I became aware of the American Historical Association’s meeting in Atlanta where they are planning to reintroduce the same motion that was voted down in January of 2015.
Here is the video of Jeffrey Herf who rallied historians to vote negatively on this proposition. He thoroughly exposed the speciousness of the arguments put forth by the HAW – Historians Against the War. And yet here they are putting forth the same tired arguments with many “historians” signing onto it.
https://vimeo.com/128367222
And here is the current resolution with a list of all the members of the American History Association who have signed onto it and are set to vote on the same proposition at the 2015 Atlanta meeting.
I am not impressed by the credentials of all these historians. On the contrary, I think they should reconsider their signing onto this kind of resolution that has very little to do with historical scholarship. And if they really were to explore this with a historian’s eye as Prof. Jeffrey Herf did, they would think twice before signing onto this kind of proposition.
I share below the full proposition:
Protecting the Right to Education in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
WHEREAS, members of the historical profession support the Right to Education, including the universal access to higher education enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
WHEREAS, the Right to Education can be exercised only when students and faculty have the freedom of movement to teach and study at institutions of their choice;
WHEREAS, Israel’s restrictions on the movement of faculty, staff and visitors in the West Bank impede instruction at Palestinian institutions of higher learning;
WHEREAS, Israel routinely refuses to allow students from Gaza to travel in order to pursue higher education abroad or at West Bank universities;
WHEREAS, the Right to Education is undermined when state authorities raid or close campuses;
WHEREAS, in summer 2014, Israel bombarded fourteen institutions of higher learning in Gaza, partially or completely destroying nine, and its military routinely invades campuses in Jerusalem and the West Bank and frequently impedes entry;
WHEREAS, the Right to Education can be exercised only with access to a broad range of ideas and a diverse faculty; and
WHEREAS, Israel restricts the right to lecture or teach at Palestinian universities by denying entry to select foreign nationals, including US citizens; therefore, be it
Resolved, That the AHA upholds the rights of Palestinian faculty and students to pursue their education and research freely; and
Resolved, That the AHA calls for the reversal of Israeli policies that restrict the freedom of movement, including denial of entry to foreign nationals; and
Resolved, That the AHA calls for the cessation of physical attacks on Palestinian educational institutions; and
Resolved, That the AHA commits itself to monitoring Israeli actions restricting the right to education in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.1
Signatories
Signatories of the “Protecting the Right to Education in the Occupied Palestinian Territories” resolution who are AHA members in good standing as of November 1, 2015.
Paul Adams, Shippensburg University
Kevan Aguilar, University of California, San Diego
Guy Aronoff, Humboldt State University
Silvia Marina Arrom, Brandeis University
Jeanie Attie, Long Island University
Aaron Bae, Arizona State University
Marc Becker, Truman State University
Jonathan Beecher, University of California, Santa Cruz
Joel Beinin, Stanford University
Norman Bennett, Boston University
Jade Bettine, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Allison Blakely, Boston University
Renate Bridenthal, Brooklyn College, CUNY
Kaye Briegel, California Stater University, Long Beach
Michelle Campos, University of Florida
Alejandro Cañeque, University of Maryland
Juan Carona Zabala, University of California, San Diego
Clayborne Carson, Stanford University
Amy Chazkel, CUNY, Queens College and the Graduate Center
Bruce Cohen, Worcester State University
Deborah Cohen, University of Missouri, St. Louis
Juan Cole, University of Michigan
Sandi Cooper, College of Staten Island, CUNY
Paul Croce, Stetson University
Kenneth Cuno, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Daniel Czitrom, Mount Holyoke College
Leena Dallasheh, Humboldt State University
Natalie Davis, Princeton University
James D’Emilo, University of South Florida
Jennifer Derr, University of California, Santa Cruz
Dennis Deslippe, Franklin & Marshall College
Sandra Deutsch, University of Texas, El Paso
Alan Dillingham, Spring Hills College
Justus Doenecke, New College of Florida
Thomas Dublin, SUNY, Binghamton
Carolyn Eisenberg, Hofstra University
Geoff Eley, University of Michigan
Mark Elliot, University of North Carolina, Greensboro
Marjorie Feld Babson College
Thomas Field, Embry-Riddle University
Eileen Findlay, American University
Jerise Fogel, Montclair State University
Tami J. Friedman, Brock University
Warren Goldstein, University of Hartford
Stephen S. Gosch, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Van Gosse, Franklin & Marshall College
Marc Goulding, University of Central Oklahoma
Karen Graubart, University of Notre Dame
Anthony Gronowicz, Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY
Martin Halpern, Henderson State University
Elizabeth Heineman, University of Iowa
Kelly Herold, University of Nebraska at Kearney
Luis Herran Avila, New School for Social Research
Gerald Horne, University of Houston
David Hostetter
Temma Kaplan, Rutgers University
Rebecca Karl, New York University
