I really appreciate this guide and also find it hard to have these conversations with Jewish people who are really reeling from the brutal events that took place on October 7 and the amount of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish expression they have seen reverberating throughout the world. I have been wrestling with how we can have open discussions when people are processing a lot of shock and pain. Wondering if it is better to give more time and space. On the other hand, I'm in some communities founded on the basis of supporting free speech and heterodox views; and I'm seeing the conversation space narrow, notice people eschewing the basic principles. I am not sure how to most wisely thread this needle.
I understand the frustration you feel and the rhetorical responses to that some universities are expressing.. Myanswers all of your questions i rests on the whether evil exists. The answer is NO. Evil is a cultural construct. The problem is that it is thought of by most religions as an essential fact and that it is a built in attribute to non-believers. The Pope, for god's sake (pun intended) only gave the Jews a pardon for killing Christ only happened a few years ago, as as a Jew I say: really? So evil exists only as political tool to de-humanize those with different belief systems. This is why many wars are often framed as religious.
SO SCRATCH OFF EVIL AS A CAUSE. This does not relieve the Hamas as murderers who should be charged and judged as such. This is also unquestionable. But that is looking backward, which can await until we stop further massacres.
Context can give us some way to move forward. A few actual historical facts can help answer the questions since they can reveal why political entities (governments not regular people) prosper from war.
Most people except combatants would agree that The Palestinians, The Gazens, and the West bank Israelis, are not at fault. Politically one might question the judgement of left-bank settlers - i.e. that is the Israelis who have settled in occupied Palestine. But most of the occupants (not occupiers) are innocent bystanders. They are the pawns and the victims.
The answers to the other questions are multi-dimensional. They all ask who is right and who is wrong. First and probably foremost the question must be put into pertinent historical context, which can itself be multi- faceted depending when you start the time machine. One must consider the actions of the WWII Allies that put a Jewish state in an already occupied territory. Palestine did exist as a geographic entity and now it barely does. Of vourse, the Jewish culture (not race) had been politically brutalized before WWII of course; one need only turn to the often mythologized Ferdinand and Isabella. (Their caskets are set side-beside holding hands and often described as a "loving couple'. The sent Columbus to invade north America while at the same time killed or exiled all Catholoics during the 15th century inqiusitions. So who is right and who is wrong; One could look here at The UK, The US and their allies. Remember the boats of soon to be gassed that FDR sent back to Europe They were acting in largely in political expediency and ultimately "mandated" Palestine to the Israeli's
Ultimately, the political context is made up of war-makers and arms dealers. Following the money in a capitalist world usually leads to the center of war and oppression. Forever wars are the way of the 20th and 21st centure - Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan.
THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES
Very briefly:
a. Universities don't act.
b.Presidents and Boards of Trustees are in charge of university wide statements.
So, how should universities respond to national or international problems? They need to not assume dissent is immoral and unpatriotic, but those with authority needs to pump up the intellectual resources of the university to inform the community at large. As educational institutions, where I worked for 45 years as a professor and a dean they should educate. The problem is that rather than go to their strength as a community knowledge resource; they go the other way and retrench by cancelling speakers, courses and even student protests.
I really appreciate this guide and also find it hard to have these conversations with Jewish people who are really reeling from the brutal events that took place on October 7 and the amount of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish expression they have seen reverberating throughout the world. I have been wrestling with how we can have open discussions when people are processing a lot of shock and pain. Wondering if it is better to give more time and space. On the other hand, I'm in some communities founded on the basis of supporting free speech and heterodox views; and I'm seeing the conversation space narrow, notice people eschewing the basic principles. I am not sure how to most wisely thread this needle.
Ilana,
I understand the frustration you feel and the rhetorical responses to that some universities are expressing.. Myanswers all of your questions i rests on the whether evil exists. The answer is NO. Evil is a cultural construct. The problem is that it is thought of by most religions as an essential fact and that it is a built in attribute to non-believers. The Pope, for god's sake (pun intended) only gave the Jews a pardon for killing Christ only happened a few years ago, as as a Jew I say: really? So evil exists only as political tool to de-humanize those with different belief systems. This is why many wars are often framed as religious.
SO SCRATCH OFF EVIL AS A CAUSE. This does not relieve the Hamas as murderers who should be charged and judged as such. This is also unquestionable. But that is looking backward, which can await until we stop further massacres.
Context can give us some way to move forward. A few actual historical facts can help answer the questions since they can reveal why political entities (governments not regular people) prosper from war.
Most people except combatants would agree that The Palestinians, The Gazens, and the West bank Israelis, are not at fault. Politically one might question the judgement of left-bank settlers - i.e. that is the Israelis who have settled in occupied Palestine. But most of the occupants (not occupiers) are innocent bystanders. They are the pawns and the victims.
The answers to the other questions are multi-dimensional. They all ask who is right and who is wrong. First and probably foremost the question must be put into pertinent historical context, which can itself be multi- faceted depending when you start the time machine. One must consider the actions of the WWII Allies that put a Jewish state in an already occupied territory. Palestine did exist as a geographic entity and now it barely does. Of vourse, the Jewish culture (not race) had been politically brutalized before WWII of course; one need only turn to the often mythologized Ferdinand and Isabella. (Their caskets are set side-beside holding hands and often described as a "loving couple'. The sent Columbus to invade north America while at the same time killed or exiled all Catholoics during the 15th century inqiusitions. So who is right and who is wrong; One could look here at The UK, The US and their allies. Remember the boats of soon to be gassed that FDR sent back to Europe They were acting in largely in political expediency and ultimately "mandated" Palestine to the Israeli's
Ultimately, the political context is made up of war-makers and arms dealers. Following the money in a capitalist world usually leads to the center of war and oppression. Forever wars are the way of the 20th and 21st centure - Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan.
THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES
Very briefly:
a. Universities don't act.
b.Presidents and Boards of Trustees are in charge of university wide statements.
So, how should universities respond to national or international problems? They need to not assume dissent is immoral and unpatriotic, but those with authority needs to pump up the intellectual resources of the university to inform the community at large. As educational institutions, where I worked for 45 years as a professor and a dean they should educate. The problem is that rather than go to their strength as a community knowledge resource; they go the other way and retrench by cancelling speakers, courses and even student protests.