Pluto Press - University of Michigan Press Controversy

University of Michigan Press Controversy

Prior to Palgrave Macmillan, Pluto Press was distributed by The University of Michigan Press in the United States. However, in June 2008, The University of Michigan Press terminated this relationship after new guidelines were established for its relationships with external publishing houses. The decision came after a series of events tied to the distribution of a 2007 Pluto Press book, Overcoming Zionism (written by then- Bard College professor Joel Kovel), which argues "that the creation of Israel was a mistake and urges adoption of the "one state" solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in which Israelis and Palestinians would form a new country, without a Jewish character. " After briefly resuming the redistribution, the University of Michigan finally ceased it 2008, invoking differences in peer review standards. The reason invoked by the University of Michigan was described as "a facade" by Roger van Zwanenberg, chairman of Pluto Press.

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