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Uncivil Debate at Columbia U.
The Spectator article gives the bare bones of the debate points and audience harassment of the anti- anti-war side as racist Zionists. The situation is expanded upon below from an article in Campus J, the Jewish student newspaper. And yes, I think it's sad that the Jewish students at Columbia feel the need for their own newpaper because of the antisemitism they experience in one of this country's premier universities. Here are excerpts from the article.Last night Columbians for Academic Freedom and the Columbia anti-War Coalition debated the MEALAC issue in front of a packed room at Earl Hall. Today's coverage in the Spectator accurately describes the nature of each side's argument as well as the overall tenor of the debate. While members of CAF continued to argue that their motives were not political and the issue at hand was intimidation in the classroom and suppression of open dialogue, the debaters on behalf of the Columbia anti-War Coalition maintained — as they have through the creation of a spin-off group, "Stop McCarthyism at Columbia" — that CAF's claims are merely a "smoke screen" that they have used to launch a "smear campaign" against professors critical of Israel. The majority of those in attendace supported the views of the Columbia anti-War Coalition and during the question portion of the debate vigorously condemned the students representing CAF, mostly in long accusatory speeches as opposed to pointed questions. The debate was anything but. The forum was proposed for a civil sharing of views; what ensued, however, was a two-hour tongue-lashing of Columbians for Academic Freedom. Members of the Columbia anti-War Coaltion as well as many people from the audience blamed the group for personally assailing the lives and livelihoods of the professors they have accused of intimidation. As the CAF students spoke, members of the audience yelled "Liar!" and "Shame on you!" This cauldron of intolerance and anti-intellectualism is not unique to Columbia. In fact, the strong Jewish and pro-Israel contingency on campus insulates Columbia students from the outright anti-Semitism that is ever-increasing on college campuses as an outgrowth of debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In this week's Jewish Week, Rebecca Kahn, the Jewish National Fund's campus coordinator for its Caravan for Democracy Program, provides a frightening look into the darkest side of anti-Israel activity on American college campuses. Law School Dean David Schizer was right to point out the exceptionally friendly atmosphere Columbia provides for Jewish students; nevertheless, it is clear that the vitriol that consumed last night's event was not motivated by outrage concerning issues of academic freedom, but rather was spawned by an attempt to defame and discredit Columbians for Academic Freedom by slapping them with politically charged labels and, to a greater extent, castigate "ultra-conservative" groups like the "David Project" and "Campus-Watch" for promoting Israel advocacy on campus. Posted by: trailing wife 2005-03-11 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=58653 |