Ms. Tawil’s December 5, 2006, Wespeak is very cute. She does not deny that the Grand Mufti was a Nazi who recruited Palestinians for the Waffen SS; she does not deny that Palestinian nationalism has its intellectual roots in Nazism; she does not deny that Alison Weir is anti-Semitic; she does not deny that journalists broadcast Palestinians literally dancing in the streets on September 11, 2001. Rather, she writes to claim that it is racist to say these things because they are somehow irrelevant. In Ms. Tawil’s view, it is irrelevant whether a group at Wesleyan invited a speaker who is notorious for espousing anti-Semitic views, but it is a racist act worthy of comment to call that person and her ideas anti-Semitic. Whatever…
Question to Ms. Tawil: You point out that Wesleyan students have not asked how your Lebanese family fared during the war. (Unless they were associated with Hezbollah, it’s a pretty safe bet that they fared just fine). How many Wesleyan students with relatives in Israel have you approached about the fate of their families?
P.S. to Tarek Sami: Query whether your objection to the aid provided to Israel is simple concern for the American taxpayer; do you also object to the billions provided the Palestinian Authority since 1993? Of course, most of that money ended up in the private bank accounts of Arafat and his cronies (as the PA concedes). But its still Israel’s and America’s fault that the Palestinians are poor, right? Also, is your complaint some specific Israeli act or just its, you know, existing? Not to suggest that your sarcasm might be covering up bigoted views or anything.
Leave a Reply