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5/12/08 Update:
Rally Report and New PetitionAt 2 PM on Monday May, 5, 2008, twenty-five people rallied in support of Dr. Catherine Wilkerson, MD in front of the Packard Community Clinic in Ann Arbor. After statements by Dr. Wilkerson, her supporters, and patients, the group joined in spirited chants of "Bring the doctor back." Two supporters then delivered the petitions of 563 people to "keep Dr. Wilkerson on the staff of the PCC and stop the political harassment of her by PCC management" (the petition was started before she was fired). You can now see the petition and the many encouraging comments in an easier-to-read format on the Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson web site. Just click the link in the second item below the donate button in the sidebar at left where it says: "New! Read the 'Keep Wilkerson" Petition Delivered to the PCC on 5/5/08'." Speaking of petitions, there's a new one for supporters of free speech, Palestinian human rights, and Dr. Wilkerson to sign at: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/exposezionism/ . The petition text appears below, please sign today.
To the Leaders of Muzzlewatch and the Committee for the Open Discussion
of Zionism:
Both Muzzlewatch and the Committee for the Open Discussion of Zionism (CODZ) are efforts of national, if not international, scope ostensibly aimed at exposing and countering Zionist efforts to squelch criticism of Israel and Zionism. Muzzlewatch is a project of the Oakland, CA-based Jewish Voice for Peace and New York City-based CODZ was founded by Joel Kovel, Howard Zinn, and others in response to a Zionist-inspired attempt to stop US distribution of Kovel's book, Overcoming Zionism.
Yet, as of early May 2008, nearly three months after Catherine Wilkerson, MD, was fired for criticizing Israel and Zionism and for resisting a political gag clause in a proposed employment contract neither Muzzlewatch nor CODZ has had a word to say about it. This despite repeated requests and the fact that her criminal trial and acquittal on trumped-up charges stemming from a protest at an earlier Zionist event were covered in both the mainstream and alternative media. The dispute over Dr. Wilkerson's subsequent firing was also covered in the mainstream media and the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan has now weighed-in, comparing the gag clause to McCarthy-era tactics and linking it to the "controversial speech of ... Catherine Wilkerson, about Israel and Palestine."
We, the undersigned supporters of free speech, Palestinian human rights, and Dr. Wilkerson urge the leaders of Muzzlewatch and CODZ to alert their readers and supporters to the Zionist attack on Dr. Wilkerson and to the campaign to have her rehired.
Notes: You can write to Muzzlewatch at board@jewishvoiceforpeace.org and write to CODZ at info@codz.org. The Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson will not share your e-mail address without your explicit permission. You do NOT have to make a donation to sign this petition and you cannot donate to the defense committee through this web site. To make a donation to the defense committee or to get more information, please go to defendwilkerson.org . If you sign the petition, you will be given the option of joining the Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson's e-mail announcement group. You can also add yourself to that list by sending an e-mail message to: DefendWilkerson-Announce-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Both Muzzlewatch and the Committee for the Open Discussion of Zionism (CODZ) are efforts of national, if not international, scope ostensibly aimed at exposing and countering Zionist efforts to squelch criticism of Israel and Zionism. Muzzlewatch is a project of the Oakland, CA-based Jewish Voice for Peace and New York City-based CODZ was founded by Joel Kovel, Howard Zinn, and others in response to a Zionist-inspired attempt to stop US distribution of Kovel's book, Overcoming Zionism.
Yet, as of early May 2008, nearly three months after Catherine Wilkerson, MD, was fired for criticizing Israel and Zionism and for resisting a political gag clause in a proposed employment contract neither Muzzlewatch nor CODZ has had a word to say about it. This despite repeated requests and the fact that her criminal trial and acquittal on trumped-up charges stemming from a protest at an earlier Zionist event were covered in both the mainstream and alternative media. The dispute over Dr. Wilkerson's subsequent firing was also covered in the mainstream media and the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan has now weighed-in, comparing the gag clause to McCarthy-era tactics and linking it to the "controversial speech of ... Catherine Wilkerson, about Israel and Palestine."
