THE SPINE MAY 30, 2007
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I am not a big fan of those surveys ranking restaurants, doctors, lawyers,
hairdressers, beers, and ice creams. I don't think much more of the surveys
ranking universities and research institutions either. But when the
faculties of three British universities initiate a boycott of all of the
universities of one whole nation--in this case, you guessed it, of Israel--
I begin to think: What are those universities, anyway? How do they match up
with other institutions of higher learning?
The three British universities that brought their cosmic plaint against
"Israeli academe's cooperation with the occupation" to their national
teachers' union for further action on individual campuses are Brighton,
East London, and Birmingham. To tell the truth, the academic standing of
Brighton and East London is simply laughable. They are depressed
institutions that barely rank anywhere on anybody's list. That's literally
true for East London. According to the Sunday Times of London, Brighton is
56th of, well, how many other real universities can there be in
England? Birmingham is a different matter, a real university, a hundred
years old with these unique characteristics: It is the only university in
Great Britain to have its own private railroad station; Edward Elgar was
professor of music from 1905 to 1908; during the last World War, the campus
was a center of armaments research (it produced a crucial paper on the bomb)
made incumbent on the British nation by the university's most notable
alumnus, Neville Chamberlain. He would have been proud that his alma mater
is trying to appease Palestinian terrorists whose enemies are the same as
Hitler's.
The union conference was held at Bournemouth, a beach resort that even Chamber of Commerce photographs cannot make look pretty. Oscar Wilde and
the Empress Eugenie of France once stayed there. But that was in the
nineteenth century. The trade unions that convene here are tawdry remnants
of the philosophical and moral clarity of what used to be British socialism
and its sense of justice. Has anything elevated come from the guild of
college and university lecturers? Honestly, I don't know. Still, the
tacky spectacle of a collective ostracism of the life of the mind in the
Jewish state should actually give people the spooks.
In any case, the outcasts are certainly the intellectual superiors of the
blacklistees. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, the
Technion, and the Weizman Institute of Science are high on every scholarly
ranking everywhere. They are true centers of curiosity and of deep
thinking. And of the kind of argument about policy that you would not find
in any Arab institution--and certainly not in a Palestinian one.
This boycott is venal, and the venality of its supporters should be known
the world over. The University of Texas Nobel Prize physicist Steven
Weinberg has done what he could do to counter this infection that seems to
be spreading in the British academy. He has canceled his appearance at a
conference at Imperial College, London. Not called for a
boycott. Basically, he just said that his stomach couldn't bear it. And
Israeli intellectuals of the highest standing and other Jewish
intellectuals and scientists, like Weinberg, will also find appearing at
English institutions of learning more than a bit repulsive. I'd bet that
non-Jews also will find themselves repelled by these self-righteous and
self-important Bournemouth academicians. Imagine what an Israeli would be
giving up not to be allowed to come to a seminar at the University of
Brighton. This little blackball maneuver of Brighton is probably the most
notable act to come out of its faculty in years.
21 comments
The hilarious and pathetic irony is that Israeli universities count some of the most ardent protestors against the occupation among their professors. And of course, these same schools being boycotted employ and educate many Palestinian scholars and students. The boycott is not only anti-semitic, it is inherently counter-productive. How to stop the occupation? Why, by muzzling the people in the best position to help do just that, of course! I'd be laughing if the true origins of this wasn't so vile and insidious.
- augustesch
May 30, 2007 at 8:14pm
You probably saw our discussion about is on the other thread. Yes, it's despicable what they are trying to do. On the other hand, I am sure they will in the end be defeated either by saner voices in their own country or by the rest of us. I doubt they are going to like finding themselves boycotted for trying to boycott others. There is US law which does not allow American companies (broadcast as well as educational institutions included) from participating in boycotts against Israel. I wonder how, say, the BBC will like not being allowed to broadcast over NPR.
