Support for Palestine grows on campuses
By Leslie Feinberg
The problem with the tactic of intimidation is that it can
backfire, igniting fiery courage. That's what the organization
Middle East Forum, which describes itself as "promoting
American interests in the Middle East," is discovering.
The people behind the forum's "Campus Watch" web site hoped
to throw a wet blanket on the prairie fire of solidarity with
Palestinian freedom sweeping campuses across the United States.
It posted "dossiers" on eight professors and 14 universities
for their political positions on the Middle East, particularly
pro-Palestinian sentiment and criticism of Israel. A Big
Brother "Keep Us Informed" on-line questionnaire openly sought
to solicit more dossiers.
One target of "Campus Watch" was Ammiel Alcalay, a Hebrew
professor at Queens College. "It's that whole mode of terror by
association, with the Cold War language of dossiers, and we're
watching you," said Alcalay. "It's not so intimidating for
people like me, with tenure, but it makes graduate students and
untenured professors very nervous, and makes it even harder to
talk about Israel." (New York Times, Sept. 27)
It doesn't take a Ph.D. to figure out where the Middle East
Forum stands politically. Here's how its own web site describes
the institution: "The Middle East Forum, a think tank, works to
define and promote American interests in the Middle East.
"The Forum holds that the United States has vital interests
in the region; in particular, it believes in strong ties with
Israel, Turkey, and other democracies as they emerge; works for
human rights throughout the region; seeks a stable supply and a
low price of oil; and promotes the peaceful settlement of
regional and international disputes."
The "Campus Watch" web site appeared on the information
highway just one day after Harvard President Lawrence H.
Summers delivered a well-publicized speech denouncing the
campaign to divest from Israel as anti-Semitic.
That accusation drew outrage across the country and around
the world. And so did the Middle East Forum web site.
According to the Times, "In a show of solidarity with those
named on the Web site, nearly 100 outraged professors
nationwide--Jews and non-Jews, English professors and Middle
East specialists--have responded to the site by asking to be
added to the list."
Judith Butler, a comparative literature professor at
Berkeley, circulated her response on the Internet. "I have
recently learned that your organization is compiling dossiers
on professors at U.S. academic institutions who oppose the
Israeli occupation and its brutality, actively support
Palestinian rights of self-determination as well as a more
informed and intelligent view of Islam than is currently
represented in the U.S. media. I would be enormously honored to
be counted among those who actively hold these positions and
would like to be included in the list of those who are
struggling for justice."
Those whose names are listed on the site expressed how
buoyed they felt by the display of unity. "It's a new genre
springing up, and I'm especially glad that it includes Jewish
scholars," said Professor Hamid Dabashi, who heads Columbia
University's department of Middle Eastern and Asian language
and cultures. "This is about McCarthyism, freedom of
expression."
Reprinted from the Oct. 17, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
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