We, the undersigned supporters of free speech, Palestinian human rights, and Dr. Wilkerson urge the leaders of Muzzlewatch and CODZ to alert their readers and supporters to the Zionist attack on Dr. Wilkerson and to the campaign to have her rehired.
Notes: You can write to Muzzlewatch at board@jewishvoiceforpeace.org and write to CODZ at info@codz.org. The Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson will not share your e-mail address without your explicit permission. You do NOT have to make a donation to sign this petition and you cannot donate to the defense committee through this web site. To make a donation to the defense committee or to get more information, please go to defendwilkerson.org . If you sign the petition, you will be given the option of joining the Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson's e-mail announcement group. You can also add yourself to that list by sending an e-mail message to: DefendWilkerson-Announce-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
4/25/08 Action Alert: Please Contact Muzzlewatch & the Committee for the Open Discussion of Zionism
Both Muzzlewatch and the Committee for the Open Discussion of Zionism (CODZ) claim to be concerned with exposing and stopping Zionist efforts to squelch criticism of Israel and Zionism. Yet, more than two months after Catherine Wilkerson, MD, was fired for criticizing Israel and Zionism and for resisting a political gag clause in a proposed employment contract neither Muzzlewatch nor CODZ has had a word to say about it. This despite repeated requests and the fact that her criminal trial and acquittal on trumped-up charges stemming from a protest at an earlier Zionist event was covered in both the mainstream and alternative media. The controversy over Dr. Wilkerson's firing was also covered in the mainstream media and the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan has now weighed-in, comparing the gag clause to McCarthy-era tactics and linking it to the "controversial speech of ... Catherine Wilkerson, about Israel and Palestine." The Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson is asking supporters of free speech, Palestinian human rights, and Dr. Wilkerson to write to both Muzzlewatch and CODZ to ask them to alert their readers to the Zionist attack on Dr. Wilkerson and the campaign to have her rehired, including our online petition. Send your e-mails to tips@muzzlewatch.com and info@codz.org. You can also write to CODZ at: CODZ, Church Street Station, PO Box 374, New York, New York 10008-0374.
Resources
Ann Arbor News "Doctor claims her activism got her fired," 2/14/08 click here
ACLU Letter, 4/17/08, click here (PDF)
Ann Arbor News "ACLU opines in doctor's free-speech battle," 4/25/08 click here
# # #
Correction: The phone number on yesterday's press release was incorrect. We apologize for the error. The correct number is (734) 663-3649.
The Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson
P.O. Box 8041, Ann Arbor, MI 48107
(734) 663-3649 defendwilkerson.org
Press Release: ACLU Supports Position of Doctor Terminated by Packard Community Clinic
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2008
Contact: Henry Herskovitz, (734) 663-3649
ANN ARBOR, MI - The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan has issued an opinion critical of Packard Community Clinic’s policy regarding speech of employees. In a letter to Executive Director Kim Kratz, the ACLU states: “… the policy is extremely broad and poses serious civil liberties implications for the free expression rights of employees.” Catherine Wilkerson, MD, MPH, who had worked at the clinic for over five years, was fired by the clinic in February after she protested the policy as part of a new employment contract. Board President Jim Frenza told the Ann Arbor News in February that Dr. Wilkerson was dismissed because of her refusal to sign the contract. In the opinion of the ACLU that contract should be revised and any employees no longer working at the clinic because of refusing to agree to the former agreement should be “… given the opportunity to return to work upon signing a revised agreement.”
The policy and contract language at issue would have required Dr. Wilkerson to refrain from activities, even outside the workplace, which the clinic’s Medical Director Ray Rion, MD, might disapprove of. According to the ACLU, the policy “… could prevent an [employee] from participating in virtually any political demonstration outside of work that has nothing to do with work.” The letter goes on to say that “… there is no question that if all employers forbade employees from expressing controversial political ideas outside of work, the values of free speech and democracy in this country would be severely undermined.” Dr. Wilkerson had expressed controversial political ideas outside of work, and the letter indicates that her doing so is what prompted the adoption of the policy.