- jacksondyer
May 30, 2007 at 8:14pm
"Imagine what an Israeli would be giving up not to be allowed to come to a seminar at the University of Brighton. This little blackball maneuver of Brighton is probably the most notable act to come out of its faculty in years." English universities will lose more than Israel will. The Soviets boycotted Israeli universities also. In addition they didn't allow Jews to join many of their academic departments. As a result they lost a lot of talent and ultimately their State. Great Britain is following in the Soviet's footsteps and will end becoming Lesser Britain in the near future.
- jacksondyer
May 30, 2007 at 8:28pm
I don't know, any more than anyone else does, where this incredible animus against Jews in the ranks of British academia comes from. (The comparisons between Israel and pre-Mandela South Africa, which one hears endlessly, are so absurd as to be undiscussable, especially given the neighborhood in which Israel exists; it is as though a conference entitled "European Human Rights Issues" had been held in 1938, and had focused entirely on the irregularities of police arrest procedures in Great Britain or Denmark). Since Britain never was occupied, or took a direct role in the Holocaust, I can't even fall back on my own pet explanation for the resurgence of anti-Semitism on the Continent (at this point, I doubt if one could fill an elementary school classroom with the number of continental Europeans who are anything other than dyed-in-the-wool anti-Semites). Briefly: I have always believed that Europeans still cannot accept or digest the full, hideous reality of their own history from 1933-1945 and, in an effort to shed the burden of it, have dedicated themselves to proving that "Israelis" (a word which no sane person fails to see as a synonym for "Jews") are as bad, or worse than, the Nazis. If that can be satisfactorily demonstrated, then maybe, just maybe, Grossmutter (or Grandmere) and the other members of their generation weren't so wrong after all in wanting to be rid of these people. (This attitude was immortalized in one of the better bits of black humor that I have ever heard: "Try as they might, the Germans will never be able to forgive the Jews for the Holocaust.") Perhaps the best proof of this attitude can be found in a two-part test that I have administered ad hoc to several French and German people that I have met over the years (in the friendliest possible way, of course.) Question One: "Do you think that the State of Israel should be disestablished?" The answer is invariably: "Of course; it is built on stolen land, the Zionists are hoodlums,....", etc.,etc., ad nauseum. Question Two: "Would you be prepared to support the disestablishment of the State of Israel, as long as all of the Jews of Israel were allowed to resettle in the European countries that they, or their forebears, originally hailed from?" "NON!(or NEIN!) My God, we have too many Jews here as it is!...." In other words, the old syllogism: we don't want them in Israel, and we don't want them here. In plain language, we don't want them anywhere. It is the echo of this vile attitude that sounds through this so-called "boycott".
- helios
May 30, 2007 at 8:31pm
Well, according to wikipedia its most famous alumnus is none other than Abu Hamza al-Masri, a Muslim cleric currently in prison for inciting racial hatred and supporting terrorism. Apparently while on trial he called Jews "dirty" and claimed they are "why Hitler was sent into the world." Perhaps those at Brighton took a little too much away from their former student.
- augustesch
May 30, 2007 at 9:00pm
Anti-Semitism is endemic in Europe. It's like malaria in West Africa. It takes far more than one spraying to get rid of it. In other words, poisonous attitudes can't be changed either by fiat or rational persuasion. I'm like you. I have European friends who seem as kind and decent as can be, until the subject of Jews comes up. It's like they turn into Mr. Hyde.
Why this would be, why Jews should be hated for so long and so long by Europeans is a mystery to me. I'm a history major and never in a survey have I discovered -- from the massacres of the first Crusade to the Holocaust -- why on earth such a profound, vile and STUPID mindset exists. But there it is.
By the way, the very first ethnic cleansing of Jews was in England in the 11th century. It persisted for five hundred years, until Oliver Cromwell imposed tolerance by decree. But attitudes have persisted. Brits, while not as bad as some continentals -- and mainly the English, I believe -- bear their fair share. It's been proposed that the Balfour declaration was meant to get rid of Jews, not to emancipate them, though it had sincere champions in Lloyd George and Churchill. Not surprisingly, resistance to Jewish statehood was most severe in the Labour cabinet. Attlee's foreign secretary Bevin was a real stinker in that regard.
