- Steven Plaut
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name = Steven Plaut
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birthdate = 1951
birthplace =Philadelphia
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occupation = Professor,University of Haifa
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subject = Israeli/Palestinian criticism
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portaldisp =Steven Plaut (born in
1951 ) is a Professor on the faculty of the Graduate School of Business Administration at theUniversity of Haifa and a writer.His
editorial s are often published in "The Jewish Press ", "Front Page Magazine " and other periodicals. In 2002 he authored the book "The Scout". He is also a member of the editorial board of theMiddle East Quarterly , a publication of theMiddle East Forum think tank.Biography
Steven Plaut was born in
Philadelphia into aJew ish family. In the 1930s, his father had been in Hachshara training camp set up in Europe for young Jews who intended to makealiyah , but the BritishWhite Paper of 1939 foreclosed his plans. He managed to escape fromNazi Germany to theUnited States and duringWorld War II served under General Patton.Steven Plaut grew up in a religiously Conservative Zionist home. In 1981, the Plaut family (including his parents) immigrated to
Israel .Plaut received his undergraduate degree from
Temple University in Philadelphia, his MA fromHebrew University of Jerusalem and his Ph.D ineconomics fromPrinceton University , specializing in international and urban economics and later infinance and worked at theFederal Reserve Bank . Before his professorship at the Haifa University, he taught atOberlin College , theTechnion , UC Berkeley, UC Irvine,Central European University ,Tel Aviv University ,University of Nantes , and Athens Laboratory for Business Administration.In his 2002 book "The Scout" Steven Plaut describes his near-death experience as a
kidney cancer patient at anintensive care ward (he has recovered from the illness). The historical novel is a series of life stories exchanged between him and his neighbor at the ward, an Israelibedouin scout.Political views
Steven Plaut has been one of the most persistent and outspoken Israeli critics of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and of Israel's unilateral withdrawal policy. Ever since the
Oslo Accords were signed, he has argued that Palestinian and other Arab leaders would continue to seek the destruction of Israel through violence andterrorism . [ [http://conservativetruth.org/opinionet/archives/stevenplaut/06-22-02.shtml Conservativetruth.org] ] For much of the 1990s, he was an isolated voice in Israeli opinion, but he believes that his views have been vindicated by outbreak of theAl-Aqsa Intifada and the campaign ofsuicide bombing . [ [http://www.jewishpress.com/page.do/14229/Selichos_For_Oslo_Supporters.html The Jewish Press] ]In addition, Plaut has strongly attacked Israeli and Jewish leftists such as
Michael Lerner andNorman Finkelstein . He claims that such figures areself-hating Jew s and apologists forterrorism who promote the destruction of Israel [ [http://www.jewishpress.com/page.do/14542/Stupid_Left%2C_Satanic_Left.html Jewishpress.com] ] ; he calls them "Israel's Academic Fifth Column". Plaut is particularly opposed to what he sees as left-wing extremism in Israeli universities, and is actively involved inIsrael Academia Monitor , a website monitoring such activity. [ [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=20411 Frontpagemag.com] .]Steven Plaut has also becme known through the controversy in which
Neve Gordon , a faculty member at theBen-Gurion University of the Negev Department of Politics and Government, sued Plaut for libel in several of Plaut's articles and alleged e-mails written about Gordon. In May 2006, the Israeli magistrate court inNazareth ruled in favour of Gordon, and ordered Plaut to pay Gordon 80000 shekels in compensation plus 15000 shekels in legal fees. [ [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=724857 U.S.-born professor guilty of libeling colleague] Ira Moskovitz,Haaretz 9 June 2006] Both sides appealed to the District Court inNazareth and in February 2008, the court overturned all but one count relating to a publication in which Plaut called Gordon a "Judenrat Wannabe ". The court then reduced the damages to just 10,000 shekels (about US$2,700), with no payment of legal costs required, because "Gordon put himself in the eye of the storm of public discussion".
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