Recalling the McCarthy era, in which people were blackballed for involvement in controversial political activities, ACLU Legal Director Michael Steinberg used the term “repressive” in describing Packard’s speech policy. He points out that “Today, the punishment of these individuals is universally condemned as discrimination based on political association at its worst.” The Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson (CDCW) requested a meeting with clinic officials to present petitions from more than 400 patients and supporters to stop the termination proceedings. Clinic officials refused. The CDCW also tried to arrange mediation through the Dispute Resolution Center of Washtenaw County, but Mr. Frenza refused, claiming there were no issues to mediate. Dr. Wilkerson hopes that the ACLU letter will cause clinic officials to reconsider. The CDCW will be holding a rally outside the clinic and delivering petitions on Monday, May 5, at 2 PM.
# # #
Community Meeting with Dr. Wilkerson
When: Tuesday March 25, 2008, at 6:30 PM
Where: Meeting Room A in Mallett's Creek Branch of the Ann Arbor District Library, 3090 E. Eisenhower Pkwy (near Stone School Road), Ann Arbor
3/21/2008 Update: The Community Clinic that Isn't?; Contract Docs Online
The Packard Community Clinic (PCC) is ostensibly a "community" institution but is it responsive to the community it claims to serve? The Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson (CDCW) includes many community members, including a number of PCC patients. And, as of this writing, at least nineteen PCC donors and at least fifty-eight PCC patients (many signers elected not to disclose their donor/patient status) have signed our online petition to "Keep Catherine Wilkerson MD at Packard Clinic." But the clinic bosses, apparently, don't care much about the opinions of these community members. Executive Director Kim Kratz told a CDCW representative last week that neither she nor Medical Director Ray Rion, MD would ever be available to receive the petition of the more than four hundred people supporting Dr. Wilkerson. Why is that?
Furthermore, on March 12th, a letter was sent by the Dispute Resolution Center to the PCC requesting mediation concerning the employment termination of Dr. Wilkerson. According to the mediator assigned to the request: "I talked with Jim Frenza yesterday [3/18] and he believes that Dr. Wilkerson left the clinic voluntarily and therefore there are no issues to mediate." It is obvious that if one party asks you to mediate then there are issues to mediate. Dr. Wilkerson did not leave voluntarily and Board President Jim Frenza must know that. So, does he have the integrity to stop hiding behind the flimsy excuse that there is nothing to mediate? Does he care enough about the patients to resolve this matter so that those who wish to do so can resume, at PCC, the patient-physician relationship they have established with Dr.Wilkerson.
Dr. Wilkerson was forced out because she wanted to negotiate concerning a clause in a proposed contract that would have given Dr. Rion a blank check to decide what Dr. Wilkerson could or could not do when she was not at work. Would you sign a contract that said, "Employee agrees to refrain from conduct, both at work and outside of work, which tends to reflect negatively on the reputation and public image of Employer, which may negatively affect the ability of Employer to retain current patients, attract new patients or attract donations, or which may otherwise in the judgment of Employer's Medical Director reflect poorly upon the public image of Employee or Employer" (emphasis added)? In 2006, Dr. Wilkerson came to the aid of a protester rendered unconscious by police (you can now read about the case here (PDF) in the March 2008 edition of the Journal of Emergency Medical Services). Conceivably, Dr. Wilkerson could have been fired if the proposed contract had been in force at the time and Dr. Rion had unilaterally decided that such assistance reflected "poorly upon the public image of Employee or Employer." Note that the conduct in question doesn't have to reflect poorly upon the clinic, it is enough if Dr. Rion decides it merely reflects poorly on Dr. Wilkerson.
