Rutgers professor denounces claims that she is anti-Semitic

A Rutgers University professor stands accused of anti-semitism for her conspiracy theory that the state of Israel is harvesting organs of Palestinian fighters. Associate Professor Jasbir Puar has rejected the accusations.

She was taped at Vassar without her knowledge or consent when she gave a talk on February 3rd and made those remarks. In her Jadaliyya column, Puar asserted that her talk at Vassar “was taped without my permission or that of the people who had invited me” and therefore ought to be suppressed.

Puar believes her right to to free speech and the principles of academic speech allow her to speak freely.  With 10 years of solidarity work under her belt Puar denounces the criticism of her Vassar speech as a rightwing “smear campaign” reflecting a “current Zionist strategy” of instilling fear and intimidation and limiting free speech.

Many have denounced Puar’s comments during her lecture as a modern-day anti-Semitic blood libel.   Puar states the purpose of her talk was “to highlight Palestinian voices, and to amplify the speech of those who are routinely censored out of public awareness in the United States, and in mass media more generally.”

Puar argues that Palestinians who suspect Israel of mining Palestinian organs do so with good reason. The evidence she cites are reports of abuse at the Abu Kabir forensic institute near Tel Aviv.  This incident occurred over two decades ago and since has been investigated over a five-year period. The investigation was set off by complaints from employees at the institute and reports through Israeli media and was a clear violation of Israeli law.

Puar is a tenured professor at Rutgers and says she has the “complete support” of a “phenomenal union” of her colleagues. Her current book project is being funded by a Rutgers University Research Council grant and she’s also working on a film project titled “The Coming Intifada”.