Anti-semites?

Once again critics of Israel are under attack for spurious charges of anti-semitism because of their outspoken views on Israel and US foreign policy. The charge of anti-semitim has become increasingly yielded by defenders of Zionism to silence its critics. Read below and act!

Dear Friends,
A colleague, Joseph Massad, is currently the target of a intensive campaign directed at Columbia University. The campaign wants to force the University, among other things, to fire Prof. Massad for his "anti-Israel" views, and to eliminate the Edward Said Chair held by Prof. Rashid Khalidi, who recently published a book, Resurrecting Empire. The New York Sun summed up the aims of this campaign in an editorial, the last paragraph of which says:
"The way to begin correcting the situation would be with a grand gesture. A Columbia honorary degree for Prime Minister Sharon would be one way to do it. So would firing Mr. Massad, or giving back the money from the United Arab Emirates, or disciplining Mr. Khalidi for the errors in his book. Then Columbia could set about hiring some teachers who display genuine critical judgment."

http://www.nysun.com/article/3639

The weapon of choice in this campaign is an underground documentary produced by a right wing organization, the David Project, interviewing students who complain of anti-Israel bias on campus and accusing faculty, especially Prof. Massad, of anti-Semitism. This video is being shown behind closed doors to key administrators at Columbia and to various organizations and politicians. It is not open to the public (thus far) and none of the charges have been substantiated. Indeed, similar charges were found baseless last year by an investigative committee appointed by the President of Columbia. Nevertheless, New York mayoral hopeful, Congressman Weiner, has written a letter to the President of Columbia urging that Prof. Massad be fired.


I do not expect this campaign to end any time soon. I have seen similar ones on several campuses now and they persist despite the fact that exhaustive investigations by university administrators do not substantiate such complaints. You may recall similar charges at Berkeley, such as the long front page story this past summer in the East Bay Express based on interviews with select pro-Israel activists who accuse UC Berkeley of being a bastion of anti-Semitism. There is no shortage of targets nor an end to charges, no matter how discredited. At this point in time, Columbia seems to be in the front lines. Do what you can to defend academic freedom.

Provost Alan Brinkley's E-mail is ab65@columbia.edu
Vice-president Nick Dirks's E-mail is nbd7@columbia.edu
President Lee Bollinger's E-mail is lcb50@columbia.edu

Beshara Doumani
University of California
Dept. of History
3229 Dwinelle Hall
Berkeley, Ca 94720-2550
510 643-3147 (office)
510 643-5323 (fax)