Those Jolly English Students
The London School of Oriental and African Studies caught flack last December for hosting a conference on the general theme that Israel is an apartheid state. At the time, I wrote to the acting director, Peter Robb, expressing my horror, and received reply in which he explained that the SOAS encourages debate. Despite this enthusiasm for argumentation, in this case the SOAS wasn't actually organizing the conference, merely allowing its facilities to be used in hosting it. Not that he had a problem with the conference mind you - he pointed out that one of the speakers I had objected to, wasn't half as bad as everybody thinks.
In closing, he thought I would take solace in knowing that the director of the SOAS is a South African. A great comfort indeed.
In the months since I have cheerfully gone about my life, firmly convinced that, as Dr Robb instructed me, the SOAS is a very difference place from what I imagine. Imagine then how my tranquil dreams were shattered when I read this:
The juicy parts of the article are cited on Solomonia
In closing, he thought I would take solace in knowing that the director of the SOAS is a South African. A great comfort indeed.
In the months since I have cheerfully gone about my life, firmly convinced that, as Dr Robb instructed me, the SOAS is a very difference place from what I imagine. Imagine then how my tranquil dreams were shattered when I read this:
The latest sign of increasing anti-Semitism at the college is the publication this week in SOAS Spirit, the student union magazine, of an article advocating suicide terrorism by Palestinians.
The article, written by Nasser Amin, argues that violence is the best hope of the Palestinian people, describes Israel as a Jewish colony and says that all Zionists must be exposed.
Times Online - Tide of extremism is rising against us, say Jewish students - Britain
The juicy parts of the article are cited on Solomonia
...Non-violent resistance is no solution either. We know what the Israelis can do to unarmed peace activists. Violence, rather than feebleness, generates power for the oppressed...
- sheikh X at 9:03 PM
1 Comments:
Very disturbing indeed. This kind of stuff makes one despair of finding any possible solution to the anti-Israel sentiment that has become so pervasive. I am aware of the difference between criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism, but I have begun to notice that the critics themselves have lost sight of what they are supposed to be critiquing, and have instead embraced an all-out attack on Israel as a Jewish state, without regard to its politics, its people, and its existence as one of only two democracies in the entire Middle East.
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