Dear Paul,

you wrote:

Perhaps rather than engaging in conflict, we should look at an earlier view of Ronald's, some sort of European event where recognition could be stressed, Israeli academics could be heard and their resistance made promninent in the news and a constructive politics of recognition be developed that minimised hardship to israeli academics whilst pushing the institutional levers that will pressure Sharon. Much of it would have to be webcast and technologically constructed, but it might be more constructive than dual camps arguing with each other,

I FULLY AGREE WITH YOU IN THIS POINT; NOW WE ARE TWO, THAT IS THE SAD REALITY. I DID PROPOSE TO ORGANISE OR A WORKSHOP OR AT LEAST A PUBLICATION ON THE PROBLEMS AT HAND AND HAVE EVEN OFFERED TO PRODUCE OR CO-PRODUCE AN SPECIAL ISSUE OF "THE EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH - INNOVATION" (published by Taylor & Francis). YOU ARE THE FIRST WHO IS POSITIVELY RESPONDING TO THIS. I WOULD, HOWEVER, SUGGEST THAT THE TOPIC WOULD NOT BE NARROWED DOWN TO JUST SHARON. AS BARUCH KIMMERLING ALREADY SUGGESTED, THE PROBLEM GOES DEEPER. THE SETTLEMENT OF PALESTINE TERRITORIES WENT ON AND ON, AND THE RADICALISATION OF THE PALESTINIAN SIDE IS CERTAINLY NOT HELPFUL. BY THE WAY, THERE WAS A BRILLIANT INTERVIEW WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE AL-QUDS-UNIVERSITY, SARI NUSSEIBEH, IN THIS WEEK'S "ZEIT", A QUALITY WEEKLY PUBLISHED IN GERMANY. HE HAS A VERY BALANCED VIEW ON THE RECENT DEVELOPMENT AND WOULD BE A BRILLIANT PALESTINIAN ACADEMIC. OF COURSE WE SHOULD NOT LIMIT OUR INVITATIONS TO THE ISRAELIS BUT BRING THE PALESTINIANS INTO THE DISCUSSION AS WELL.

You wrote:

The problem I have with some of the www.european-association.org argument is that it talks of truth and freedom as abstractions, as if they can easily co-exist as concepts with a world where such violence and abuse occurs. This seems to inflate academic freedoms above other rights and responsibilities. Yes, academic freedom is important and yes, it is known that academics in Israel are critical of Sharon and working against the current situation. They are, however, little more than an elite fiction if they are abstracted from the conditions under which people live in their societies.

THERE WE HAVE APPARENTLY A DIFFERENT VIEW. I STILL DO BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD NOT FALL INTO THE TRAPS OF NATION-STATES. I BELIEVE IN ACADEMIC VALUES AND TRADITIONS. KARL MANNHEIM ("IDEOLOGY AND UTOPIA") AND MAX HORKHEIMER HAVE OUTLINED THE ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITIES.

Is an academic from Israel willing to post the argument their that their academic freedom, their scientific ethics of freedom, are not compromised by Sharon's politics? Will they put individual career aspirations or research before human rights? I don't think so.

I AM AFRAID, HERE YOU ARE ENTIRELY WRONG. MANY ISRAELI ACADEMICS ARE VERY OUTSPOKEN CRITICS OF THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENTS AND WERE SO ALREADY UNDER BARAK.

JUST TO QUOTE BARUCH KIMMERLING:

"But up today the Israeli academy remained almost the last public space
(the media not anymore) of free speech and free thinking. We are under a
constant assault of the authorities to "shut up our mouths". Just today the
Ministry of Education appealed to the Attorney General to charge a long
list of professors of my university because their support of conscience
objectors."

YOU WROTE:

I also regret, Ronald, that you wish to move the debate onto more personal ground when you say:
"I am really surprised about the lack of understanding of the functionning of institutions in modern democracies by some of my social science colleagues. It is absolutely absurd, and, if that matters, immoral to link autonomous research institutions and researchers with their governments and to punish them".

Please do not imply ignorance and immorality amongst those who disagree with you, or is that also a matter of academic values? The idea of a boycott is a politics of recognition and a politics against the normalisation of an abnormal and immoral state of affairs.

I DON'T WANT TO OFFEND ANYBODY AND MY ARGUMENT IS NOT ON PERSONAL GROUNDS. I CAN EASILY UNDERSTAND AND SUPPORT ANY CALL FOR A BOYCOTT OF WEAPON DELIVERY TO CRISIS REGIONS - WHICH OF COURSE IS THE CASE IN THE MIDDLE EAST. BUT TO IDENTIFY UNIVERSITIES AND THE ACADEMIA AS A WHOLE WITH GOVERNMENTS AND STATES IS SOMETHING SOCIAL SCIENCE STUDENTS ARE TAUGHT NOT TO DO... I DO THINK THIS IS BAD SOCIAL SCIENCE. AND I DO THINK THAT COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT IS IMMORAL, THE MORE SO, IF THOSE AGAINST WHOM THE PUNISHMENT IS CALLED ARE AT LEAST IN PART THOSE WHO OPPOSE THE GOVERNMENT'S POLICY. BUT THERE IS OBVIOULSY A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE HERE: AS BARUCH INFORMED ALL OF US, THERE IS A REPRESSION AGAINST THE PEACE MOVEMENT AND THEIR SUPPORTERS IN ISRAEL. THE MEDIA IS NOT REPORTING ON THIS. SOCIAL SCIENTIST SHOULD, HOWEVER, GET THEIR INFORMATION FROM OTHER SOURCES - THERE IS MUCH LITERATURE ON THE GATE-KEEPING FUNCTION OF THE MEDIA...

IF YOU WERE SERIOUS WITH YOUR LAST PARAGRAPH AND NOT JUST POLITE, LET'S TRY TO GET A REAL DEBATE. I AGREE THAT SOME OF IT MUST BE VIRTUAL- HOWEVER THE EMAIL POLEMICS DO NOT GET US ANY FURTHER.

Regards,

Ronald J Pohoryles



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