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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Attacks against Israel Center uninformed
Letters to the Editor | 9/25/07
Posted online at 9:28 PM EST on 9/24/07
/ Last updated at 2:09 AM EST on 9/24/07
To the Editor:
I was appalled to read Brandeis Prof. Gordon Fellman's (SOC) rhetoric against the new Israel Center, which was uninformed at best and racist at worst ("Profs question center," Sept. 18 issue). It is unsound to denounce studying the culture and history of a country due to its current government. To state that studying Israel would be a contentious issue due to the actions of the Israeli government is ludicrous. Imagine the outrage that would occur if people stopped Latin American Studies due to the political regimes in the area (which are in striking contrast to the democratic state of Israel).
Second, Prof. Fellman's concern that studying Israel would detract from problems facing the Jewish community is anti-Semitic and racist. It equates Jews with Israelis and denies the experiences of the Muslim, Druze, Baha'i, Christian and other groups in the country that are Israeli but not Jewish. To truly "worry about Brandeis' reputation" as Prof. Campbell (ENG) suggested would be to ensure that it stays true to its goals, remaining a Jewish-founded, academic institution intent on uncovering truth by giving Brandeis students knowledge and the opportunity to make our own informed decisions.
-Deborah Beth Medows '08
I was appalled to read Brandeis Prof. Gordon Fellman's (SOC) rhetoric against the new Israel Center, which was uninformed at best and racist at worst ("Profs question center," Sept. 18 issue). It is unsound to denounce studying the culture and history of a country due to its current government. To state that studying Israel would be a contentious issue due to the actions of the Israeli government is ludicrous. Imagine the outrage that would occur if people stopped Latin American Studies due to the political regimes in the area (which are in striking contrast to the democratic state of Israel).
Second, Prof. Fellman's concern that studying Israel would detract from problems facing the Jewish community is anti-Semitic and racist. It equates Jews with Israelis and denies the experiences of the Muslim, Druze, Baha'i, Christian and other groups in the country that are Israeli but not Jewish. To truly "worry about Brandeis' reputation" as Prof. Campbell (ENG) suggested would be to ensure that it stays true to its goals, remaining a Jewish-founded, academic institution intent on uncovering truth by giving Brandeis students knowledge and the opportunity to make our own informed decisions.
-Deborah Beth Medows '08
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