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Hi Hermes,
it would indeed be nice if you came out from behind your pseudonym. Plenty of us are academics who don't have a problem being in this list.
One reason I object to calls for an academic boycott of Israel, whether from Steven Rose or anyone, is that they are selective. I never heard anyone who calls for an academic boycott of Israel calling for one of any Arab dictatorship, or any other dictatorship for that matter, let alone any other state which may pursue objectionable policies.
I turn to this list for scholarly exchanges, not for the promotion of individual political agendas.
Nick
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From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Hermes Lapis [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 27 July 2014 00:18
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] ASRR's special issue on contemporary spirituality in Israel
I’ll try to keep this brief as some people on the list get irritable if the topic drifts too far from ‘magic’!
Thanks for the invitation which I will decline for the moment. But, just for the record, I have actually lived in Israel for a time and met some fine people (and lots of unpleasant ones). What shocked me was the level of racism, often quite blatant and unapologetic – obviously accepted as a norm. Something I was unprepared for coming from a rather liberal background. Had a rather awkward moment when visiting a family for dinner with a friend. I’d noticed a number of ruins in the neighbourhood and, thinking they might be of archaeological interest, I enquired about them only to have a cold embarrassed silence descend upon my hosts! Yep, my naivety! Turns out they were the remains of a Palestinian village which had been ‘cleansed’, dynamited and bulldozed in the early 1950s and, as my friend told me later, no one wants to talk about it. Was never invited back!
I have visited the West Bank, but not Gaza, and a Palestinian family in a refugee camp in the Lebanon – their family story was, quite simply, heart-breaking, as were their living conditions.
Ok, guess I’m pushing my luck here, so better finish.
From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Shai Feraro
Sent: 26 July 2014 22:54
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] ASRR's special issue on contemporary spirituality in Israel
Well, as I know several people who share the same affliction, you have my sympathies on that front. If you wish, Hermes, you can email me you real name and affiliation privately. We will probably both be attending ESSWE 2015 (or a similar conference in the future), so I'll be happy to sit with you over a beer or two and share with you my own point of view on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. You probably won't become a Zionist after that, but it won't hurt to hear a different analysis of the situation in the Middle East from someone who is currently living here and is not anti-Zionist ;-)
With every good wish,
Shai :-)
On Sun, Jul 27, 2014 at 12:36 AM, Hermes Lapis <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
Concerning my “hiding being a pseudonym”:
My colleagues in my department are, to put it mildly, antagonistic to such fields of study as Magic being introduced into the Academy. Were they to know that I ‘frequent’ such lists as this (magic being a personal interest of mine) they would probably be convinced I’d ‘lost my marbles’. So, a pseudonym lets ‘sleeping dogs lie’.
Hope this helps.
From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic [mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>] On Behalf Of Shai Feraro
Sent: 26 July 2014 22:06
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] ASRR's special issue on contemporary spirituality in Israel
Yes, I was expecting some idiot to jump and write something like that, 'Hermes' (how comfortable it is hiding being a pseudonym, isn't it?).....
I urge everyone on this list to follow what they deem as right for them, of course, but here are my own two cents on why the movement for the academic boycott of Israel is really misguided and stupid: In Israel, us academics usually come for the left side of the political map, and are one of the forces calling for peace and a two-state solution, with an independent Palestine next to Israel. It is so sad that while many in the extreme right in Israel who view us as 'traitors', some of our brothers and sister to the academic profession from abroad try to boycott us, thereby actually silencing a major voice for change within Israel.
I tell you what, 'Hermes': when you get the courage to form a boycott movement against 'glorious' democracies such as Syria, or China - then you might presume to come and lecture us Israelis about morality.
Good day,
Shai.
On Sat, Jul 26, 2014 at 11:49 PM, Hermes Lapis <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
I would urge list members to check out the following two sites before deciding whether to purchase, or otherwise support, the articles on contemporary spirituality in Israel:
http://www.bdsmovement.net/activecamps/academic-boycott
http://www.pacbi.org/
Both sites deal specifically with the Academy’s potential role in the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict and I believe it important that academics are aware of the issues involved. I am not attempting to tell list members what to do or not do but I believe the issues are important enough to warrant careful consideration founded on knowledge.
Thank you.
PS Before anyone ‘knee jerks’ “anti-Semitism” please consider why Jewish academics such as Steven Rose have signed an open letter to the UK’s prime minister (Fri 25th July 2014) urging an arms embargo on Israel. Rose is, of course, a vocal Jewish anti-Zionist. Zionism is a racist political ideology as clearly acknowledged by Desmond Tutu.
From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic [mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>] On Behalf Of Shai Feraro
Sent: 26 July 2014 09:58
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] ASRR's special issue on contemporary spirituality in Israel
*** apologies for cross-posting ***
Dear colleagues,
I am pleased to announce the publication of a special issue I guest-edited in Jim Lewis' Alternative Spirituality and Religion Review, on contemporary spirituality in Israel. The six articles represent just a fraction of the current research on Israel's bustling scene of New Age and alternative spiritualities, but as the 2nd special issue to date to focus on Israeli phenomena I think it has vital importance for those interested in the field.
You can purchase the articles (if your library doesn't have access to ASRR) using this link: http://essential.metapress.com/content/rq0r060t136x . My introduction is available for free here: http://essential.metapress.com/content/r01442r21117434q/fulltext.pdf . I also wish to use this opportunity to encourage you all to ask your Institutional Libraries to subscribe to ASRR.
Here is a list of the articles in this special issue (not including several interesting book reviews):
1) 'And Not a Word about the Goddess': On the Politics of Shaping and Displaying a Pagan Identity by Israeli Pagan Women in Israeli Women's Spirituality Festivals - Mr. Shai Feraro (Tel Aviv University)
2) Neo-Hasidism & Neo-Kabbalah in Israeli Contemporary Spirituality: The Rise of the Utilitarian Self - Dr. Tomer Persico (Tel Aviv University)
3) The Dwindling Spiral: The Dror Center Schism, the Cook Letter and Scientology’s Legitimation Crisis - Prof. James R. Lewis (University of Tromsø, Norway)
4) Gratitude, Israeli Spiritual Care and Contemporary Hassidic Teachers: The Theme of Thankfulness in the Works of Rabbis Brazofsky (the Netivot Shalom), Rav Arush and Yemima Avital - Dr. Einat Ramon (Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies)
5) Fluid Religious Identities in the Holy Land 1990's – 2000's: African Labor Migrants between "Brotherhood of the Cross and the Star" and "Resurrection and Living Bread Ministries International" - Prof. Galia Sabar (Tel Aviv Unuversity)
6) Kumbaya in Zion – Secular and Religious Elements in Israeli Sacred Singing Circles - Mr. Yotam Yzraely (Tel Aviv University)
All the best,
Shai Feraro.
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