"We must stand united to defeat, to destroy, to dismantle Israel

US professor reaffirms Israel must be dismantled

2010/10/22

A Lincoln University professor who in a recent rally in the US called for dismantling of Israel said Thursday that he stood by those words and would not back down from detractors out to "threaten academic freedom." Kaukab Siddique, 67, an associate professor of English and literature, said that he had the support of his faculty and students and that he would continue to speak his mind, despite pressure from those who have referred to him as an "anti-Semite." Siddique is a tenured professor who has taught at the university since 1985. A vocal critic of Israel's record of human-rights abuses in the Palestinian territories, he said "I am against Israel - not against Jews." Seddique, speaking on Labor Day, said: "We must stand united to defeat, to destroy, to dismantle Israel - if possible by peaceful means." Backed by a crowd of cheering protesters, he continued: "Dear brothers and sisters, unite and rise up against this hydra-headed monster which calls itself Zionism." Siddique said Thursday that he was under pressure for his remarks. "It has become so abusive even my wife is beginning to be worried," he said. "If I were not tenured I might be under some pressure to leave." But he said he would continue to speak out in his free time, no matter how others might feel about those statements. "I don't believe in laying low," he said.