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The Yale
Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism On February 1 Yigal Carmon, President, Founder of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) will speak on "The Iranian Regime and Genocidal Antisemitism." The seminar will be held in Linsly-Chittenden Hall, room 101, 63 High Street. On February 8 Professor Ruth Wisse, Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature, Harvard University, will speak on "Why Antisemitism Works." The seminar will be held in Linsly-Chittenden Hall, room 101, 63 High Street. Please see the seminar website for the Spring semester schedule. Please note that many of our seminars this semester will be held in room 101 at Linsly-Chittenden. YALE CAMPUS EVENTS Wednesday, January 31 at 4:00 "From 9/11 to Abu Ghraib to Beyond" Talk given by Seymour Hersh, Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist and author Linsly-Chittenden, 63 High Street, room 101 Sponsored by Branford College Tuesday, February 6 at 4:00 "From Israel's Burden to Israel's Debt: Metaphors of Sin and Forgiveness in Ancient Judaism and Christianity" Talk given by Prof. Gary Anderson, University of Notre Dame Romance Language Lounge, 82-90 Wall Street Sponsored by the Program in Judaic Studies Tuesday, February 6 at 4:30 "What the West Can Do to Counter Holocaust Denial in the Arab World: A New Approach" Talk given by Robert Satloff, Executive Director of the Washington Institute Harkness Hall, 100 Wall Street, room 208 Sponsored by International Security Studies EVENTS ELSEWHERE January 29: NEW YORK - The UN International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of Holocaust For events listing, click here February 1: NEW YORK - State of Anti-Semitism Lecture: Leslie H. Gelb on Israel, Jews and United States Foreign Policy For tickets and info click here February 5: Pennsylvania - Charles Asher Small, Director of YIISA, will present a talk at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA about Contemporary Antisemitism. For info click here FELLOWSHIPS Schusterman Israel Scholar Awards The Israel Scholar Development Fund of the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise is pleased to offer awards to encourage students to pursue academic careers in fields related to the study of Israel. Awards will be available to undergraduates who have already been accepted to a graduate program, graduate students who have received master’s degrees in Middle East related fields who wish to pursue a doctorate and doctoral students who are writing dissertations related to Israel. Click here for more info TV, MOVIES UK TV Uncovers "Islamic Supremacy" UK's Channel 4 documentary series Dispatches goes under cover in British mosques and finds "bigotry of hatred" Click here for review Click here to view a segment of the program on YouTube ARTICLES OF INTEREST Antisemitism and the Unholy Alliance (YNet) Charles Small, Director of YIISA, writes an op-ed imploring Western progressives to stand up against contemporary antisemitism in the face of rising Islamic extremism. Click here to read Holocaust Denier Deniers: "We felt that as Iranians, we should make a statement..." (NY Times) Over 100 Iranian artists and intellectuals signed a statement condemning the "Holocaust conference" that was sponsored by the Iranian government in Teheran last month. The letter appeared in The New York Review of Books. Read the letter here Germans Push Europe on Holocaust (NY Times) Germany wants to use its European Union presidency to push through legislation that would make denying the Holocaust punishable by stiff prison sentences in all 27 of the union's member states. Click here to read US Drafts Holocaust Denial Resolution (Washington Post) The United States has drafted a U.N. resolution condemning the denial of the Holocaust, a month after Iran provoked widespread anger by holding a conference casting doubt on the Nazi genocide of Jews during World War II. The proposed resolution urges all member states to "reject any denial of the Holocaust," saying that "ignoring the historical fact of these terrible events increases the risk they will be repeated." Click here to read AJC Antisemitism Expert Says Holocaust Education Will Not Stop Antisemitism (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) An op-ed by Kenneth Stern says "...holocaust denial is not about the Holocaust. It is about Jews, charging them with making up the Shoah, as part of a conspiracy to harm non-Jews..." Click here to read Holocaust Researcher Asks Yad Vashem to Recognize First Arab Righteous Gentile (Ha'aretz) Khaled Abd al-Wahab, a well-to-do Tunisian farmer who died in 1997, is the first Arab to be named as a candidate for a Righteous Gentile award from Yad Vashem. The request to award him such recognition was submitted by Dr. Robert Satloff, an American Jewish expert on Arab and Islamic politics, following his research on Arabs who saved Jews during the Holocaust. Click here to read Criticism of Tehran Holocaust Denial Conference in Arab and Iranian Press (MEMRI) After the December 11-12 Holocaust Denial Conference in Tehran, certain Arab and Iranian columnists wrote editorials condemning the conference's organizers and participants, calling them "hate mongers who spread propaganda" and that it "reflected a lack of human and cultural sensitivity, and that it could lead to conflict around the world." Click here to read Harvard: Albert Einstein's Disappointment (History News Network) Harvard University's websites proudly point to the fact that it awarded Albert Einstein an honorary degree SD in 1935. The university is making use of its honorary degree to Einstein even though it is well known the school at the time and for a decade afterwards refused to hire Jews. Click here to read Jimmy Carter's Jewish Problem (Washington Post) Deborah Lipstadt writes "Carter's book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, while exceptionally sensitive to Palestinian suffering, ignores a legacy of mistreatment, expulsion and murder committed against Jews. It trivializes the murder of Israelis. Now, facing a storm of criticism, he has relied on anti-Semitic stereotypes in defense." Click here to read Correcting Carter's 242 Distortions (Jerusalem Post) The role of publisher Simon and Schuster