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The Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism
Newsletter
Volume 1 No. 22
8 June 2007

ARTICLES OF NOTE ON BOYCOTT
 
Why the Boycott Should Outrage All Academics
(Inside Higher Ed) An opinion piece by Dr. Charles Small, YIISA Director -- he writes, “By voting to adopt the resolution, the union has given a substantial political victory to a small group of extreme activists dedicated to the marginalization of Israel, if not for its outright demise. All scholars ­ and especially American academics who consider themselves part of a worldwide community of people committed to free expression of ideas – need to take note of exactly what is going on.”
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British Hypocrites
(Independent Media Review Analysis)  Ben-Dror Yemini responds to British boycott of Israel – “Why are we witnessing a recurrent historical phenomenon, a different law for Jews - a unique and racist law - as opposed to all others?” He criticizes the British academics for ignoring true crimes against humanity, such as in Darfur and Chechnya.
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Scholars Urge Solidarity amid Boycott
(Jerusalem Post) Led by Alan Dershowitz of Harvard, Steven Weinberg, a Nobel Prize laureate in physics from the University of Texas, and a task force against boycotts set up by Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, the group is urging scholars to sign a statement of solidarity.
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An Academic Boycott? An anti-Semitic Boycott
(YNet) There’s a strange and inexplicable phenomenon affecting large segments of the world’s population: Anti-Semitism. Asaf Wohl says anti-Semitic blood libels are back, this time under guise of 'criticism of Israel'
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British Academics Boycotted Israel in the 70s And 80s. Guess How It Turned Out
(Israelated) In Britain, Europe, America, etc., a boycott-Israel movement would, inexorably, become an anti-Jewish movement, directed perhaps first against Israelis, but then against those closely linked to Israelis, i.e. British, European, or American Jews. That would do greatly more damage than any good it might conceivably do for the Palestinians. Experience has already proved that.
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Ken Livingstone Says He Opposes Academic Boycott
(European Jewish Press) London’s Mayor Ken Livingstone has expressed his opposition to the academic boycott of Israel by the University and College Union, Britain`s largest trade union for academics. Speaking at a meeting organised by the Movement for Reform Judaism and the London Jewish Forum, Livingstone said that such a move would undermine efforts to restart the Middle East peace process.
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Divide and Rule?
(Guardian) The move to boycott Israel will damage research and, ultimately, efforts to foster peace in the region, writes Colin Shindler, a reader in Israeli studies at Soas, University of London, who teach the Israel-Palestine conflict to large classes that include Palestinians, Israelis, Jews and Muslims
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REPORTS
 
From Diplomacy to War: The 1967 War Revisited
(Washington Institute) On June 4, 2007, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy held a symposium marking the fortieth anniversary of the June 1967 war between Israel and its Arab neighbors. The purpose of the symposium was to grapple with the failure of U.S.-led diplomacy on the eve of the war, exploring the period from a variety of perspectives.
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Responding to the Boycott
(From Shalom Lappin) It is important to understand precisely what the PACBI boycott call entails. It is not an instrument for criticizing Israeli government policy or an effort to end Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory beyond its 1967 borders. This movement does not seek a peace between Israelis and Palestinians within the framework of a two-state solution. It is an integral part of a rejectionist programme to dismantle Israel as a country.
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ARTICLES OF INTEREST
 
MIDDLE EAST
 
What If Israelis Had Abducted BBC Man?
(Guardian) If Mr Johnston had been forced to broadcast calling on the release of all Israeli soldiers held by Arab powers in return for his own release, his words would have been scorned. The cause of Israel in the world would have been irreparably damaged by thus torturing him on television. No one would have been shy of saying so. But of course in real life it is Arabs holding Mr Johnston, and so everyone treads on tip-toe.
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Comment: The Campaign to Delegitimize Israel
(Jerusalem Post) The international community is being drip-fed the toxic assertion that, were it not for Israel, ours would be a peaceful world, a harmonious community of nations, living in tranquility alongside each other, respecting differences and working out disagreements in a spirit of compromise.
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Six Days of Incompetence
(Slate) The Six-Day War was first and foremost about the international community's failure to stand up to an aggressor.
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'Syria, Iran, Hizbullah Planning War'
(Jerusalem Post) Syria, Iran and Hizbullah are preparing for the possibility of a war with Israel on the Syrian front, Channel Two reported. The report followed an earlier security cabinet meeting devoted almost exclusively to Syria, during which Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israel is working through various diplomatic channels to assure Damascus that Jerusalem wants peace and is not interested in a war.
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MI: Syria's Assad Preparing for War, but Won't Initiate
(Ha’aretz) The security cabinet will hold a discussion on the situation on the Syrian and Lebanese borders and the likelihood of war in the north. Central to the discussions will be intelligence assessments about the growing strength of both the Syrian army and Hezbollah, as well as about the intentions of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The majority view in Military Intelligence holds that Assad is well placed to carry out a surprise attack on the Golan Heights, but is unlikely to initiate a war.
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Document: Iran Caught Red-Handed Shipping Arms to Taliban
(ABC News) NATO officials say they have caught Iran red-handed, shipping heavy arms, C4 explosives and advanced roadside bombs to the Taliban for use against NATO forces, in what the officials say is a dramatic escalation of Iran's proxy war against the United States and Great Britain.
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Israeli Boy Dies of Rocket-inflicted Wounds
(Israel Today) A 13-year-old Israeli boy died last week of wounds sustained during a Palestinian rocket attack on the southern town of Sderot. For unexplained reasons, the attack was not widely reported, nor was Shalom, who died a short time later at a nearby hospital, declared a terror victim.
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Palestinian NGOs Reveal Rising Rates of So-called 'Honour Killings'
(Ma’an News Agency) A forum of Palestinian organizations which fight anti-women violence published on Monday a report about killing Palestinian women under the guise of so-called family honour.
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King Herod's Return
(LA Times) Israeli archeologists announced earlier this month that they've King Herod’s tomb, eight miles south of Jerusalem. And that tomb has become yet another impediment on the already impassable road to Israeli-Palestinian peace.
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NORTH AMERICA
 