I really don't know what the cure for this European sickness is. And it really is a sickness.
- jm_rice
May 30, 2007 at 9:06pm
"Since Britain never was occupied, or took a direct role in the Holocaust,..." The Channel Islands were occupied and the fate of the Jews there was similar to those on the continent. Quick summary from wikipedia: "During the Second World War, the Islands were the only part of the British Commonwealth occupied by Germany (excepting that part of Egypt occupied by the Afrika Korps at the time of the Second Battle of El Alamein). The German occupation 1940
- jacksondyer
May 30, 2007 at 9:56pm
Doesn't the fact that Peretz can only cite minor universities show how groundless this is? Anyone that spends about 30 seconds investigating the issue will discover that such a boycott would never pass a union vote and does not remotely represent UK academia. It came up a couple of years ago in a smaller union, and as soon as a larger number of members realized what had happened, the boycott recommendation was overturned. These things are put forward by a small number of radicals who go to union meetings or congresses. The motion that was passed this time is actually a good thing, because it is merely to solicit opinions from union members. They will resoundingly reject the idea. If you care so deeply about it, at least pay attention to the facts.
- redemption438
May 31, 2007 at 7:54am
Your point is well taken. I was aware of the Channel Islands occupation and its terrible outcome (there was even a film made some years ago, whose title escapes me, in which someone extrapolated what an occupation of the whole of Britain would have been like, using the Channel Islands events as their imaginative springboard). I am also aware of the other shameful episodes of British obliviousness to the needs of the European Jews (of which the infamous "White Paper" of 1938 is perhaps the best known). However, none of these incidents entered the national psyche of Great Britain, in the way that Drancy, the Vel d'Hiver and the depredations of Klaus Barbie entered the French mind, or that Mauthausen entered the Austrian mind, and so on. I only meant to suggest that Britishers today are not likely to feel the psychic burden of the Holocaust in the way that Continental Europeans are likely to. Sadly, feeling this burden does not translate automatically into an active deployment of conscience. If it is not hopelessly inappropriate, I would like to quote a joke in this context: A Jewish man gets off the train in Vienna in the present day, carrying two large and heavy suitcases. He goes up to the first man he sees and asks "Pardon me, sir; are you an anti-Semite?" "What an outrageous thing to ask me! I've never been so insulted!", storms the man, and stomps off. The Jewish man goes up to another man, asks the same question, and gets more or less the same answer. When he asks a third man "Are you an anti-Semite?", the man replies "I certainly am; my only regret is that Hitler didn't finish them all off." The Jewish man sighs with relief and smiles. "At long last, an honest man! Will you watch my suitcases for me while I go to the men's room?"
- helios
May 31, 2007 at 9:06am
Peretz can only cite minor universities...such a boycott...does not remotely represent UK academia...least pay attention to the facts.
And if you'd take your own advice and pay attention to the facts, maybe you'd learn something. Try, for example, Paul Berman's article in the current issue, about how Tariq Ramadan and his apologist Timothy Garton Ash are ensconced at an St. Antony's, Oxford (also home of Palestinian apologist and anti-Zionist Avi Shlaim, who proudly proclaims, "I don't pretend to write history, I write my history"), and how the Islamists and the British so-called intelligentsia are joined at the hip. Or one with a shorter attention span might better try the The Telegraph article, Islamic extremists 'infiltrate Oxbridge'.
Oxbridge and red-brick Birmingham and Manchester, hotbeds of Islamist academic (as opposed to student) activism.... These are your "minor univesities."
- jm_rice
May 31, 2007 at 10:19am
Good joke, I heard it some time ago, though.
- jacksondyer
May 31, 2007 at 10:21am
"Doesn't the fact that Peretz can only cite minor universities show how groundless this is?" Alas, it ain't groundless. Other Unions are threatening their own boycotts in GB. At the end of the day, these boycotts says more about the kind of society GB has become than about Israel.
