I have just received news of an astounding and unexpected "first."

Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, (SPME) a group which represents 55,000 scholars, researchers and students on 3,500 campuses across the world has just written to every Board of Trustee member at the City University of New York (CUNY) about the Kushner/Wiesenfeld cause célèbre. They are the first group of scholars to weigh in on another side—perhaps even on the "other" side. SPME is horrified by the way in which a private Board member's views became public so quickly and by how quickly the Trustees caved into the goon-squad tactics of the left intelligentsia and the media.

Playwright Tony Kushner, who mistakenly views Israel as "a mistake," and as involved in "ethnic cleansing," was immediately glorified as the victim both by the media and by the CUNY professoriate.

Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, the trustee who challenged the wisdom of giving Kushner yet another academic "seal of approval" for his views, was demonized personally in article after article, none of which addressed the issues he raised.

Shamefully, but predictably, not a single major group of academics or of other interested parties stood up for Wiesenfeld, who is also a member of the CUNY Trustee family or for the importance of intellectual diversity. The politically correct campus wants diversity in terms of gender, race, religion, and sexual preference. They do not want the feelings of formerly marginalized or pariah groups to be hurt, denigrated. Kushner's incorrectly describes Israel as having engaged in "ethnic cleansing." This further inflames the anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist masses.

I and others dare, rather plaintively, to suggest that the academy cultivate intellectual diversity as well. As we know, only one view of Israel is acceptable on an American campus. Israel is to be condemned. Anyone who thinks otherwise will find himself condemned just as quickly.

Wiesenfeld was raked over the coals. This week's Forward did so as did articles in the New York Times and the Manhattan Observer. The points Wiesenfeld raised were not addressed. His right to hold his view based on these points was not respected. Whatever "dirt" could be dug up about him was.

Oddly enough, except for my own column, no reporter noted that Kushner constantly writes about Soviet Russia and about Julius and Ethel Rosenberg—and that he was nominated by one of the Rosenberg's two sons, Michael Meeropol, who is currently teaching at John Jay. Also, no journalist noted that only one professor, Amy Greene, who co-nominated Kushner actually teaches theatre. The committee of seven who rubberstamped his nomination teach criminal justice, politics, government, political science, sociology, psychology, etc.

The John Jay committee voted for a celebrity whose honorary award will 'magnify and sanctify" their own political views about Israel.

But now, finally, a group has dared to stand up to be counted. .

Before this letter was released, those scholars who did not agree with the glamorization of Kushner as the victim and the demonization of Wiesenfeld as the bully kept silent as did the entire organized Jewish world.

This battle for the soul of the Western campus is part of the larger battle for western civilization which is currently under profound attack. Proponents of hate speech and Big Lies are demanding academic freedom and free speech rights while, at the same time, they are denying these same rights to anyone who tells the truth about Israel (if it happens to be positive), or about Islam (if it happens to be negative).

I am reprinting this letter in full here. I hope that other journalists and bloggers will print it and perhaps also interview the spokesmen for SPME: Board member Awi Fedegruen (af7@columbia.edu) and Director Dr. Sam Edelman (spmeexecdir@gmail.com).

Here is the text of the letter: