A university should be a place for exchanging ideas and discussing sensitive topics. When 30 students staged a protest during Israeli Consul General Akiva Tor’s lecture at UC Davis School of Law last Tuesday evening, the intellectual integrity of that classroom was reduced to symbols of hate and hopelessness. The students would not engage in a conversation. They taped their mouths shut and walked out of the classroom as the Consul General begged them to stay and ask questions. But the students had already choreographed their protest. They knew how the evening would unfold before it began.
The topic of Tuesday’s discussion was “Israel Today: Challenges and Opportunities.” In publicizing this event, I did not mention Palestine, terrorism, rocket fire, recent murders or the heightened standard that is often applied when evaluating military action by Israel. The Consul General came to UC Davis to discuss the current climate in the Middle East, and how it affects Israel. The substance of his discussion, though, was irrelevant to the students’ reactions. Akiva Tor’s nation of affiliation was enough to spark protest and hate.
This type of knee-jerk reaction to Israel is anti-intellectual and counter productive to fostering coexistence on campus and in the Middle East. The Israel-Palestine discussion is being driven into a desperate hole of hopelessness by extremists and their liberal sheep, including young Jewish adults who are afraid of being framed as anti-liberal by talking about Israel – despite its remarkable track record in civil rights, clean tech, innovation and (yes) military tactics. Many of my Jewish classmates who do support a Jewish state did not want the Jewish Law Students Association to host an event about Israel, because they did not want to “deal” with the very reaction that was elicited by Akiva Tor. But by avoiding the Israel conversation, misconceptions remain unchallenged, and we passively legitimize illegitimate beliefs.
Academic institutions are our best hope for an open dialogue between parties with conflicting interests. Thus, blind subscription to any ideology should be heavily discouraged on a university campus. Our responsibility as students is to explore the nuances of important political issues. It is dangerous when individuals and communities develop deep disdain for a country based on buzzwords from ideologues – apartheid, colonial, imperial, military occupation. I call on students to think critically and do their homework before adopting anything and everything under the liberal label. If you’ve done your homework and are still confident in your blanket disdain toward Israel, then bring those ideas to the classroom and let’s have a discussion. My objective in organizing last Tuesday’s event was to spark a dialogue as part of a slow shift from hopelessness to coexistence of ideas – at least at UC Davis. However, I must ask the students who taped their mouths shut and walked out on a discussion with Consul General Tor – what is your objective?
You seek to shift a civil exchange of ideas to a symbolic exchange of emotions, as symbols and emotions are harder to deconstruct than logically, factually sound dialogue. Is it insecurity in your beliefs? Intellectual laziness? Or perhaps you really are that angry and hopeless, and by refusing to engage with Israel’s Consul General, you are urging the local and international community to also disengage with Israel, regardless of its actions. There is nothing Akiva Tor could have said that would have resonated. There is nothing he could have done that you would have seen. You came to our discussion not to talk, but to tape your mouth shut and complain that you aren’t heard.
This is disturbing.
I call on my colleagues to exercise their ideas and exercise them responsibly – for they are powerful and we are privileged in having the key to this power.
UFO writes, ” You should know that it is an extremely novice move for you to claim that any individual can claim to be an expert on a world religion. Especially since this religion has almost 2 billion adherents.”
Well, how does one argue with this? I guess you are saying nobody is scholarly enough to talk about Islam because it has so many adherents? Do I understand you correctly?
Just to clarify…Dawkins specifically called Islam evil and even contrasted it with Christianity to make his point.
Ad writes, ” Fine. Let’s pretend for two seconds Muslims are supposedly projecting their own sins onto Israel. That still doesn’t explain the throngs of people who aren’t Muslim yet are very much critical of Israel, including many people of Jewish origin.”
Anti-Semitism is man’s oldest and most enduring prejudice and its practice has always included Jews as well. Are you suggesting that just because “throngs” of people agree with your position that it is necessarily correct? I do not care about how many people agree with a position (or belong to a religion). I care about the facts, and the facts are that Islam IS an evil religion. There is overwhelming evidence to support this fact. All one needs do is to look throughout the Muslim world to see it, or you can visit this website instead where it can be seen very clearly:
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/index.html#Attacks
Arafat
1) Neither Richard Dawkins nor Raymond Ibrahim are experts on Islam. There goes your credible source. You should know that it is an extremely novice move for you to claim that any individual can claim to be an expert on a world religion. Especially since this religion has almost 2 billion adherents.
2)This leads myself, and many others to question your motivation. Either you are trying to portray Islam as evil and demonize Muslims, or you are trying to defame the Palestinian cause. Maybe you are trying to do both. I wonder if it would surprise you to know that there is also a substantial CHRISTIAN population also effected by the plight of the Palestinians since they are themselves Palestinian.
3)Are you sure you’ve really done your research. Everything you have said in your point sounds absolutely ridiculous to anyone who is even somewhat informed about Islam or Palestine.
