Columbia professor and Al-Ahram contributor Joseph Massad responds to Columbia Unbecoming.
7 thoughts on “Dissent and Antisemitism”
Certainly a well composed response to a film he has not seen. There’s some he-said/he-said with respect to Noah Liben, and no response to some of the other allegations.
i still don’t really see how the David Project’s pro-Israel agenda diminishes the point that some faculty-based anti-Israel sentiment crosses the line of intimidation– if it’s true, it’s true regardless of who says so.
He stipulates that Israel is overrepresented on campus and even in MEALAC. That’s probably a question of supply and demand, to a degree. But the real question is not how many professors of this and that, but what is the *culture* of these departments? MEALAC is dominated (and chaired) by professors who have in the past been willing to legitimize terrorism against Israel. No, that doesn’t speak to academic freedom, but it is very annoying.
Massad poses an interesting question– does Israel have any moral authority to speak for the Jewish people? (His answer is no, but I’m not so sure). He says that 10 million Jews “refuse” to move to Israel– that’s certainly misleading (I’m sure many of those 10 million are grateful for the option, support Israel and are staying in part because Israel’s existence has given them more security in their home country). I think that Israel actually has a duty to try and represent the best interests of the Jewish people– clearly there is no Jewish monolith as Massad rightly points out, but Jews obviously share some common ground, and the divisions within Israeli society are probably nearly representative of the divisions in the Jewish community at large. Certainly when Jews are in need of assistance, Israel understands that silence and inaction are criminal– it is practically expected that Israel will come to their aid. Is it wrong for Israel to prioritize helping Jews in need? I have more questions than answers, really. But I thought this was pretty inspirational.
Massad’s response is a great example of his scholarship–frantic, fanatic and not based in fact. Noah Liben has responded to these charges by corroborating every instance he mentioned. Massad can’t do that because he, how would John Stewart say it…he, uh…..made it up.
I do not refuse to move to Israel. I can live safetly in the United States because Israel exists.
However, I have relatives who do live there, including an entire branch of my family.
Sure it sounds like it when you listen to Massad. What’s he going to say– I intimidate Jews and supporters of Israel? Come, now. Clearly there is some kind of grey area that we’re not getting through to– it would be nice if there were more students who would corroborate these accounts featured in the film.
Sounds like the campaign against him is based on lies.
To learn more in said campaign, Jennifer, read Ariel Beery’s blog — he’s involved in the campaign against what Massad said (not “against Massad” as you incorrectly assume, incidentally). I just did, and it’s pretty interesting.
I wrote a response to Massad’s essay, posted as an entry on my blog, dated Mon/Nov 15.
Just another perspective. Maybe it will give you some food for thought.
Certainly a well composed response to a film he has not seen. There’s some he-said/he-said with respect to Noah Liben, and no response to some of the other allegations.
i still don’t really see how the David Project’s pro-Israel agenda diminishes the point that some faculty-based anti-Israel sentiment crosses the line of intimidation– if it’s true, it’s true regardless of who says so.
He stipulates that Israel is overrepresented on campus and even in MEALAC. That’s probably a question of supply and demand, to a degree. But the real question is not how many professors of this and that, but what is the *culture* of these departments? MEALAC is dominated (and chaired) by professors who have in the past been willing to legitimize terrorism against Israel. No, that doesn’t speak to academic freedom, but it is very annoying.
Massad poses an interesting question– does Israel have any moral authority to speak for the Jewish people? (His answer is no, but I’m not so sure). He says that 10 million Jews “refuse” to move to Israel– that’s certainly misleading (I’m sure many of those 10 million are grateful for the option, support Israel and are staying in part because Israel’s existence has given them more security in their home country). I think that Israel actually has a duty to try and represent the best interests of the Jewish people– clearly there is no Jewish monolith as Massad rightly points out, but Jews obviously share some common ground, and the divisions within Israeli society are probably nearly representative of the divisions in the Jewish community at large. Certainly when Jews are in need of assistance, Israel understands that silence and inaction are criminal– it is practically expected that Israel will come to their aid. Is it wrong for Israel to prioritize helping Jews in need? I have more questions than answers, really. But I thought this was pretty inspirational.
Massad’s response is a great example of his scholarship–frantic, fanatic and not based in fact. Noah Liben has responded to these charges by corroborating every instance he mentioned. Massad can’t do that because he, how would John Stewart say it…he, uh…..made it up.
I do not refuse to move to Israel. I can live safetly in the United States because Israel exists.
However, I have relatives who do live there, including an entire branch of my family.
Sounds like the campaign against him is based on lies.
Sure it sounds like it when you listen to Massad. What’s he going to say– I intimidate Jews and supporters of Israel? Come, now. Clearly there is some kind of grey area that we’re not getting through to– it would be nice if there were more students who would corroborate these accounts featured in the film.
Sounds like the campaign against him is based on lies.
To learn more in said campaign, Jennifer, read Ariel Beery’s blog — he’s involved in the campaign against what Massad said (not “against Massad” as you incorrectly assume, incidentally). I just did, and it’s pretty interesting.
I wrote a response to Massad’s essay, posted as an entry on my blog, dated Mon/Nov 15.
Just another perspective. Maybe it will give you some food for thought.