well, be sure and include radical atheism, too…so my point really is that the
problem is with the adjective radical, or fanatical, not with the ideology
itself necessarily… because, ultimately, it is the fanaticism, the radicalism,
the intolerance, the violence, that is the problem, and any ideology can be
twisted ad distorted by fanatics to allow these things
On Oct 3, 2015, at 4:04 PM, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Bob,
I can't cite specifics, but unfortunately, I remember reading a number of
articles over the past two years or so regarding Brandeis and its stance
toward criticisms of Israel and toward the Palestinian justice movement,
which are at odds with its reputation in the US. Wat I suspect is that much
of the turmoil regarding the Israel/Palestine conflict has been simmering
for a long time, but it has been kept secret from the American public, as
have the growing fissures within the American Jewish community regarding the
issue. But because Issrael's actions have become so extreme and because
Palestinians have discovered a peaceful and effective way to demonstrate
against Israeli policy, the BDS movement, all of the actual positions and
behavior of organizations and universities is now becoming public. It's
important to remember that universities are vulnerable to pressure from
their wealthy donors. All over the country, wealthy Jewish donors are
pressuring universities to outlaw the group, Students for a Just Palestine,
insisting that when this group criticizes Israel, it is being anti-semitic.
There are also conflicts over a group, Open Hillel, which formed to counter
the traditional Jewish Hillel campus organizations which always support
Israeli policy. And I'm sure I must have posted an article about a new Human
Rights report indicating that faculty and students who express anti-Israel
positions are being silenced on campuses. So although Brandeis may have a
positive community record, how it responds to questions regarding Issrael,
Palestinians, or Muslims in general, is another matter entirely.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bob Hachey
Sent: Saturday, October 03, 2015 1:51 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Flush With Cash, Right-Wing Extremists Train
the Future Zealots of Pro-Israel Campus Activism
Wow! That was quite an article. Brandeis University is located in my home
town of Waltham, MA. For the most part, Brandeis has been a model of
progressive politics and tolerance of a wide variety of points of view.
Shame on Brandeis president Frederick Lawrence for bowing to the likes of
Daniel Mael, a true hate monger. Louis Brandeis is likely rolling over in
his grave over that one.
Oh, and that Horowitz sounds much more like a shameless opportunist than a
backer of any cause. Note that he move from radical left to radical right
very quickly.
One more point on Brandeis. The university gives generously of volunteer
student time to the Waltham Alliance to Create Housing whose board I'm
serving on. Let's hope that Lawrence's behavior here was merely a fluke
rather than a change of heart in university policy because it would be a
tragedy if Brandeis were to morph from a place of tolerance into a Bastian
of right-win Zionism.
I know it is wrong to hate, but boy am I ever developing a strong hatred for
radical religions. That includes radical Islam, radical Christianity and
radical Judaeism.
Bob Hachey