- jacksondyer
May 31, 2007 at 10:23am
"Subject: If you're going to boycott Israel - do it properly!" "OK. So I understand that you are ticked off at Israel, and in love with the Palestinians. That's fine with me, as long as you have truly weighed all the facts.(bs) So, you want to boycott Israel????? I'll be sorry to miss you, but if you are doing it - do it properly. Let me help you. Check all your medications. Make sure that you do not have tablets, drops lotions, etc., made by Abic or Teva. It may mean that you will suffer from colds and flu this winter but, hey, that's a small price for you to pay in your campaign against Israel, isn't it? While we are on the subject of your Israeli boycott, and the medical contributions to the world made by Israeli doctors and scientists, how about telling your pals to boycott the following..... An Israeli company has developed a simple blood test that distinguishes between mild and more severe cases of Multiple Sclerosis. So, if you know anyone suffering from MS, tell them to ignore the Israeli patent that may, more accurately, diagnose their symptoms. An Israeli-made device helps restore the use of paralyzed hands. This device electrically stimulates the hand muscles, providing hope to millions of stroke sufferers and victims of spinal injuries. If you wish to remove this hope of a better quality of life to these people, go ahead and boycott Israel. Young children with breathing problems will soon be sleeping more soundly, thanks to a new Israeli device called the Child Hood. This innovation replaces the inhalation mask with an improved drug delivery system that provides relief for child and parent. Please tell anxious mothers that they shouldn't use this device because of your passionate cause. These are just a few examples of how people have benefited medically from the Israeli know-how you wish to block. Boycotts often affect research. A new research center in Israel hopes to throw light on brain disorders such as depression and Alzheimer's disease. The Joseph Sangol Neuroscience Cente r in the Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer Hospital, aims to bringthousands of scientists and doctors to focus on brain research. A researcher at Israel's Ben Gurion University has succeeded in creating human monoclonal antibodies which can neutralize the highly contagious smallpox virus without inducing the dangerous side effects of the existing vaccine. Two Israelis received the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Doctors Ciechanover and Hershko's research and discovery of one of the human cells most important cyclical processes will lead the way to DNA repair, control of newly produced proteins, and immune defense systems. The Movement Disorder Surgery program at Israel 's Hadassah Medical Center has successfully eliminated the physical manifestations of Parkinson's disease in a select group of patients with a deep brain stimulation technique. For women who undergo hysterectomies each year for the treatment of uterine fibroids, the development in Israel of the Ex Ablate 2000 System is a welcome breakthrough, offering a noninvasive alternative to surgery. Israel is developing a nose drop that will provide a five year flu vaccine. These are just a few of the projects that you can help stop with your Israeli boycott. But let's not get too obsessed with my ducal research, there are other ways you can make a personal sacrifice with your anti-Israel boycott. Most of Windows operating systems were developed by Microsoft-Israel. So, set a personal example. Throw away your computer! Computers should have a sign attached saying Israel Inside. The Pentium NMX Chip technology was designed at Intel in Israel. Both the Pentium 4 microprocessor and the Centrum processor were entirely designed, developed, and produced in Israel. Voice mail technology was developed in Israel. The technology for the AOL Instant Messenger ICQ was developed in 1996 in Israel by four young Israeli whiz kids. Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R. & D. facilities outside the US in Israel. So, due to your complete boycott of anything Israeli, you can now have poor health and no computer. But your bad news does not end there. Get rid of your cellular phone. Cell phone technology was also developed in Israel by MOTOROLA which has its biggest development center in Israel. Most of the latest technology in your mobile phone was developed by Israeli scientists. Feeling unsettled? You should be. Part of your personal security rests with Israeli inventiveness, borne out of our urgent necessity to protect and defend our lives from the terrorists you support. A phone can remotely activate a bomb, or be used for tactical communications by terrorists, bank robbers, or hostage-takers. It is vital that official security and law enforcement authorities have access to cellular jamming and detection solutions. Enter Israel's Net line Communications Technologies with their security expertise to help the fight against terror. I also want you to know that Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world. Israel produces more scientific papers per capita - 109 per 10,000 - than any other nation. Israel has the highest number of startup companies per rata. In absolute terms, the highest number, except the US., Israel has a ratio of patents filed. Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies outside of Silicon Valley. Israel is ranked #2 in the world for venture capital funds, behind the USA. Israel has more museums per capita. Israel has the second highest publication of new books per capita. Relative to population, Israel is the largest immigrant absorbing nation on earth. These immigrants come in search of democracy, religious freedom or expression, economic opportunity, and quality of life. Believe it or not, Israel is the only country in the world which had a net gain in the number of trees last year. Even Warren Buffet of Berkshire-Hathaway fame has just invested millions with Israeli Companies. So, you can vilify and demonize the State of Israel. You can continue your silly boycott, if you wish. But I wish you would consider the consequences, and the truth. Think of the massive contribution that Israel is giving to the world, including the Palestinians - and to you - in science, medicine, communications, security. Pro rata for population, Israel is making a greater contribution than any other nation on earth."
