Rachel Fish is the Cure or "Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant" Part lll

In a previously recorded speech, Alan Dershowitz spoke (February at Columbia.........which was (thankfully) covered by New York's next great newspaper The New York Sun.

The kind of hatred that one hears on campuses like Columbia, and let me say especially Columbia, is a barrier to peace," Mr. Dershowitz said. "They are encouraging the terrorists. They tell the terrorists you will have academic support even if you oppose the peace process."

At times he singled out for censure an assistant professor of modern Arab politics, Joseph Massad, who is accused of ordering one of his students to leave his classroom if she continued to deny Israel's alleged atrocities against Palestinian Arabs. Mr. Massad, who denies that the incident took place, is among dozens of Columbia professors who in 2003 called on the university to divest itself of financial holdings in companies that support Israel.

"Anybody who advocates for divesting only from the Jewish state ... at a time when Iraq was posing a great threat to the world, when Iran was posing great threats ... when China is oppressing million of Tibetans, when the Kurds are still denied independence and statehood, to single out only Israel for divestiture at that point in time cannot be explained by neutral political, even ideological consideration," Mr. Dershowitz said.

Mr. Massad, who argues that Israel is a racist state, has publicly urged Palestinian Arabs to continue their resistance against Israel and supports the creation of one binational state containing both Israel and the occupied territories.

"If you were a space alien from a distant planet and your spaceship landed at Columbia University, you wouldn't think necessarily that the reality is a two-state solution," Mr. Dershowitz said. "You would think there is another potential reality - the one-state solution, the secular national state of Palestine."

He said those at Columbia who advocate the end of a Jewish state as a solution to the Middle East conflict "deliberately ignore the lessons of history."

"I do not believe that those who advocate it genuinely believe that a one state solution would produce a secular bi-national state," Mr. Dershowitz said.

Mr. Dershowitz said he was struck by the reluctance on the part of faculty members at Columbia to demand publicly more intellectual diversity within the Middle East studies department. Such silence, he said, has turned the controversy at the university into a student-versus-teacher dispute.

"Having tenure means you have no excuse for not speaking out," Mr. Dershowitz said. "I'm appalled at how many professors at Columbia University privately support Israel, and privately support many of the students, but are publicly afraid to speak out."

Nat Hentoff, who now writes for the Washington Times (which I love) quoted Louis Brandeis ("the best Supreme Court judge there ever was") in saying "Sunlight is the best disinfectant. Say it plain, he excoriated. "what courage [his emphasis] these students had [in the film, Columbia Unbecoming). The have been instrumental in creating that very sunlight." [indeed].

Efraim Karsh, Professor and Head Mediterranean Studies Programme, Kings College, University of London is brilliant.....................rapid fire speech almost to self strangulation. Karsh explained that this is systemwide, university-wide, these "victims of intimidation". The problem is "if you throw Massad out, Massad will get another job so fast they will be lined up".

"Imperialism is not a 'western' concept, but an arab one. History bears this out...the Ottoman, Byzantine, Sassanid- all Arab empires (even before Rome)."

And yet in the "Middle East - the Arabs are always the victim" and to say anything else is "not a good career move".

Professor Karsh was most emphatic about the text(s) being fabricated and created without accurate footnoting, bibliographic innotations and nobody in academia seems to check or for that matter care. Careless mmedacious text(s) that are being used in the curriculum. This upset Karsh the most. As it is an affront to all that he he is and believes in......................truth, history and education - not indoctrination.

Karsh said he "was very pessimistic" [ugh] and didn't see the way out of it. I didn't footnote as well here. Regrettably. I was paying keen attention and his speech was furious and fast. I would recommend you study his work.

Rachel Fish, articulate, confident and strident spoke after Karsh. If you are unfamilar with her story..............click on her name for her OpEd piece in the WSJ June 2003. Here is a synopsis from the Globe but DO READ HER PIECE, A Troubling Gift.

