work as an “evidence-free” “flood of shit” and condemned his claims that Black people are inherently less intelligent than Jews and other whites. But that has been no bar in terms of Oxford’s willingness to welcome him, to the disgust of students.
But even at Ghent, Cofnas was able to dredge up a few ‘academics’ to defend him and attack his critics. They just ‘happened‘ to have similar race and determinist views and white supremacist links, but what’s a racist leaning between friends?
As most of the ‘academics’ supposedly supporting Cofnas are not named, their own views and links are unknown. But the few willing to be named include ardent ‘atheist Zionist‘ David Deutsch. Perhaps others don’t fall too far from the Cofnas tree, too.
Ardent opposition
But the response of Oxford students – apart from the awful ‘Oxford Reform’ – has been one of unmitigated disgust. The university’s student magazine pointed to the Cofnas invitation as proof that Reform has no place in a legitimate academic institution – and of the right’s shameless double standard on free speech: speech they like must be free, speech they dislike is to be cancelled.
The Oxford Clarion reports a lengthy open letter signed by dozens of the university’s senior academics and staff. Among the academics’ statements is an expression of abhorrence at Cofnas’s unfounded, “abhorrent” views:
Freedom of speech is not freedom for ideas or opinions to go unchallenged by evidence, questioning and argument. Nathan Cofnas has made claims about race and intelligence that we consider racist, abhorrent and without scientific foundation. We believe that these claims are fundamentally at odds with the values of equality, dignity and respect that we believe should define our academic community.
We wish to make clear that we do not support the views expressed by Nathan Cofnas. Freedom of speech includes the freedom to challenge what others say, and we believe it is essential to challenge ideas that perpetuate racial prejudice and undermine the dignity and belonging of members of our community.
The suggestion that Black people owe their place in universities and public life to anything other than their abilities is wrong. It is not supported by the evidence, and it disregards and diminishes the achievements of Black scholars, students and professionals. It contradicts the principles of intellectual merit, equal opportunity and inclusion to which we are committed.
And TV correspondent Amara Elahi, an Oxford graduate, felt appalled enough to publicly condemn the university’s hosting of “mendacious racist” Cofnas, who “literally drove Jason Arday to his death”:
Nor was the disgust limited to Oxford: Cambridge Student Union, where Arday taught until his suicide, has called for Oxford to cancel the 16 November event.
Zionism is racism. White supremacism is racism. Apparently it’s ok with Oxford University for them to meet in Nathan Cofnas.
Cover image: Led by Donkeys.
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