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Sophia Pascoe's avatar

“The field postulates that Israel is guilty of apartheid, genocide, and settler colonialism. One cannot advance in the field of “Palestinian Studies” without accepting those lies as axioms.” While omitting the historical truth about Arab imperialism, jihad, martyrdom and genocide in India, Africa and the Middle East. That’s ahistorical revisionism, also known as bias and propaganda. That’s not study it’s re writing history in an attempt to remove Jewish identity and indignity. Imagine for a moment what China is also doing to formulate a cultural erasure of Tibet. We see a communist autocracy colonising a nation in real time, the left says nothing. This also must be included in the conversation, within the context of ahistorical cultural erasure and genocide. It must be challenged and debated or it will be erased, both Tibetans and Jewish Israelis.

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ryan's avatar

You said it so well , I don't need to post anything ......I was a grad student at Hunter.....in the nineties....and aside from the huge PLO banner hanging in the entrance for "LAND day" i didn't encounter anything. How ABOUT TIBETAN STUDIES? KURDISH STUDIES, Turkish studies and the complete Turkification and ethnic cleansing of Anatolia and appropriating ancient Greek sites as "Turkish" heritage. For starters......

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Drhmay's avatar

Palestinianism is rarely about non existent Palestinian culture. It's 100% hatred of Israel and Jews.

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David Mandel's avatar

I fully agree with your central premise that Palestinian studies are no more than an attempt at genteel antisemitism through an anti-Zionist lens. However, I disagree with your contradistinction between the Nazi era and our own. Quoting from a chapter on the psychology of genocide which I published over 20 years ago, I wrote the following:

"...the racial antisemitism propagated by the Nazis under Hitler had as one of its own proximal causes the antisemitic German writings of the late 1800s. Consider a few examples: In 1873, Wilhelm Marr published The Victory of Jewry over Germandom, considered from a non-denominational point of view. In 1878, Paul Bötticher (under the pseudonym of Paul de Lagarde) published German Writings, in which he prophesied a mortal struggle between the Jews and the Germans and called for the extermination of "these bacilli." In 1881, Eugen Dühring, a lecturer in economics and philosophy, published The Jewish Question as a Question of Race, Morals and Civilization. In 1899, Houston Stewart Chamberlain, an Englishman by birth but German by choice, published Foundations of the Nineteenth Century, a book that, as [Norman] Cohn (1996) pointed out, “became the Bible of the völkisch-racist movement” (p. 190). And, in 1905, Alfred Plötz (1860-1940) founded The German Society for Racial Hygiene which "was dedicated to the creation of optimal conditions for the maintenance and development of the German 'race' in competition with other peoples" (Stackelberg, 1999, p. 52).

If Hitler had not been exposed to the ideas and acts expressed by these and other antisemitic ultra-nationalists as a teenager and young adult, it is almost certain that he would not have turned out to be the world's most notorious democidal instigator."

This should certainly not serve in any way to exonerate today's antisemitic academics. On the contrary, it shows just how serious their playing with fire is. For all we know, the person who takes these vile ideas forward and mobilizes Jew hatred on an unprecedented scale is not even born.

Reference:

Mandel, D. R. (2002). Instigators of genocide: Examining Hitler from a social psychological perspective. In L. S. Newman and R. Erber (Eds.), Understanding genocide: The social psychology of the Holocaust (pp. 259-284). New York: Oxford University Press.

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Miriamnae's avatar

Thank you for the bibliography. It is a frightening pattern for Jews—yesterday and today.

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David Mandel's avatar

Yes but we cannot afford to be paralyzed by fear. We must analyze carefully what has and is happening and employ strategic thinking and act accordingly. Unfortunately, the problem does not only lie with pernicious ideas promulgated by the intelligentsia and elites of society; there's often a groundswell of antisemitic sentiment from the democratized lower ranks. On that I highly recommend Haviv Rettig Gur's Episode 1 where he discusses Herzl's true motive for promoting Zionism.

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Susan Sullivan's avatar

I agree! Palestinian Studies is a meaningless term. What are the studies? A meaningless non existent culture, based on a non existent history. They are the natural citizens of Egypt and Jordan. This invented past, is in place purely to gain self pity and to attack the Jews and Israel. They are a disgrace!

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Omer Golan Joel's avatar

Of course, such studies only refer to Israel; not one word about the *actual* apartheid against Palestinians in Lebanon and other Arab countries. Palestinians in Lebanon are second-class citizens by law. Arab citizens of Israel (there are approx. 2 million thereof) have full legal rights, and while they do suffer some discrimination, they can vote, get elected, own property, attend universities, and join the professions. Unlike Palestinians in Lebanon.

And such "studies" attempt to erase the fact that Palestinians were offered a *sovereign nation-state* in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza (and even beyond that in the 1947 Partition Plan) *multiple times* in the past 80 years, and their leaders *refused*. For example, Ehud Barak openly offered to *end the Israeli occupation* of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza in 2000, but Yasser Arafat *refused*.