Mary Kelley, University of Michigan
Jeffrey Kerr-Ritchie, Howard University
Dina Khoury, George Washington University
Peter Kirstein, St. Xavier University
Thomas Klubock, University of Virginia
Dennis Kortheuer, California Stater University, Long Beach
Scott Laderman, University of Minnesota, Duluth
Jesse Lemisch, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY
Deborah T. Levenson, Boston College
Zachary Lockman, New York University
Henry Maar, University of California, Santa Barbara
Andrae Marak, Governors State University
MJ Maynes, University of Minnesota
Teresa Meade, Union College
Shane Minkin, University of the South
Marissa J. Moorman, Governors State University
Regina Morantz-Sanchez, University of Michigan
Ruth Mostern, University of California, Merced
John Munro, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax
Pamela Murray, University of Alabama, Birmingham
Melanie J. Newton, University of Toronto
Mary Nolan, New York University
Enrique Ochoa, California State University, Los Angeles
Melina Pappademos, University of Connecticut
Prasannan Parthasarathi, Boston College
Roger Peace, Tallahassee Community College
Samuel Pearson, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
Lewis Perry, St. Louis University
Jeffrey B. Perry, Independent Scholar
Margaret Power, Illinois Institute of Technology
Jean H. Quataert, Binghamton University
Michael Reagan, University of Washington
Thomas Ricks
Alfred Rieber, Central European University and University of Pennsylvania
Shira Robinson, George Washington University
Sonya Rose, University of Michigan
Karin Rosemblatt, University of Maryland
Ellen Ross, Ramapo University
Doug Rossinow, Metropolitan State University
Adam Sabra, University of California, Santa Barbara
Sara Scalenghe, Loyola University Maryland
Johanna Schoen, Rutgers University
Ellen Schrecker, Yeshiva University
Kirsten Schultz, Seton Hall University
Joan Scott, Institute for Advanced Study
Paul Seaver, Stanford University
Robert Shaffer, Shippensburg University
Martin J. Sherwin, George Mason University
Daniel Sidorick, Rutgers University
Robyn Spencer, Lehman College
Paul Spickard, University of California, Santa Barbara
Ted Steinberg, Case Western University
David Suisman, University of Delaward
James Swarts, State University of New York at Geneseo
Dennis Sweeney, University of Alberta
Carol Symes, University of Illinois
Lynn Thomas, University of Washington
Judith Tucker, Georgetown University
Daniel Walkowitz, New York University
Frank A. Warren, Queens College
Barbara Weinstein, New York University
Robert Whealey, Ohio University
Jon Wiener, University of California, Irvine
Carol Williams, University of Lethbridge
Rhonda Y. Williams, Case Western Reserve University
Lawrence Wittner, University of Albany
Marilyn B. Young, New York University
James Young, Montgomery County Community College
Andrew Zimmerman, George Washington University
Note
1. For documentation, see http://historiansagainstwar.org/aha16/.
I hope all of the above professors will be reading this post. I have already reached out to several professors who are planning to promote this resolution. Judith Tucker (Georgetown University). Tucker will be chairing a “Roundtable on Violations of Academic Freedom in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,”
Andrew Zimmerman and Shira Robinson (George Washington U.)
Robinson will be giving a talk accusing Israeli archives of “forgetting the Palestinians” and Zimmerman is scheduled to chair a session on “Boycott Campaigns: California, South Africa, Palestine.” Prof. Prasannan Parthasarathi of Boston College, another sponsor of the resolution condemning Israel, will also be speaking at the AHA assembly in Atlanta. Barbara Weinstein (NYU), Robyn Spencer (Lehman College) and Luis Herran Avila (New School for Social Research) and Geoff Eley of the University of Michigan are all apparently speaking out in support of this resolution.
On the other hand I just received this article about a Palestinian professor, Dr. Mohammed S. Dajani Daoudi formerly from Al Quds university.
A Lonely Palestinian Moderate
Dr Mohammed S. Dajani Daoudi, the Weston Fellow at the Washington Institute of Near East Policy, was once a Fatah activist in Beirut determined to destroy the Israeli enemy. These days, though, he speaks of peace. Dr. Dajani, a secular Muslim and founder of American graduate studies at Al-Quds University in east Jerusalem who now lives in Washington DC, made headlines last year when he took Palestinian graduate students on a study tour of Auschwitz. The idea was to expose Palestinian students to the attempted Nazi genocide of the Jewish People, something standard Palestinian education promotes as exaggerated at best, mythological fantasy at worst. But Dr. Dajani couldn’t have anticipated the outrage that followed. He lost his job at Al-Quds, and Palestinian critics torched his car and threatened his life. Despite these personal setbacks, he remains steadfast in his determination to establish a model for peace and reconciliation between Palestinians and Jews. “We, as a generation, have inherited this conflict, so it is important that we leave for our children a peace inheritance. We seek reconciliation in the midst of conflict,” he told Mishpacha. “The idea is that moderation leads to reconciliation; reconciliation paves the way for negotiations with good spirit and good will, which leads to conflict resolution, which will lead to democracy and prosperity.”Scholars of history should stick to scholarship and measure their actions.
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