Professor Fred Gottheil of the University of Illinois performed an unusual experiment. He researched the backgrounds of some 900 academics who signed a petition against Israel, and discovered that many of them were in gender or women's studies departments.
Gottheil then prepared a petition protesting human rights violations in Middle Eastern countries, primarily those against women, gays and lesbians and emailed 675 signatories of the original petition, asking them to sign his. Almost none did so.
His explanation: these academics are primarily anti-US or anti-capitalist, with the defining issue being opposition to Israel. They are interested in their academic specialities primarily because those fields allow them to criticize the status quo here. Actually caring about women or minorities is in last place.
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6 comments:
hi Leslie,
thanks for posting this, indeed a really insightful, though not astonishing result. Gottheil argues, that even those hypocritical academics, employed in departments dedicated to womens rights etc., do not care when it comes to Arabs or Muslims who treat women like a piece of shit. Those American (or German, or French etc.) academics are really ugly people, I mean: really bad personalities and - yes! - racists! They just do not care when it comes to women in Saudi Arabia, because protesting the Saudis is not fashionable and what counts supporting a Saudi woman facing a death threat because of sex with a stranger, compared with attacking a Jew in Israel?
Dr. Gottheil's Statement of Concern is now posted at PetitionsOnline.com, and is accepting signatures from anyone willing to speak out against human rights abuses in the Middle East. As you're obviously interested in the story, I urge you to step up and sign it: Support Regarding Discrimination in the Middle East against Women, Gays, and Lesbians Petition
Obviously, we'll be counting on everyone here to reply to this request.
I went to PetitionOnline, as repsac3 recommended, but did not sign the petition because I didn't like it. I agree with the idea of protesting human rights violations in the Middle East, but the text criticized Prof. Gottheil in a way that I consider very unfair. I would be very happy to sign another, clean version, and to recommend that my blog readers do same.
Since mine is the only version currently posted, I can only request that you (or someone else here) post your own version, then.
Here is the link to do so: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/create_petition.html
(Feel free to copy the text from my petition, or from FrontPage Magazine.)
I'm sorry you felt I was unfair to Dr. Gottheil, but that is the way I see the situation, up to now.
Thanks for trying, in any case, and let me know if you post your "clean" version. (I'd certainly be willing to provide links to both in future, when soliciting signatures.)
I reviewed the petition offered on my blog site, and I too disagree with certain aspects of repsac3's view on the matter..However, I decided to sign it anyways as the fact of the matter is whether we agree on the "motives" of Dr. Gottheil, we should all be in support of highlighting the gross abuses suffered within the middle east...If as Leslie suggested it is cleaned up a bit, I welcome anyone to post it on my blog and I will be happy to encourage my readers to sign it...
Thank you, Canadian... I ask for nothing more, and I hope others follow your lead.
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