generalspeaking

Say Idea of Boycott Stymies Dialogue and Exchange

The Modern Language Associate (MLA) is set to discuss a resolution that would urge the US State Department to protest against Israel’s “arbitrary” difficulties for American academics who try to enter  the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Although not a full boycott, a decision by the MLA’s 30,000 members in 100 countries in favor of the resolution would be sharp criticism of Israel.

The MLA resolution comes a few weeks after the much-smaller American Studies Association (ASA) voted for an academic boycott of Israel. The decision has sparked a wave of condemnation by university presidents.

Michele Dominy, the dean of the small liberal-arts Bard College in NY, says that college president Leon Botstein immediately withdrew from the ASA.

“The heart of what we do is academic and cultural exchange and dialogue and the last thing any academic institution wants to do is close that dialogue down,” Dominy told The Media Line. “Bard does have a presence in the Middle East and we have a dual-degree program with Al-Quds University. It is important for us to maintain a balance between our relations with Palestinian scholars and universities, and Israeli scholars and universities.”

College President Botstein, who is Jewish, was the former conductor of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, flying in from the US for concerts.

Bard was recently in the news over another academic flap – when the radical Islamic Jihad movement held a rally at Al-Quds University. Bard and Al-Quds have a joint degree program and close ties. Video taken at the event showed demonstrators trampling on Israeli flags next to posters of suicide bombers. Al-Quds President Sari Nusseibeh condemned the rally but Brandeis University and Syracuse University cut off ties with Al-Quds. Bard, however, decided not to publicly address the issue.

Dominy was in Israel with a group of university provosts sponsored by Project Interchange of the American Jewish Committee (AJC).

“Project Interchange brings people who have influence and can mold minds, such as these academicians, to get an authentic experience in Israel, on the ground, so that they can understand more clearly the vibrancy of Israel along with the nuances and complexities that Israel faces,” Harriet Schleifer, Incoming National Chair of Project Interchange, told The Media Line.

The group met with Israeli leaders and academics as well as Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, who used to be the president of Al-Najah University in Ramallah, before becoming Prime Minister.

“We have heard so many smart people on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides, who both seem so reasonable,” Jim Brennan, the provost of Catholic University in Washington DC told The Media Line after the meeting. “The problem is not with the Israeli government or the Palestinian government, it’s with the religious fanatics on both sides. We need to figure out a way to get religious figures into the process.”

Catholic University is the only pontifical university in the US and three of its faculties grant degrees from the Vatican. Brennan said there is a lot of excitement about the Pope’s visit to the Middle East in May. He sharply condemned the ASA boycott.

“We compared the actions of the ASA to putting kerosene on a fire to put it out – it’s just stupid,” he said. “As a faith-based institution there is sympathy to Israel in general and as a homeland for the Jewish people.”

Several of the visiting academics said there is growing controversy about Israeli policies on their campuses but that boycotts are not the way to solve them.

“Were very committed to fostering a greater sense of global scholarly communication with partner institutions around the world,” 

Ralph Wilcox, the Provost of the University of South Florida, with 48,000 students told The Media Line. “We encourage and value divergent views on matters including the Israeli- Palestinian conflict and the last thing we want to do is stifle the path of communication between colleagues.”