Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Thursday 5 June 2014

The Apathy & The Ennui: An academic anti-Israel move thwarted

"It is time that Zionists are asked to finally account for their support to the illegal occupation of Palestine since 1967.  This resolution rightly targets only Israel given the humongous influence that Jewish scholars have in the decision making process of Academia in general."

So opined American academic Alessio Lerro regarding the US Modern Language Association's proposed move against Israel.

This is it:

   Resolution 2014
    Whereas Israel has denied academics of Palestinian ethnicity entry into the West Bank;
 Whereas these restrictions violate international conventions on an occupying power’s obligation to protect the right to education;
Whereas the United States Department of State acknowledges on its Web site that Israel restricts the movements of American citizens of Palestinian descent;
 Whereas the denials have disrupted instruction, research, and planning at Palestinian universities;
Whereas the denials have restricted the academic freedom of scholars and teachers who are United States citizens;
 Be it resolved that the MLA urge the United States Department of State to contest Israel’s denials of entry to the West Bank by United States academics who have been invited to teach, confer, or do research at Palestinian universities.
Needless to say, Lerro's leaked remarks have been widely seen and condemned as antisemitic, as have the leaked remarks of certain other academic BDSers.

As reported here:
'Last January, the organization became the subject of major controversy after the group’s Delegate Assembly considered a resolution condemning Israel and calling on the U.S. State Department to “contest Israel’s denials of entry to the West Bank by U.S. academics who have been invited to teach, confer, or do research at Palestinian universities.”
The resolution did not, however, call for an academic boycott of Israel, a move which has been pushed by some activists and endorsed by the American Studies Association last December.
Supporters of the resolution said it would bring needed attention to alleged abuses of academic freedom by the Israeli government. Opponents argued the resolution was singling out Israel while ignoring far more severe abuses in other countries.
The resolution passed the Delegate Assembly 60 to 53, but to be officially approved it had to be endorsed by at least 10 percent of the MLA’s membership in a vote.
In the vote among the MLA’s entire membership, which ended Sunday, the anti-Israel crowd triumphed 1,560 to 1,063. However, at least 2,390 “yes” votes were needed to reach the 10 percent threshold. Nearly 90 percent of the MLA’s member decided this debate was one worth sitting out....'
More here

8 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. I didn't see that. Grateful as usual!

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    2. Why is everyone misquoting? I don't get it. I haven't seen that the word occupied has been dropped.

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    3. The word "occupied" has been dropped for East Jerusalem only, I don't know why the headlines imply it's been dropped across the board. But what Australia has done is a good start and better than every other country in the world. Also don't forget what Julie Bishop said about "settlements": “I would like to see which international law has declared them illegal”.

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  2. I suspect that unlike the ASA, most MLA members are not tenured academics, but independent consultants too busy trying to remain employed to get sucked into the quagmire of BDS. Of course the ASA had roughly the same piddly turn out support their resolution.

    But you have to hand it to all of these geniuses. Neither bother to couch their resolutions in the careful, couched language used in referendum votes in Quebec by the pro-separatist governments to lead the population to agree to independence from Canada.

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  3. There are so many reasons that the double standard against Israel is so troubling, but the part about Israel denying "the right to education" is especially silly. Maybe we should boycott Palestine:

    "Whereas the Palestinian Authority recently formed a unity government with the terrorist organization Hamas, which proudly claimed responsibility for the bombing of the Hebrew University cafeteria in 2002 which killed several Israeli and American university students......"

    Hamas literally and deliberately blows up Israeli universities, yet Israel is held up as the bad guy from a "right to education" standpoint. Genius.

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  4. Hi Daphne

    You might check your dust bin for a comment I think I left around here somewhere during the night. It had this link

    https://newmatilda.com//2014/06/03/whats-really-stake-sydney-uni-bds-affair

    The hard left in full whine. I love it when they get abusive. It means they are angry. In cognitive dissonance and suffering some. A good result all round.

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