[Peace-discuss] Pardon my sarcasm

[C. G. Estabrook via Peace-discuss]

"It's a simple little system any child can understand
[...]
With this simple little system we'll be close by fortune's door
And to think that no one ever, ever thought of it before..."

[It is left as an exercise for the student to supply the missing second line...]


On Aug 26, 2014, at 9:42 PM, David Green via Peace-discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote:

> With Israel/Palestine, one must understand the rules.
> When Israel bombs Gaza, it is always in retaliation to Hamas “rockets.” Moreover, Hamas’ goal is to kill every Israeli Jew. Israel never does anything except defend itself.
> When academic organizations in this country propose a boycott of institutional relationships with Israeli universities, this violates academic freedom, even if it leaves Israeli academics free to participate in all scholarly activities.
> However when a scholar of Palestinian background is hired, academic freedom must take a back seat to civility in all aspects of that person’s life; freedom is subordinated to the notion that all “viewpoints” must be “respected.”
> Even if that individual of Palestinian background has a stellar teaching record, it is assumed that his anger at Israel is both anti-Semitic and imminently threatening to the self-esteem of prospective students. When this scholar implies in non-scholarly communication that Benjamin Netanyahu’s killing Palestinian children is ghoulish, that only confirms his/her anti-Semitism.
> A corollary is that sensibilities of Jewish students—assumed to be pro-Israel—are more important than those of pro-Palestinian students, especially those who find it refreshing for the institution to hire its first professor of Palestinian background who is also qualified to address the Israel/Palestine issue in a scholarly manner.
> When administrators ruin the career of such a scholar, it is understood to be for the cause of all the ideals the university stands for, which are imminently threatened by his/her presence in a classroom.
> These rules are not all that difficult to understand.
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