A few days after Rutgers President Robert Barchi defended the right to free speech of antisemitic professors like Michael Chikindas, comes another blow in the fight against Jew-hating academics.
A controversial University of Lethbridge professor returned to work on Thursday after being suspended for spreading conspiracy theories.
Dr. Anthony Hall was suspended without pay in October of 2016 following comments he made online suggesting there was a Zionist connection to the 9/11 attacks, and that the events of the Holocaust should be up for debate.
The university’s board of governors and faculty association did not grant interview requests because of legal issues at play. Instead, they issued a joint statement regarding Dr. Hall’s return to the classroom.
“The Board of Governors of the University of Lethbridge and the University of Lethbridge Faculty Association have agreed that the outstanding issues that have been raised concerning Dr. Anthony Hall will be addressed in the context of the faculty handbook. As a result, the suspension imposed on Dr. Hall has been lifted and he has returned back to work at the University,” the statement said. “The parties will be fully participating in the agreed upon processes in the faculty handbook to investigate and address the outstanding issues.”
Two months after Hall was suspended, the university filed a complaint against him to the Alberta Human Rights Commission over comments Jewish groups have called anti-Semitic.
Hall’s antisemitism was first brought to public attention thanks to the efforts of Israellycool contributor Ryan Bellerose, who noticed him attending Native events, and heard him talking about the “Zionists” being behind 9-11. After being hired for Bnei Brith Canada, Ryan asked if they could focus on Hall, so he and Amanda Hohmann started tracking his posts and discovered more of the Jew hatred. My post on Hall which clearly pissed off the old antisemite – was based on their tireless work.
This is an infuriating result, not only given the hard work that went into investigating Hall’s Jew hatred and bringing it to light, but also considering he is not only not remorseful, but continues to spread his vile views – including accusing the Jooooos of “planting” a post on his Facebook wall calling for the murder of Jews (that would be fellow antisemite Glen Davidson).
History is not going to look kindly on North American university administrations.
Update: Reader George received the following from Rachel Notley, the Premier of Alberta
Thank you for your email. Please forgive me for sending a mass reply, but I wanted to be sure you heard from me as soon as possible.
There is no question that the views of this individual are repulsive, offensive and not reflective of Alberta. Our classrooms are a place for freedom of speech and expression but that does not mean individuals get to stand at the head of the class and spread lies and conspiracy theories.
I am terribly disappointed to learn that this individual has been reinstated, but let me be clear that legislation that our government introduced did not give him his job back.I can confirm that this individual is now under investigation by a committee at the University and as such he is not allowed to teach or have any contact with students during the investigation.
I will continue to be in touch with you as this situation evolves. Thank you for writing to share your concerns, please know that I share them.
Sincerely,
Rachel Notley
Premier of Alberta
