Comments on: Ben Gurion University President Calls for Professor Supporting Israel Boycott to Quit

By: Warren

Warren — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:20:13 +0000

I see your point, Richard S., and think you’re right. Also, need to make a correction, the American peaceful protester recently shot in the head by the IDF was Tristan Anderson, pace your blog post. I said James Miller, who was British, and his murder happened earlier. To make such a sloppy mistake, confusion of names, is disrespectful and I apologize.

By: Alex Stein

Alex Stein — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:13:15 +0000

Richard – we are going round in circles; such is the nature of subjective experience, and I’m not complaining. I suggest in future you call me out when you feel I am guilty of the descriptions you paint above; I’ll do the same when I see double standards, shifting the goalposts, and hysterical reportage.

By: Richard Silverstein

Richard Silverstein — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:55:19 +0000

if I felt you gave a raw deal to the Palestinians here…

But you never would because ultiimately yr stronger allegiance is to Israel and not the Palestinians (despite the fact that you deny this). To claim that your only allegiance is to your sense of justice or fair play sounds nice but doesn’t correspond to the way I & others here find your comments.

It’s preposterous to say I have a low threshold of tolerance for criticism of Israel, as anyone who has read anything I have written will testify.

You mean “anyone” who is already sympathetic with yr own perspective. Because certainly there are a number of commenters here who don’t see you as you see yrself.

By: Alex Stein

Alex Stein — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:02:01 +0000

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being protective of something when it’s getting a raw deal; if I felt you gave a raw deal to the Palestinians here, I would do the same.

It’s preposterous to say I have a low threshold of tolerance for criticism of Israel, as anyone who has read anything I have written will testify. I only have a low threshold of tolerance for double standards, shifting of the goalposts, and hysterical, angry reportage: all three of these are highly detrimental to the cause of dialogue and in my humble opinion are all too often (although far from always) to be found here, either above or below the line.

By: Richard Silverstein

Richard Silverstein — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 07:42:57 +0000

My moral allegiances are not to Palestinians or Israelis but to what I think is right.

That may indeed be the way you view yrself (and it’s not unexpected), but that is not the way I and other readers here see you. You clearly have a very deep streak that is highly protective of Israel when you feel it’s getting a raw deal (& you have quite a low threshhold of tolerance for criticism of Israel). And you clearly don’t at all feel the same way about Palestinians.

I’m not doubting the sincerity of yr beliefs about the way to solve the Israeli Palestinian conflict. But the manner in which you manifest those beliefs can be quite defensive and hyper-argumentative.

By: Alex Stein

Alex Stein — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:08:41 +0000

I’ve never grown up on any ‘patriotic Zionist narrative’, whatever that is. For as long as I can remember I’ve thought the only reasonable solution to the conflict has been two states for two peoples; more recently I’ve had a preference for some sort of federal/one-state solution, but that remains totally unrealistic, so two states is the best way forward. The key principle, for me, is to recognise that both people have national rights in the land. I really don’t like the idea of dividing Jerusalem, but I can’t see any other way. My moral allegiances are not to Palestinians or Israelis but to what I think is right.

By: Alex Stein

Alex Stein — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:05:21 +0000

Warren – I answered Shirin’s accusation of lying with the contempt it deserved. Nothing more to be read into my description of the day than that.

By: Richard Silverstein

Richard Silverstein — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:39:03 +0000

Far be it fr. me to defend Alex, but I think in his description of the episode I detect a hint of ambivalence about the entire affair. I’m sure he grew up as many of us did on a patriotic Zionist narrative. If he did, then it can’t be easy to consider that your primary moral allegiances may not be to an Israeli army or police force that oppresses, but rather to Palestinians who are the butt of Zionist power. That would be enough to make many a Zionist take pause. So if any of that is at work, I would tend to feel some sympathy for Alex (though I don’t know that it is).

It’s good that he was there as long as he was there for the right reasons, & only he can know the answer to that.