Campus Anti-Semitism, but Not Racism, Focus of Civil Rights Commission Web Site
(Diverse Education) A new effort by the federal government to crack down on anti-Semitism against Jewish students on U.S. colleges campuses has some questioning why more isn’t being done to also monitor racist activity directed towards African-American, Hispanic and other racial minority college students.
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EUROPE
 
'UK Jihadis Threaten Israel'
(YNet) Radicalized British Muslims continue to pose a security threat to Israel, a senior member of the House of Lords said. Israel "does need to be concerned" about another attempt by al-Qaeda affiliated British Muslims to attack the country, a precedent set in 2003 by the suicide bombing carried out by two British Muslims on the Mike's Place pub in Tel Aviv, killing three Israelis and injuring dozens.
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France, Spain Condemn Ahmadinejad Remarks on Israel's Destruction
(Ha’aretz) France and Spain issued condemnations of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's latest verbal attack on Israel, in which he said that the world would soon witness the destruction of Israel.
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UN Head Shocked at Iran’s Israel Comment
(Washington Post) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was "shocked and dismayed" at a report that Iran's hard-line president said the world would soon witness the destruction of Israel.
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Anti-Semitism Is like a Cancer
(YNet) Minister takes part in OSCE conference in Bucharest, demands Europe enforce legislation combating anti-Semitism, work to provide security for Jewish community centers.
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Human Rights First: Hate Crimes, anti-Semitism on Rise in Europe
(Ha’aretz) Anti-Semitism and hate crimes rose last year in several places throughout Europe, according to a report released by the American advocacy group Human Rights First. The report was published before an international conference sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
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Long Trail of anti-Semitism in Europe, Ministers Say
(YNet) The British academic boycott is only the tip of the iceberg, ministers estimated Sunday morning during the weekly cabinet meeting, addressing the calls in the United Kingdom to boycott Israeli academics and institutions and Israeli commerce. "There is a long trail of anti-Semitism in Europe, which includes one-sided articles and anti-Semitic harassment... This is a great challenge for the Israeli government to deal with," Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog said.
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Arson behind Geneva Synagogue Fire, Swiss Authorities Rule
(Ha’aretz) The fire at Hekhal Haness Synagogue in Geneva was the work of arsonists and was not caused accidentally, according to an investigation by the Swiss authorities. The blaze that broke out early in the morning 10 days ago badly damaged the building and is considered the worst blow in recent years to a Jewish institution in Switzerland.
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Switzerland Offers “Holocaust Perception” Meet with Iran
(YNet) Switzerland secretly approached Iran offering to hold a conference regarding "various perceptions of the Holocaust" in Geneva, the Swiss magazine Weltwoche reported earlier this week.
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Kiev Hate Kiosks Removed
(Jewish Telegraphic Agency) The mayor of Kiev that the Ukranian capital was going to remove the "illegally installed kiosks" selling anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic pamphlets and periodicals published by MAUP, a private Kiev university with a history of anti-Semitism.
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BAE Accused of Secretly Paying £1bn to Saudi prince
(Guardian) The arms company BAE secretly paid Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia more than £1bn in connection with Britain's biggest ever weapons contract.
A series of payments from the British firm was allegedly channelled through a US bank in Washington to an account controlled by one of the most colourful members of the Saudi ruling clan, who spent 20 years as their ambassador in the US.
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ADL Urges Pope Benedict to Suspend Action on Sainthood for Pius XII
(ADL.org) Abe Foxman: “We urge Pope Benedict XVI to suspend the sainthood process for Pope Pius XII for the sake of historical truth and the deepening friendship between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people.”
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