You can now read the entire proposed contract and related documents on our web site here. Other content recently added to the web site includes links to "Stop the firing of Michigan doctor Catherine Wilkerson" by Ian Thompson and "Doctor claims her activism got her fired" by Jo Mathis. You can always find the latest news on the main page or in the sidebar of the left hand side. Don't forget about the community meeting this Tuesday, March 25, at 6:30 PM at the Mallett's Creek branch of the Ann Arbor District Library, 3090 E. Eisenhower Pkwy (near Stone School Road) in Ann Arbor.
3/19/2008 Update: Clinic Leafleting Underway--Patients Respond Positively
Less than two weeks ago we let members of our announcement list know about the upcoming community meeting with Dr. Wilkerson and sent out a request for volunteers to help distribute leaflets about that event at the Packard Community Clinic. Leafleting started Monday under the watchful eye of clinic boss Kim Kratz. Here's part of one of our volunteers' reports: "A large percentage (approx. 80%) of the patients were very interested in knowing what happened to Catherine, was she working somewhere else, etc. They were very concerned and kind and said they'd try to be there next Tuesday."
The Community to Defend Catherine Wilkerson is still looking for additional volunteers for today through next Tuesday. If you can pass out leaflets on any weekday for an hour or more then please call Aimee Smith at (734) 761-9901 or e-mail Stuart Wilson at stuart@hvgreens.org. Leafleting times are from 8:30 AM until 12:15 PM or from 1:15 PM until 5:00PM The high priority times start at 8:30 AM and 1:15 PM. We are double staffing so that no one will be left by themselves outside the clinic. You can see or download our trilingual leaflet here (PDF). Below is the meeting announcement.
When: Tuesday March 25, 2008, at 6:30 PM
Where: Meeting Room A in Mallett's Creek Branch of the Ann Arbor District Library, 3090 E. Eisenhower Pkwy (near Stone School Road), Ann Arbor
On Sunday, February 10, 2008, Dr. Catherine Wilkerson was told not to come to work at the Packard Community Clinic anymore. She was not given any opportunity to discuss her departure with her patients. Dr. Wilkerson was fired for political activities outside of work on her personal time and for wanting to negotiate concerning contract terms that would have arbitrarily restricted those political activities. Today, Dr. Wilkerson is working with community members to try to convince the clinic's Governing Board to reinstate her and to stop the political targeting of her by Dr. Ray Rion and Kim Kratz. You are invited to attend a community gathering to meet and talk with Dr. Wilkerson and her supporters about her firing and what we can do about it. As Dr. Wilkerson likes to say, "An injury to one is an injury to all." For more information, call (734) 761-9901, go to defendwilkerson.org, or send e-mail to cwilkersonmd@sbcglobal.net
2/12/08 Update: Support Grows for Physician Fired for Supporting Human Rights for Palestinians
On Saturday, February 9, the Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson (CDCW) issued an urgent action alert regarding the firing of Dr. Wilkerson by the Packard Community Clinic (PCC) of Ann Arbor, Michigan, for her support of human rights for Palestinians. We can report that many people have stepped up to show their solidarity and seek justice for Dr. Wilkerson. In retribution for this, on Sunday, February 10, Dr. Wilkerson was abruptly notified by the PCC management that all of her appointments with patients in the coming week would be reassigned to someone else and she was not to come into the office during business hours.
On the brighter side, in less than three days, the number of signatures on our online petition has gone from zero to more than 150 and in the wake of Dr. Wilkerson's firing two other members of the PCC clinical staff have resigned. Also, several people have informed us that they will be withholding donations to the PCC in protest over Dr. Wilkerson's firing. This includes one regular donor who makes an annual contribution of $5000 to the PCC. While neither Dr. Wilkerson nor the CDCW have encouraged the staff resignations or a funding boycott of the PCC we understand and appreciate these acts of solidarity. It is our earnest hope that the PCC Governing Board will act soon to overturn the decision of management to fire Dr. Wilkerson so everyone can go back to work practicing medicine and so donors can once again contribute to the PCC in good conscience.
