ECAJ critical of conference
Richard Falk, Jeff Halper and Hanan Ashrawi are participating in a conference dealing with Human Rights in Palestine at the Australian National University in Canberra…and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry has made its views clear…
ECAJ Executive Director Peter Wertheim said: “A conference that features fringe conspiracy theorists and ideologues and omits recognised scholars in the field has no academic credibility. It is appalling that one of our top universities, the ANU, seems no longer to understand the difference between genuine scholarship and political advocacy.”
“It is disingenuous to dedicate an academic conference to the human rights of Palestinians in a vacuum that excludes all consideration of any countervailing human rights and other considerations. The conference organisers seem unwilling to recognise that Israelis living under the constant threat of annihilation for the last 65 years are also human beings with rights.”
What a nightmare, and a farce, having Falk and Ashrawi (don’t know of Jeff Halper)on board at ANU!! The Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at ANU is not exactly a nest of scholarly balance either. I suppose they’re behind this conference – throw in Professor Amin Saikal from that ‘august’ body and you’ve really got a poisonfest going.
Well, I suppose that the ECAJ comment is as good as it gets. Pity.
It might have been more appropriate and (shock, horror) honest,to point out that the ANU disgraces itself by inviting crackpots and antisemites to continue a hatefest. In providing a platform for ideological rants where one Jew hater supports the rant of the other without any attempt to deal with reality, the ANU places itself in the company of Nazi era race experts.
Pointing out politely that Jews also have rights falls far short of stating the truth: the “Palestinian” people are a KGB construct. They already have a state in Jordan and they want no state unless it means the denial of self-determination of the Jewish people. The Arabs are antisemitic supremicists whose word means nothing and are an equal hate society with a need to humiliate Jews to reinforce the superiority of their faith.
Being polite and considerate of mohammedan sensibilities has only led to a worsening of the status of Jews and the Jewish state. It is well past fight back time.
And one last thought that Jewish leaders whould heed but will do their best to suppress: there never can, nor ever should be peace between Judaism and Islam. Judaism gave the world its human values (and it has never been forgiven for that) of respect for life, for creation, for justice and law and compassion; it forms the basis of civilised societies. Islam on the other hand, is a tribal fascist cult maintained and spread through enslavement, exploitation and theft, the natural mind-set of primitive societies.
There are good people of all faiths and none, but the categories of good muslim (i.e. one dedicated to killing and dying for Allah) and good person are mutually exclusive. Our enlightened ideals are worth defending from the forces of darkness and denouncing our savage enemies is the first part of that.