Is Gaza’s Islamic University an Educational Institution Academics Should Be Defending?
Article posted for next week's editorial page on HNN which offers an interesting view on the recent ban on Israeli scholars in light of the bombing of the Islamic University in Gaza. While I don't necessarily agree to the 'loyalty oaths' Israeli academics are being held to in order to visit Ontario university campuses for many of the obvious reasons I can see what I presume their thinking is behind this maneouver.
Israel is seen as a modern state, it is thus held to the standards of a modern 'civilized' nation. The fair treatment of prisoners, the waging of only defensive wars, avoiding civilian targets when at all possible. Those under occupation after the war ends are expected to be able to have a number of rights and privelges. Israel because it is at times in a life or death struggle has been known to overreact on occassion which has stirred international outrage. I tend to think that the international community holds Israel accountable for bombing UN convoys, villages and universities while Palestinian outrages are ignored because we see a case of Rome vs. the Barbarians. The current fear among my politial ideology in America is that we will become just as bad as the fundamentalists who seek to destroy us in the course of our own protection. We seem to expect more of Israel than we do of Hamas and I think they inturn contribute to civilization more than Hamas but at the same time when outrages occur (on both sides) the international community has an obligation to react. While I don't support the expulsion and ban of Israeli academics who are being forced to choose between their country and their academic field I think that the state of Israel and the Palestinians should not be allowed to descend into barbarism. With that high-minded statement, I have no solution to the crisis.
Article posted for next week's editorial page on HNN which offers an interesting view on the recent ban on Israeli scholars in light of the bombing of the Islamic University in Gaza. While I don't necessarily agree to the 'loyalty oaths' Israeli academics are being held to in order to visit Ontario university campuses for many of the obvious reasons I can see what I presume their thinking is behind this maneouver.
Israel is seen as a modern state, it is thus held to the standards of a modern 'civilized' nation. The fair treatment of prisoners, the waging of only defensive wars, avoiding civilian targets when at all possible. Those under occupation after the war ends are expected to be able to have a number of rights and privelges. Israel because it is at times in a life or death struggle has been known to overreact on occassion which has stirred international outrage. I tend to think that the international community holds Israel accountable for bombing UN convoys, villages and universities while Palestinian outrages are ignored because we see a case of Rome vs. the Barbarians. The current fear among my politial ideology in America is that we will become just as bad as the fundamentalists who seek to destroy us in the course of our own protection. We seem to expect more of Israel than we do of Hamas and I think they inturn contribute to civilization more than Hamas but at the same time when outrages occur (on both sides) the international community has an obligation to react. While I don't support the expulsion and ban of Israeli academics who are being forced to choose between their country and their academic field I think that the state of Israel and the Palestinians should not be allowed to descend into barbarism. With that high-minded statement, I have no solution to the crisis.
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