If you have not already signed the online petition and written to the PCC Governing Board then please do so today (see more info below).Governing Board or Advisory Board members listed below then please consider making a phone call to them to urge them to offer reinstatement to Dr Wilkerson and the two other clinical staff members who have resigned. Letters and faxes to the Governing Board are especially important. Also, if you personally know any of the PCC Governing Board or Advisory Board members listed below then please consider making a phone call to them to urge them to offer reinstatement to Dr Wilkerson and the two other clinical staff members who have resigned.
Governing Board
James Frenza, President, Retired Executive
Ray Rion, MD, Medical Director
Kimberly Kratz, MSW, MPH, Executive Director
Duane Newland, Treasurer, Retired Hospital Executive
Fran Lyman, Secretary, Retired Educator
Jerry Walden, MD, Retired Physician/ Founder
Sharon Moore, Retired UAW Official
Jeffrey Sanfield, MD, Physician
Mary Hunter, Nurse
James F. Peggs, MD, Physician
Tom Rieke, Marketing Business Owner
J Paul Dixon, Insurance Executive
Robert Laverty, Retired Hospital Executive
Kim D. Walsh, Alzheimers Association Program Director
Sarah Williams, Lawyer
Bettye Mcdonald, Retired Educator
Advisory Board
Gina Amalfitano, MD
Laverne Jackson Barker
Bonnie Billups, Jr.
Letitia Byrd
Cassie Cammann, MSW
Angelos Constantinides, DO
Molly Dobson
James Dolan
Eugene V. Douvan
Thomas Fleming
Gregory Fox
Carl E. Gingles, DDS
Vicky I. Henry
Rev. Judy Jahnke
Natalie Kellogg
Manfred Marcus, MD
John Martin
Elizabeth Michael
Rev. Kenneth Phifer
James Saalberg
Clifford Sheldon
Alma Walls
Contact the PCC Governing Board
Please contact the Governing Board as soon as possible. A written letter is considered one of the most effective forms of advocacy. You can mail one to the address in the sample letter below and/or send a fax to the Governing Board at (734) 971-8545. You may also leave a phone message at (734) 971-1073 or send an e-mail to info@packardclinic.
Sample Letter to the Packard Community Clinic Governing Board
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip
Today's Date
Board of Directors
Packard Community Clinic
3174 Packard Rd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Dear Members of the Governing Board of the Packard Community Clinic:
I am writing to urge you to stop the termination proceedings against Dr. Catherine Wilkerson, MD and, further, to stop the harassment of Dr. Wilkerson by Packard Community Clinic (PCC) Medical Director Ray Rion and Executive Director Kimberly Kratz. It was known when she was hired that Dr. Wilkerson was politically active. Her profile on the clinic web site notes: "she is particularly interested in social and economic determinants of health, gender issues in medicine, and medical ethics. She has been an activist involved in a number of issues related to public health, including the health effects of war and nuclear weapons, and universal health care." The only thing that has changed is that she is now--after successfully fending off a malicious criminal prosecution--being targeted for, on her own time and in her own name only, criticizing racism in the local Jewish community in its support for the apartheid state of Israel. Dr. Wilkerson is the senior and most experienced physician at the PCC and beloved by many of her patients. No good purpose can be served by depriving them of the compassionate care provided by this conscientious physician simply because she has nonviolently exercised her First Amendment rights to speak out against all forms of racism. Please keep Dr. Wilkerson on the staff of the PCC and stop the political harassment of her by PCC management.