Against the backdrop of Arab anti-Semitism - the most virulent Jew-hatred since the Hitler years - the closing of a single anti-Semitic institute in the Middle East barely registers as a blip on the screen. But it shows what can be achieved when one gutsy individual decides to push back against bigotry. The story begins in July 2000, when Harvard's Divinity School accepted $2.5 million from the ruler of the United Arab Emirates, Sheik Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, to endow an academic chair, the Sheik Zayed Al Nahyan Professorship in Islamic Religious Studies. The sheik was also the funder and namesake of the Zayed Center for Coordination and Follow-up, a think tank established in 1999 in his capital, Abu Dhabi, one of the Arab world's leading arenas for anti-Jewish and anti-American poison.
Rachel Fish, an Islamic Studies student at the divinity school, set about researching the issue and in March took her evidence to the divinity school's dean, William Graham. Asking that Zayed's money be returned, she argued that Harvard would never accept money from a Ku Klux Klan financier. The hate funded by the sheik is no less abhorrent. An online petition urging the university to decline Zayed's money drew thousands of signatures. On Friday, Harvard announced that it would need another year to decide what to do about Sheik Zayed's money. (Boston Globe)

Rachel Fish is the cure. She spoke of her journey. Her lack of support from Dean Graham [*spit*], faculty, jewish students and muslim students....................as if she might listen and "let it pass". Not make waves..............she received support from only one organization Charles Jacobs, The David Project. And when the media called her regarding the 70+ page fact finding report behind Zayed's conditional donation, she immediatley called Graham (who, btw, had never gotten back to her in the promised 4 to 6 week time frame) asking him (his office) if he wanted to respond before the she commented to the press. She was met with complete silence.

Rachel Fish is the cure. I will say it over and over and over ..................... one person can change the world. She wanted to refuse her diploma but I think her parents nearly had a breakdown but hse acheived her objective. Zayed withdrew his pledge an the school sat on its hands.

Fish power pointing
Brigitte Gabriel tore into us after Fish and if you havent viewed her interview do it NOW (click)

Brigitte and Atlas (yo, thats me) comparing notes

Brigitte was impassioned. Extolling the virtues of Israel and the Jewish people, blessing them for saving her life. And excoriating world press for their lies and the truths that remain unspoken. Her interview says it all....................please see it.
The last speaker that I saw was Debbie Schlussel, syndicated columnist and attorney. I gotta tell you the women at this conference were the FORCE, the force to be reckoned with.
Schlussel represents many jewish students at University of Michigan in various legal suits regarding this very thing. What I found most compelling about her argument was Hillel on campus (particularly at Michigan but this appears to be nationwide) was an obstacle, a silencer. Apparently Mike Brookstone (?- I am sure I have his name wrong, didnt scribe it) the Head of Hillel at University of Michigan said "we should not call attention to these speakers. We don't want people to think this is an antisemetic campus". Yes yes the Biggest Enemy was Hillel. And if that weren't enough, one of the highest paid Hillel Directors? Yes, the University of Michigan who according to Schlussel hasn't woken up from his pot smoking, 60s hippie days
Scary eh?
Schlussel's two best parting shots? "Teach us how to think not what to think" and Bollinger, the man in the arena at Columbia (President) came from which campus? That's right, the University of Michigan. argh........................
At that point it was close to 5 and I had to bolt missing the last two speakers, I am sorry fellow bloggers but my butt was going to fall of as well.
On this I will tell you, yes a great deal needs to be done to cut the head of this snake. But in Sharansky's words the objective should be to "make our course [cause?- not sure which he said- same difference] popular" and on this I couldn't more vehemently agree. But it wont't be thru a media that "is prejudiced when it can't distinguish the terror from the victims of terror". Then from where you may ask? From where will it come?
It will come from here, my kind and wise fellows. It will come from here. From you.
The internet is the only way, our salvation. As it is still free so I ask you, implore you, beg you to SPREAD THE WORD and write your congressman in support of TITLE Vl Reform of the Higher Funding Act.