Josef Penninger, one of Canada's top scientists, is leaving the country because the University of Toronto and its largest affiliated hospital, the University Health Network, failed to act in a timely and decisive manner to deal with unfounded allegations made against him and his lab.

In response to the recommendations of the Olivieri committee of inquiry, CAUT has established a task force on academic freedom for faculty at university-affiliated health care institutions.

Your readers may be interested to know that since publication of the commentary by Elia Zureik in the May 2002 Bulletin, the situation for Palestinian universities, indeed for all civilian life in the occupied Palestinian territories, has taken a turn for the worse. In his commentary, Professor Zureik noted the Israeli army has imposed tight control over the movement of Palestinians within the occupied territories, and pointed out the detrimental effect of these restrictions for the survival of Palestinian education.

I am writing to thank CAUT for the excellent article by Elia Zureik that was printed in the May issue of the Bulletin. "Palestinian Education in Disarray" gives us valuable information that the Canadian media has not given us so far.

In "Palestinian Education in Disarray" (Commentary, Bulletin, May 2002), Professor Elia Zureik describes the challenges faced by schools and universities in the Palestinian territories. The Palestinians are "painstakingly pursuing the project of nation building, with education at its core," in a heroic struggle to "maintain their grip on their land, livelihood and drive for self-determination."

Elia Zureik's commentary, "Palestinian Education in Disarray" (Commentary, Bulletin, May 2002) is a textbook case of the mentality of a person convicted of the murder of his parents who pleads for leniency on the grounds that he is an orphan.

You deserve our appreciation for publishing Elia Zureik's article "Palestinian Education in Disarray." By allowing his dissenting voice to be heard, I am sure you will have upset the gatekeepers of orthodoxy on the Palestine Israel question.

The government of British Columbia introduced legislation last month that will eliminate the B.C. Human Rights Commission, the body that investigates and mediates complaints of discrimination in the province.

I write to protest use of the CAUT Bulletin as conduit for the delivery of a completely one-sided anti-Israel screed, "Palestinian Education in Disarray," (Commentary, Bulletin, May 2002).

I wish to congratulate CAUT for running the article by Elia Zureik on education in Palestine. Zureik has long experience of on-the-ground realities in Palestine and his special concern for education in Palestine makes him admirably suited to write such a review.

I was disgusted and appalled when I read "Palestinian Education in Disarray" (Commentary, Bulletin, May 2002). First, I do not believe the Bulletin is an appropriate forum for discussing one side of the controversial topic of Middle East politics. Second, this article is completely one-sided, biased and full of misinformation and half-truths pertaining to the education system in Israel.

I am writing to express my admiration for CAUT's willingness to publish Elia Zureik's courageous article on the obstacles facing Palestinian education.

CAUT should be commended for printing Elia Zureik's illuminating account of the myths and realities of the sorry state of higher education, indeed of education generally, for Palestinians subject to official Israeli government policies of Jewish domination and colonization.

Thank you for putting a human face on the damage done to Palestinian education as a result of Israel's continuing military interventions in the occupied territories.

In response to my critics, let me say this. The sources I cited speak for themselves. I am always willing to engage people who disagree with me. But this does not mean one has to yield to unsupported and outrageous claims whose purpose is to silence people who do not agree with the accepted dogma of the day. The accusations of the above writers will not whitewash the horrors that the Sharon government and its supporters are visiting upon the Palestinians.

Although your article "B.C. OKs Plan for Private Universities" (Bulletin, May 2002) correctly quotes a letter from Darwyn Coxson, president of the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of B.C., regarding the new, private, degree-granting legislation in British Columbia, neither the letter nor the story fully articulates the CUFA/BC position.

The United States government says it will be more aggressive in getting higher education services covered by the controversial General Agreement on Trade in Services.

Memorial University biology professor Ian Jones has nothing personal against Brittany Spears, her recording company, or the thousands of fans who make home copies of her music. He just resents having to subsidize their symbiotic relationship.

The British Columbia legislature has passed the Sea to Sky University Act, giving the go-ahead to David Strangway, president and CEO of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, to establish a private university in the town of Squamish.

Acadia University Faculty Association has filed an unfair labour practice complaint against the university, for violating the freeze provisions of the Trade Union Act by refusing to appoint part-time faculty for the fall and winter terms.