Sincerely,
Your Signature
Your Name
###
2/9/08
Urgent
Action Alert--Help Save Dr. Wilkerson's Job; Stop the HarassmentLast December, Dr. Catherine Wilkerson dealt a blow to local forces of repression when, after a six-day trial, she was acquitted of the bogus charges brought against her by the University of Michigan and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Brian Mackie. She had hoped then to get on with caring for her patients at the Packard Community Clinic but, if anything, local Zionists and their minions seem more determined than ever to punish her for speaking out against the Jewish apartheid state of Israel and its local backers. The management of the Packard Community Clinic has decided to fire Dr. Wilkerson and on February 4th they set February 15th as her last day of work. Below you will find a statement by Dr. Wilkerson explaining more fully what is happening.
The Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson has issued this urgent action alert because we want to encourage the Governing Board of the Packard Community Clinic to stop the firing of Dr. Wilkerson and to stop the harassment of her for engaging in constitutionally-protected free speech activities on her own time and in her own name. Specifically, we are asking supporters of Dr. Wilkerson to do two things. First, please contact the Governing Board as soon as possible. A written letter is considered one of the most effective forms of advocacy. You can mail one to the address in the sample letter below and/or send a fax to the Governing Board at (734) 971-8545. You may also leave a phone message at (734) 971-1073 or send an e-mail to info@packardclinic.org. Second, please sign our online petition, which you can find at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/keepwilkerson/ . A press conference and a rally in front of the clinic are being contemplated but have not been scheduled at this time pending the Governing Board's response to an appeal by Dr. Wilkerson for a special meeting with the Board.
Sample Letter to the Packard Community Clinic Governing Board
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip
Today's Date
Governing Board
Packard Community Clinic
3174 Packard Rd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Dear Members of the Governing Board of the Packard Community Clinic:
I am writing to urge you to stop the termination proceedings against Dr. Catherine Wilkerson, MD and, further, to stop the harassment of Dr. Wilkerson by Packard Community Clinic (PCC) Medical Director Ray Rion and Executive Director Kimberly Kratz. It was known when she was hired that Dr. Wilkerson was politically active. Her profile on the clinic web site notes: "she is particularly interested in social and economic determinants of health, gender issues in medicine, and medical ethics. She has been an activist involved in a number of issues related to public health, including the health effects of war and nuclear weapons, and universal health care." The only thing that has changed is that she is now--after successfully fending off a malicious criminal prosecution--being targeted for, on her own time and in her own name only, criticizing racism in the local Jewish community in its support for the apartheid state of Israel. Dr. Wilkerson is the senior and most experienced physician at the PCC and beloved by many of her patients. No good purpose can be served by depriving them of the compassionate care provided by this conscientious physician simply because she has nonviolently exercised her First Amendment rights to speak out against all forms of racism. Please keep Dr. Wilkerson on the staff of the PCC and stop the political harassment of her by PCC management.
Sincerely,
Your Signature
Your Name
Statement of Dr. Catherine Wilkerson Concerning the Termination of Her Employment at the Packard Community Clinic
Despite the exhilarating victory for the First Amendment right to freedom of expression that my acquittal achieved, I remain the target of those who seek to quash that right. Now I am being forced out of my job. For over five-and-a-half years I have worked at Packard Community Clinic, providing medical care to disadvantaged members of the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti community. Most of my patients are Black, Latino, Arab, or Asian. My patients overwhelmingly come from the ranks of the working class.
These are the people within our own borders who suffer most from the wars and occupations being perpetrated, funded, and otherwise enabled by the US. These are the people whose brothers and sisters disproportionately wind up as cannon fodder. These are the people who struggle everyday to obtain the necessities of life and whose fundamental human right to health care is denied, while billions of dollars flow to wage these wars and occupations.
The wars and occupations currently waged or backed by the US have killed, maimed and sickened millions of Iraqis, Afghans, Palestinians, Haitians and Filipinos. How can a doctor turn a blind eye to this suffering and injustice? How can a doctor, of all people, not take a stand?
It is likely that a good many of those who obtain care at Packard Community Clinic agree with that analysis. The same is true, no doubt, for many of the clinic workers and for many of the clinic's supporters in the community. Yet, Medical Director Ray Rion and Executive Director Kimberly Kratz have deemed me "not a good fit for the clinic."
