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‘The tide of public opinion is turning’ — Committee for Open Discussion of Zionism commends Brooklyn College

http://codzorg.net

January 31, 2013

Karen L. Gould
President, Brooklyn College
2900 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11210
klgould@brooklyn.cuny.edu

Dear President Gould:

The Committee for Open Discussion of Zionism (CODZ) supports and applauds your determination to stand firm against recent attempts by Zionist alumni/ae, students, and media to persuade the Brooklyn College Department of Political Science to withdraw its co-sponsorship from a panel discussion, sponsored primarily by the Brooklyn College Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), featuring two world-renowned figures, Professor Judith Butler and Palestinian spokesperson Omar Barghouti, on the topic of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS).

CODZ is a group of lawyers, professors, physicians, writers and others who came together in 2007 to counter our society’s pervasive suppression of criticism of Israel, often in a manner that reminds us of McCarthyism.

Heavy-handed efforts to suppress discussion of Palestinian perspectives have proliferated with the increasingly active opposition on US campuses to harsh Israeli practices used to contain the Palestinian population within ever-tightening boundaries that increasing world consensus holds resembles South African apartheid. We understand that there are now about 100 SJP chapters either active or in formation on our campuses. The neoconservative ideologue Alan Dershowitz, who turns his vitriolic counterattack from one campus to another, has now taken aim at Brooklyn College administrators, faculty, and students to have the panel discussion canceled. But his efforts have only strengthened the determination of campus activists to resist such bullying. We are glad to hear that you recognize how hostile such pressure is to the spirit of free inquiry and peaceful discussion of controversial issues of global import, which great colleges and universities seek to nurture and encourage rather than snuff out.

Among numerous false claims being made against the panel discussion is that proponents of BDS are anti-Semitic and immoral. As a scholar of French-Canadian literature as well as the president of a university with an historically open policy of admitting Jewish students and other religious as well as ethno-racial minorities, and of developing curriculum for analyzing issues of significance to these communities, you are demonstrating your understanding that criticism of a particular government, in this instance the state of Israel, is qualitatively distinct from condemnation of a racial or religious group that comprises the majority of that state’s population and also exists in large communities around the world.[1] The tide of public opinion is now turning—from intimidated silence on Israeli policies that bring shame upon a country which calls itself the only democracy in the Middle East, to a growing global chorus of condemnation of Israel’s segregation of Palestinians and bullying efforts to gag critics. The commitment of Palestinian civil society to nonviolent resistance, which its call for global BDS represents, is a commitment in the finest tradition of nonviolent movements for social change, from Gandhi to King and our own civil rights movement, all of which well deserve academic study and discussion.

To deny students and faculty their right to explore these issues on a campus that prides itself on its promotion of critical thinking, ethical action, and diversity would dishonor Brooklyn College’s historical mission and violate fundamental academic freedoms, and needlessly incite unreason and disunity on the Brooklyn College campus and beyond. We therefore publicly applaud your principled stand in favor of discussion, debate, and the modeling of practices for dealing with our differences that every institution of higher education attempts to provide for its students, and we add our voices to those of Brooklyn College students and faculty to urge you to continue to stand by the Department of Political Science’s decision to support the panel discussion at Brooklyn College on February 7.

Sincerely,

(*Organizations listed for identification purposes only.)

Terri Ginsberg, Ph.D.
Board member, International Council for Middle East Studies*
former Visiting Assistant Professor, Brooklyn College

Michael Steven Smith, Esq.
Board member, Center for Constitutional Rights
co-host, Law and Disorder radio show

Barbara M. Harvey, Attorney, Detroit
Board member, Association for Union Democracy* and Michigan Coalition for Human Rights*
former Legal Director, ACLU of Michigan

Joel Kovel, M.D.

Carl Schieren, M.I.A.
formerly with the American University in Cairo

Abdeen Jabara, Esq.
Board member, Center for Constitutional Rights*

Jonathan House, M.D.
Faculty, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Department of Psychiatry
former Secretary, American Psychoanalytic Association*

Dennis James, Esq.

Mitchel Cohen
Brooklyn Greens / Green Party
Chair, WBAI (99.5 FM) Local Station Board*

cc:
Provost William Tramontano – tramontano@brooklyn.cuny.edu
Director of Communications and Public Relations Jeremy Thompson – JeremyThompson@brooklyn.cuny.edu

*************

[1] See “We Can’t Say This,” Jewish Daily Forward (13 July 2011) at http://www.forward.com/articles/139822/.
 

