The Sociology and Global Studies professor William Robinson of Santa Barbara University in California, who is Jewish, has sparked a controversy recently after sending his students an email comparing photos of Jews in Nazi concentration camps with those of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The email, sent during Israel’s military operation in Gaza and titled "parallel photos of Nazis and Israelis", was sent to 80 students in his class and included 25 photos of Nazi victims, compared with similar photos from Gaza. The email also included an essay stating, "Gaza in Israel's Warsaw – one big concentration camp for Palestinians… What we are witnessing is the slow process of genocide."
Two Jewish students immediately dropped the class and filed a formal complaint against Robinson with the Academic Senate’s Charges Committee. A hearing has been set for 14 May. Robinson, 50, who has been teaching at the University of Santa Barbara for the past nine years, called the complaints and criticism "an attack of academic freedom," citing his accusers were confusing criticism with anti-Semitism. Robinson further claimed that he often sends "thought provoking material" to his students by email.
