I am delighted to see that Profesor Zureik has himself drawn attention to
his article (to which I have referred in correspondence here) in the British
Journal of Middle Eastern Studies which develops a very effective
sociological analysis of the importance of 'data' in constructing (or
deconstructing and effectively destroying) the imagined communities that may
or may not be states. I recall very well the efforts of Mrs Thatcher's
government in Britain to decimate the staff of the HMSO Statistical Service
and her assault (less physically violent certainly than the attack by the
IDF but equally malicious) on the figures on unemployment in particular,
drawing eventually from the senior civil servant in charge an impassioned
defence of the social and moral significance of statistical services.
david seddon
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Based upon the newsletter of the European Sociological Association
> (ESA). [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Baruch
> Kimmerling
> Sent: 04 February 2002 06:52
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: raid on Palestine Bureau of Statistics (fwd)
>
>
>
> Dear Colleagues: I could not help but feel a sense of surrealism upon
> reading the exchange among sociologists, some of whom have chosen
> to engage
> in hair splitting exercise as to wether the actions of the Israeli army in
> ransacking the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics in Ramallah are
> "worthy of consideration" by an organization and a group of
> people who make
> it their business to deal with numbers, classify people, and try
> to explain
> how states produce their populations. One correspondent in this rather
> bizarre exchange stated that as "scientists" it is not our business to
> delve into why a government (Israel) that is engaged in annulling the
> self-determination of a people (Palestinians), finds it necessary to
> expunge the written record of the same people. I would have thought that
> French and other European sociologists are more sensitive to the
> relationship between discursive practices by the state and population
> construction. Where are you Foucault??? Your country men don't read you
> anymore... It must be noted that this is not the first time the Israeli
> army purged Palestinian historical record. They did the same thing, on
> grander scale, in 1982 when under the orders of Sharon, the current prime
> minister and the defense minister then, they ransacked the Research Center
> of the PLO in Beirut and stole its entire library and records. In his
> correspondence, professor Seddon mentioned an article by me which was
> published in the last issue of British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies,
> and in which I deal with the politics of census construction in the
> Israeli-Palestinian context. I append it here for the benefit of those who
> wish to follow the debate sociologically. Elia Zureik
>
>
>
>
> At 07:16 PM 2/2/02 +0200, you wrote:
>
>
> >---------- Forwarded message ----------
> >Date: Sat, 2 Feb 2002 12:21:25 -0000
> >From: David Seddon <[log in to unmask]>
> >To: [log in to unmask]
> >Subject: Re: raid on Palestine Bureau of Statistics
> >
> >The attack on the PCBS is, of course, part of a more widespread and
> >destructive struggle to prevent the emergence of anything resembling a
> >Palestinian state - we should be concerned, as sociologists, with the way
> >this constitutes a distinctive part of that struggle: an assault on
> >knowledge - an attack on the information required both to understand how
> >things are and to plan for how things might be. Colleagues might be
> >interested in the article by Edward Said in a recent issue of the London
> >Review of Books (which mentions in passing the attack on the PCBS) and my
> >letter in the subsequent (most recent) issue which focuses on the PCBS'.
> >They m,ight also be interested in the nmost recent issue of the
> Bulletin of
> >Middle Eastern Studies (produced at SOAS), which includes an article by
> >Elias Zureik, professor of sociology at Queens University , Ontario, on
> >'Constructing Palestine through Surveillance Practices', which
> develops in
> >some detail a sociological (Foucauldian) analysis of the control of data
> >among other things. In the old days they burned books as well as
> 'heretics'
> >to destroy 'heresies' - that failed.
> >
> >david seddon
> >Professor of Sociology & Politics
> >School of Development Studies
> >University of East Anglia
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Based upon the newsletter of the European Sociological
> Association
> > > (ESA). [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Ray
> > > Thomas
> > > Sent: 01 February 2002 20:52
> > > To: [log in to unmask]
> > > Subject: Re: raid on Palestine Bureau of Statistics
> > >
> > >
> > > > Can anyone tell me why an attack on a stats office deserves
> > > > special attention
> > > > from sociologists as a group? Is it to be implied that the
> > > > other deaths that
> > > > have occured on both sides are not worthy of our consideration?
> > >
> > > The crucial point is that statistics offices are a
> > > vital component of stable societies. Statistics support stable and
> > > peaceful societies, and only stable and peaceful societies can produce
> > > reliable statistics. An attack on a statistical office is
> an undermining
> > > of the institutional structure that are part of stable societies.
> > >
> > > It is ironic that Ariel Sharon has claimed that Israel is
> taking action
> > > against
> > > terrorism. The attack on a statistical office is likely to
> contribute to
> > > the creation of anarchy that will breed terrorism.
> > >
> > > Ray Thomas, Social Sciences, Open University
> > > Tel: 44 1908 679081 Fax 44 1908 550401
> > > Email: [log in to unmask]
> > > 35 Passmore, Milton Keynes MK6 3DY
> > > ******
>
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