- jacksondyer
May 31, 2007 at 10:26am
I think English anti-Semitism is sui generis. It has run parallel to and independent of continental anti-Semitism. Maybe this is why it's difficult to link the strains historically. Of course it's of the same species: England's 500-year pogrom cannot be dismissed. England has its own baggage, though in modern history not nearly as heavy as that of the continent.
- jm_rice
May 31, 2007 at 10:34am
Yes, British antisemitism is different from the antisemitism on the continent. To me, though, their behavior during the Holocaust shows that the difference is one of degree rather than kind.
- jacksondyer
May 31, 2007 at 11:00am
"Anyone that spends about 30 seconds investigating the issue will discover that such a boycott would never pass a union vote and does not remotely represent UK academia." Here is a contrary point of view: http://tinyurl.com/3yudxj "UK academic boycott of Israel: UCU GenSec & Engage anti-boycott group seriously misleading about chances of stopping it." Read the whole article.
- jacksondyer
May 31, 2007 at 11:07am
The blog you directed me to supported my 2 points: 1) that the full union would never pass such a measure, 2) it doesn't represent UK academia. The only difference is that your blogger thinks the union radicals can try to pass something like this without a full ballot. I just don't think that will happen, with the main leadership and a majority of members against it. And even a partial ballot of some sort would draw in regular union members desperate to reject it. Membership in this union is common because academics don't have much choice if they want any union protection at all. The vast, vast majority do not participate in the movements that take place within it, until a time like this when they are roused to complain. I'm a member of said union (gasp!), and I am disgusted by the very fact this came up for discussion. I didn't even hear about it until reading the news - it simply doesn't impact day to day life in my department. In common with the blog you cited, I would rather drive nails into my hand than go to one of those congresses. But I've seen how it works in other areas, and the boycott movement will die when wider membership pays attention to it.
- redemption438
May 31, 2007 at 11:37am
To me, though, their behavior during the Holocaust shows that the difference is one of degree rather than kind.
Alas, I think you're right. If Cromwell hadn't come along to put a lid on it, one shudders to think...
- jm_rice
May 31, 2007 at 11:41am
All I can say is that I do hope you are correct about this.
- jacksondyer
May 31, 2007 at 1:38pm
"Research foundation blocks new grants for Britons" "UK academic boycott of Israel prompts US-based Goldhirsh foundation to cancel plans to open grant application process for British research institutions. Immigration Minister Ze'ev Boim announces intention to propose counter-boycott" Hagit Klaiman Published: 05.31.07, 16:52 / Israel News http://tinyurl.com/2jnc46
- jacksondyer
May 31, 2007 at 1:56pm
"'Israel being ostracized'" "British-Jewish academic, speaking before boycott vote, says 'there's something in the air in the UK, boycott will lead to anti-Semitism'" Yaakov Lappin http://tinyurl.com/2pkmxt
- jacksondyer
May 31, 2007 at 2:00pm