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This group needs the widest possible membership.
Anti-McCarthyism was a noble cause in its day, and there are many similar — including Anti-suppression of discussion of Zionism.

Count me in.

The headline might make us think that indeed the tide of public opinion is changing, but this group is an anti Zionist group promoting speech by anti Zionists. Big deal. Stop the presses. Joel Kovel wants anti Zionists to speak at Brooklyn College. Man bites dog. News. Dog bites man. Not news.

The tide of public opinion is now turning—from intimidated silence on Israeli policies that bring shame upon a country which calls itself the only democracy in the Middle East, to a growing global chorus of condemnation of Israel’s segregation of Palestinians and bullying efforts to gag critics.

The United States is the only real power which, at this time, is standing between world opinion and Israel.

This is why Zionist groups (many of which are Christian) are fighting hard to control the narrative.

You can’t blame them.

If one thinks the USA is too pro-Zionist, then the rest of the world is rabidly anti-Israel. It balances out. If the USA flips it will get ugly.

It may not change Israel’s policies though. Israel is determined to listen to no one it seems; and seems ready to take her own counsel on what is proper.

Heavy-handed efforts to suppress discussion of Palestinian perspectives have proliferated with the increasingly active opposition on US campuses to harsh Israeli practices used to contain the Palestinian population within ever-tightening boundaries that increasing world consensus holds resembles South African apartheid.

The Apartheid comparison is not exactly correct.

Security reasons have driven Israel to impose a permanent state of martial law.

But one does not see separate bathrooms, nor some of the other petty insults that accompanied apartheid.

There are Israeli only roads, but a lot of the insulting regulations of apartheid are not there. Israel does not even rise to the level of Jim Crow.

It is more of a martial law than apartheid system.

Israel’s actions stem from a very real fear of being destroyed. It is not to hard to find pro-Palestinians saying “From the River to the Sea, Palestinian will be free,” which, in essence, is a call for Israel’s destruction. 65 years of non-stop war have impressed upon the Israelis that the Arabs will not give in. This has imposed a siege mentality, where martial regulation is administered.

My chief observation is that Israel should administer the areas less sternly.

PS: Why are my comments not being shown on when you click on my name? When you click on my name, you get 0 comments.

Greenwald said he would decline/boycott his upcoming engagement at BC, should this event succumb to outside pressure.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/02/brooklyn-college-bds-alan-dershowitz

When I wrote about this controversy on Tuesday, I said that if this BDS event is cancelled, then “I’d strongly consider asking them to cancel mine as well, as I assume when I accept invitations to speak in academic venues that I’m going somewhere that fosters rather than suffocates the free exchange of ideas.” I’m going to make that more definite: if this event is cancelled, or if the Political Science department is forced to change it to include speakers they never wanted to invite, then I will absolutely refuse to speak at Brooklyn College. Others should use this updated list* to contact school administrators and make your views known.

Long article. GG’s pissed.

* http://ggsidedocs.blogspot.com.br/2013/01/contact-information-brooklyn-college.html

here is the name of one reason the US congress…has no guts what so ever

Cerberus Capital Management
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cerberus Capital Management, L.P.

Type Limited Partnership
Industry Private Equity
Founded 1992
Founder(s) Steve Feinberg & William L. Richter
Headquarters 875 Third Avenue
New York City
Products Distressed securities and assets, Private equity, Leveraged buyouts, Growth capital, Real estate investing, Commercial lending
Total assets $20 billion
Website cerberuscapital.com
Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American private equity firm.[1] The firm is based in New York City, and run by financier Steve Feinberg, who co-founded Cerberus in 1992 with William L. Richter, who currently serves as a senior managing director. The firm has affiliate and/or advisory offices in the United States, Europe and Asia.[2]
Cerberus has more than US$20 billion under management in funds and accounts. The company is a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Registered Investment Advisor.[3] Investors include prominent government and private sector pension and retirement funds, charitable foundations, university endowments, insurance companies, family savings and sovereign wealth funds.[1]
The firm’s headquarters are located at 875 Third Avenue in New York City.