In summation, the term accuracy is used to denote a higher standard of correctness and all you have done is espoused your opinion and dressed it up as fact based. You have effectively disgraced the very concept of accuracy in calling upon it as a defense for your claims.
Seriously, Arafat? The same links when we’ve already established that Raymond Ibrahim has no credentials to be qualified as a ‘scholar?’
1) Richard Dawkins thinks all religions are evil. His claim is that any sort of belief in a higher being is irrational. He really doesn’t discriminate when it comes to hating religions.
2) Fine. Let’s pretend for two seconds Muslims are supposedly projecting their own sins onto Israel. That still doesn’t explain the throngs of people who aren’t Muslim yet are very much critical of Israel, including many people of Jewish origin.
Moose,
Yes and no.
I am attempting to shed light on several issues all of which directly relate to this event, or at least do so per my humble opinion.
1) In my link from Richard Dawkins I am attempting to utilize a credible source to help establish that Islam is an evil religion. If this assumption is true then I am trying to establish by implication that all this strum and drang about divestment from Israel is actually, in large part, initiated by people of “questionable” motivation and who are, in fact, doing so to weaken Israel for their own evil purposes.
2) In my second linked article I am attempting to suggest that what is really happening here is that Muslims are projecting their own sins onto Israel. That is to say that Israel’s actions to protect its citizens in a country (Israel) which was legally sanctioned are all within Israel’s legal rights. Muslims are twisting this around to suit their violent and aggressive intentions against Israel (see Dawkins link). The second link posits that Muslims are actually guilty of what they accuse Israel of. There is ample evidence to suggest this is anything but far-fetched and that it is, in fact, true and the linked article makes this point quite clearly, IMHO.
In summation, I am attempting to get people to look at this issue from a different, and more accurate, perspective. If you find this offensive or bigoted then I respect your right to express this, and will happily debate this with you if you want to pursue your opinion about me and the content of my comments. I hope that you will respect my right to express my views on this topic. After all this is still America and not the Muslim world where individual freedoms are repressed by something called Islam and Sharia law, no?
Arafat, do you have something to actually add to this discussion of an on-campus event–an event that I am sure both the protestors and the organizers would agree was strictly political in its nature–or are you here solely to attempt to incite some sort of reaction by posting links to totally irrelevant articles that are quite frankly fodder for ignorant bigots?
And then there is the great scholar, Raymond Ibrahim, with his insights on Muslims:
http://www.raymondibrahim.com/8348/muslims-project-islam-worst-traits-onto-israel
Reading the comment section above it’s hard not to disagree with Richard Dawkins thoughts about Islam:
http://freethoughtnation.com/contributing-writers/63-acharya-s/479-richard-dawkins-islam-is-one-of-the-great-evils-of-the-world.html
Mr. baba
MSA-Muslim Student Association
ASM- American Society for Microbiology
MAS- Muslim American Society
IRT- International Racquetball Tour
FDR- Famous American President
BSA- Boy Scouts of America
USMC- United States Marine Corps
RAF- Royal Air Force
Would it surprise anyone? It sure as heck surprised me since I’ve never been a part of or leader of any those other organizations (or one president?).
“Such a shame that such smartness waisted.” -baba.
It’s spelled w-a-s-t-e-d. Clearly, that smartness isn’t being “WAISTED” on you.
The MSA is not an “anti-Israeli” group, it’s a religious organization that is welcome to people of any and all backgrounds. Like MSAguy said, they’re at the quad almost every day. Whether or not you choose to acknowledge them is your business.
As for this article, Israel’s
“remarkable track record in civil rights, clean tech, innovation and (yes) military tactics” are all being funded with billions of dollars by the U.S. With that kind of help every country would have a track record like that. Also, re-think the claim that Israel has a “remarkable track record in civil rights.” There’s fighting going on from both sides. Whether it’s initiating conflict or responding to it, there’s mistreatment of innocent people going on, and that’s hardly civil.
Mr. Barry Broad…
This is the MSA guy :D. I would like you to know that MSA is a student organization with one of THE MOST diverse grouping of students on campus. The MSA on the UCDavis Campus has a table out in front of the MU almost EVERY MONDAY-THURSDAY EXPLICITLY for the purpose of having conversation with anyone and everyone who is willing to talk with us.
As for our intellectual capacities…we have students who are excelling in a wide variety of majors on campus. These are students in both the graduate and undergraduate programs. (You should know that the students of the MSA have enough intellectual capacity to make a determination between a random student protest and the MSA). Furthermore, we have the intellectual capacity to avoid making sweeping claims and Glen-Beck style connections such as the ones found in your statement.
In conclusion, please do come talk with us whenever. If the table isn’t convenient for you, then let me know so that we may figure out a different way to communicate. Facebook, twitter, mobile device, you name it, we got it.