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Jules's avatar

Imagine being a puppet for Qatar and not even knowing it. I wonder what percentage of those professors are useful idiots and what percentage are malevolent actors?

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Puck's avatar

" Since “Palestinian Studies” is wholly congruent with “anti-Zionism,” that makes it effectively antisemitic. As Jews worldwide can feel in their bones, “anti-Zionism” is largely a form of antisemitism."

Consider the following:

1. If you believe all citizens have a right to vote — oh, but not women. They belong barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. Does that make you a Misogynist?

2. If you believe all adults have a right to gainful employment — oh, but not Blacks. They belong on the plantation. Does that make you a Racist?

3. If you believe all consenting adults have a right to marriage — oh, but not Gays. They belong in conversion therapy or at the back of the closet. Does that make you a Homophobe?

4. If you believe all Indigenous peoples have a right to their ancestral lands — oh, but not the Plains Indians. They belong in residential schools. Does that make you an Aborigophobe?

5. If you believe all Indigenous peoples have a right to their ancestral lands — oh, but not the Jews. They belong in Poland or Germany or Pale of Settlement. Does that not make you an Antisemite?

Another couple of questions:

If you believe Arabs have a religious right to "Palestine" because in 621 CE Mohammed dreamt he rode his winged ass to heaven at the Temple Mount turned municipal garbage dump?

If so, do Jews have a religious right to Israel because God proposed a covenant with Abraham whose core was a promised land? That God's intention to fulfill this Covenant was reconfirmed with Abraham's son, Isaac, and grandson, Jacob? That the Covenant was signed at Sinai, sealed at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, and delivered when Joshua entered the Promised Land circa 1406 BCE?

If the Quran itself confirms this Covenant (Surah 5:21 "O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has destined for you, and do not turn back or else you will become losers"), which claim, the Muslim or Jewish one, has more religious validity?

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Warren Hoskins's avatar

So well written - your line ' utterly at odds with both the truth and with free inquiry ' sums up the evil conscripts that is rife in academia worldwide. I am disgusted to see from SOAS in London their Jew hating. Will challenge them - thanks

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Anonymous's avatar

Palestinian studies = Nazi Studies

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Doug Israel's avatar

Hell "Middle East Studies " is itself devoted entirely to destroying the legitimacy of Israel. One can't even imagine what "Palestinian Studies" would be like. I assume their main text would be Mein Kampf.

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ToTheZ's avatar

A total crock, just like the made up history of these people who were the detritus of the Ottoman empire, not a nation. Scattered peasants who refused to cooperate with their neighbors because of their backward code of face and honor, and gullibility. More evidence of the American academy being utterly corrupt.

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John R. Grout's avatar

This is the context in which academics debate the future of Israel. At the Urbana (IL) City Council meeting, they engage in vehement argument and as frequently and angrily as allowed… except that no one speaks for the Jews. NO ONE! There are days where I think the entire UIUC Liberal Arts faculty (minus the scientists) should be offered in sacrifice as if they were so many demons spawned in Hell. Satan might well consider them too dangerous to allow within his Hell.

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Anonymous's avatar

I would suggest that all “Studies” courses are the same when it comes to Jews and Israel. I would also suggest that a large number of pro-Hamas demonstrators are majoring in black studies, feminist studies, Chicano studies, etc.

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Kafr Dhimmi's avatar

Thanks for sharing this is almost as good as your prior piece you know the protocols, we live in a crazy world, chosen for what, by whom. I have questions.

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Mark Urho's avatar

Precisely. Excellent writing. They know what they do . Never trust terrorists whose only purpose is to destroy America and Israel and establish huge, global Qaliphate with Jerusalem as their capital and Sharia law all over the world. Islam is a political movement for conquer the world under Sharia law dressed as a religion. This is the final battle of evil and good going on. The Third Temple and the Kingdom of Israel (Davidic Dynasty) are ETERNAL and Sanhedrin is also in the Third Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem Very Soon Baruch HaShem. The final peace comes after Shechinah is dwelling in the Third Temple on the Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. Muslims Ramadan month has started and it is getting harder and harder. IT IS ALL ABOUT JERUSALEM AND MOUNT MORIAH 🙌🙏🔥🇮🇱✡️❤️✡️🇮🇱🙌🙏🔥HASHEM has the control of everything everywhere all the time 🙌🙏🔥The TORAH IS ETERNAL 🙌🙏🔥🇮🇱✡️❤️✡️🇮🇱🙌🙏🔥

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Peggy Walt's avatar

Excellent piece - thank you! Despite current Canadian/US laws, I managed to publish it on my Facebook page (guess it didn't trigger as being from a "news" media outlet). And who will "like" it there? Only fellow Jews, and a handful (maybe 2...) very brave allies. Regardless....thank you!

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