has been largely ignored. The assumption, evidently, is that the company producing, promoting and profiting from a supposedly non-fiction history on a contentious topic, bears no responsibility for the book's accuracy - or falsity. Indeed, Simon and Schuster makes no pretense of assuring the factual merit of its product or of planning to redress errors. Click here to read At Brandeis, Carter Responds to Critics (New York Times) In his first major public speech about his controversial book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” former President Jimmy Carter told an audience at Brandeis University on Tuesday that he stood by the book and its title, that he apologized for what he called an “improper and stupid” sentence in the book and that he had been disturbed by accusations that he was anti-Semitic. Click here to read A Real Dialogue Would Have Been Better (Jerusalem Post) Alan Dershowitz writes, "President Carter's speech at Brandeis on Tuesday should have been a real debate. Instead it was a one-way dialogue with pre-screened questions and no rebuttals." Click here to read The Boston Mosque's Saudi Connection (Boston Globe) A $24 million mosque and cultural center being built by the Islamic Society of Boston has generated controversy. Questions have been raised about the Islamic Society's past and present leaders, some of whom have supported Islamist terrorism or indulged in virulently anti-American and anti-Semitic rhetoric. Click here to read If Iran Gets the Bomb (Al-Ahram- Cairo) This op-ed written by Mustufa El-Labbad in Egypt's leading newspaper Al-Ahram reflects the growing concern in the Sunni Middle East of the emboldened Iranian Regime and the assistance it provides to Shia Militias. Click here to read Iran Bars Inspectors; Cleric Criticizes President (New York Times) Iran is barring 38 nuclear agency inspectors from entering the country in retaliation for a United Nations resolution aiming to curb Iran’s nuclear program, a senior Iranian lawmaker said Monday. The announcement came only days after Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, Iran’s most senior dissident cleric, criticized President Ahmadinejad's defiant stance against the West on the nuclear issue in a speech on Friday, calling it provocative. Click here to read Herziliya Conference: In a Word: Iran (Jerusalem Post) If this years Herziliya conference is any indication, the Israeli establishment, though reeling from one political scandal to another, has only one thing on its mind: Iran. Click here to read President's Future in Doubt as MPs Rebel and Economic Crisis Grows (Guardian - UK) In an unprecedented rebuke, 150 parliamentarians signed a letter blaming Mr. Ahmadinejad for raging inflation and high unemployment and criticising his government's failure to deliver the budget on time. Click here to read EU Calls for Full Implementation of Iran Sanctions (Yahoo News) The European Union has deplored Iran's lack of cooperation over Tehran's nuclear program and called for a full implementation of United Nations sanctions. Click here to read US Student Volunteers to Help Hunt Nazi War Criminals (Jerusalem Post) William Gray, who is Professor Alan Dershowitz's research assistant at Harvard Law School, recently volunteered to work as an intern at the Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem. One of his tasks was to review a collection of data on suspected Lithuanian Nazi war criminals and collaborators, many of whom had emigrated to the United States and other Anglo-Saxon democracies shortly after the end of World War II. Click here to read Bethlehem's Christians Fear Neighbors (Jerusalem Post) A number of Christian families have finally decided to break their silence and talk openly about what they describe as Muslim persecution of the Christian minority in Bethlehem. Click here to read Disillusion Sets in Amid Poverty and Factional Conflict (Guardian - UK) Palestinians are turning their back on the party [Hamas] elected on promise of reform. Click here to read McKay Holds Firm on Hamas Policy (Globe and Mail) Foreign Minister Peter MacKay wrapped up his trip to the Middle East yesterday with a ringing defence of his government's policy of boycotting Hamas, saying Canada is a friend of Israel and will continue to "stand up to terrorism." Click here to read Teacher's anti-Israel Resolution Angers Jewish Group, Parents, Unions Split (Canadian Press) Two Ontario high school teachers who want their union to condemn Israel's treatment of Palestinians have angered Jewish groups and raised questions about the politicization of classrooms. Click here to read Soldiers Help Enforce Beirut Curfew (International Herald Tribune) Soldiers reinforced patrols and checkpoints Friday following a rare nighttime curfew imposed by the authorities seeking to quell escalating clashes between factions supporting the Western-backed government and Hezbollah protesters trying to bring it down. Click here to read Renewed Gaza Factional Violence (BBC News) Hamas militants besieged the home of a Fatah activist, leading to an exchange of gunfire and casualties. Groups have also seized members of rival factions. Click here to read Essay: This Holocaust Will Be Different (Jerusalem Post) A reprint of Benny Morris's essay in our last newsletter. Click here to read This Is How We Ruined Toynbee's Theory (Ha'aretz) "Arnold Toynbee was an important British Historian, who through his controversial theory on civilizations found a place in Israeli and Jewish awareness as an antisemite." Click here to read BOOK REVIEWS The Changing Face of Antisemitism: From Ancient Times to the Present Day by Walter Laqueur, Oxford University Press Reviewed by Erika Dreifus Click here to read review Somewhere in Africa by Stephanie Zweig, University of Wisconsin Press Reviewed by Gabriel Sanders Zweig's first autobiographical novel Nowhere in Africa is about an assimilated German Jewish family who fled Hitler and spent the war years in Kenya. Her new book picks up in 1947 when the family moves back to Frankfurt. "It offers an all-too-rare glimpse of Jewish life in Germany immediately after the war," the reviewer says. Click here to read review Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism | ISPS | yiisa.program@yale.edu
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