Months before the trial and the not-guilty verdict, the wheels to force me out had been set in motion. In early October, the Ray Rion called me in for a chat. I was not a good fit for the clinic, he claimed, because of my political activities. He cited the publicity surrounding the approaching criminal trial, my Palestinian human rights activities, and his desire for the clinic to "piddle to the middle." A few people had threatened not to donate money to the clinic. A local doctor threatened not to refer patients to the clinic. Who were these people? What kind of people threaten to withhold their money and not to refer patients in need of medical care to a clinic that is known to provide excellent care and to take all comers?
We talked, for the first time, about the case against me. He disputed my assertion that I had an obligation to help a person in need of medical attention, stating that in Michigan there is no duty to treat. We would have to wait and see how the trial turned out before he would know how that issue would affect my employment. But my Palestinian human rights activities were also a problem. Among those activities was my affiliation with Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends, a group that has stood vigil in front of Beth Israel Congregation for several years, silently holding signs protesting Israeli oppression of Palestinians. He wanted to know why I did that. I answered as I always have, "I do it as an act of solidarity with Palestinians."
I do it because more than four million Palestinian refugees live exile after being violently expelled from their homes by Jewish forces in 1948 and 1967. I do it because another four million or so Palestinians live under brutal Israeli occupation in Gaza and the West Bank. I do it for the more than one million Palestinians who live as second-class citizens in Israel. I do it because Israel's oppression of Palestinians is enabled by the American Zionist community and billions of US-taxpayer dollars that go to support Israel every year. I do it because Beth Israel is a political as well as a religious institution. As Rabbi Dobrusin wrote in the Ann Arbor News in January 2007: "Beth Israel Congregation affirms without any hesitation or equivocation the legitimacy of the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish state." I do it because the flag of Israel hangs in the synagogue and because the Rabbi Dobrusin uses his influence to defend Israel I do it because I believe that there is no more appropriate time to think about right and wrong than when worshiping. I do it as an act of solidarity, knowing as I stand there being assaulted with slurs and obscene gestures and swerving automobiles by those heading inside to worship God, that the harassment we endure in front of the synagogue does not even rise to the level of the tiniest smidgen of what Palestinians endure every day and have for decades. I do it to remind those who pass by of the plight of an oppressed people, whose oppression is facilitated by all of us who do not take a stand against it. At least I used to do it. After much soul-searching over the next few days after that meeting last October, I informed the medical director that I had decided to stop participating in the vigil. While I was already facing a criminal trial I didn't want to lose my job, too.
When the jury found me not guilty, I hoped my boss would no longer threaten me with termination. But three weeks after my victory, he presented me with a contract requiring me to "refrain from conduct, both at work and outside of work, which tends to reflect negatively on the reputation and public image of Employer, which may negatively affect the ability of Employer to retain current patients, attract new patients or attract donations, or which may otherwise in the judgment of Employer's Medical Director reflect poorly upon the public image of Employee or Employer."
When in the course of my attempting to negotiate with the Medical and Executive Directors of the clinic, I protested the vague and restrictive clause. I asked for more specific language and for guidance about what kinds of activities would constitute violation of the contract. They repeatedly criticized my political activities, and finally, the executive director terminated the negotiations, declaring that it was clear that my continued employment would not work, and that we should proceed with determining the terms of my severance.
No one should have to forfeit her constitutional right to freedom of expression to keep a job. It was not a fair contract and I believe that it was presented to me, on a take-it-or-leave-it basis, for the purpose of strong-arming me out the door. I believe that we could have negotiated a fair contract if both parties had negotiated in good faith. If it were not true, as I believe, that my termination is the culmination of months of efforts to force me out, they would have done so. But the saddest part of this story to me is that the needs and desires of so many of my patients to continue their relationships with me don't seem to matter.
See the previous updates for more information.