Jihad Watch Board Veep Hugh Fitzgerald writes in FrontPage about Columbia acadhimmi Lisa Anderson:
A faculty member at Columbia since 1986, Lisa Anderson is described in her biography as “one of this country’s most eminent scholars of the Middle East and North Africa.” But Anderson is the author of one book, The State and Social Transformation in Tunisia and Libya, 1830-1980, and only an editor, co-editor, or contributor of articles to other books. Most recently, she was one of the four co-editors of The Origins of Arab Nationalism, with Rashid Khalidi, Muhammad Muslim, and Reeva S. Simon.Administration is apparently her forte and primary interest: setting up conferences, fund-raising, putting out fires, and the other hectic vacancies of modern university life, seems to agree with her. She currently serves as the dean of the School of International and Public Affairs; she has been president of the Middle East Studies Association. In addition, she is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Carnegie Council on Ethics, the Social Science Research Council, and is co-chair of Human Rights/Middle East.
Her most recent achievement was in raising money, almost entirely from Arab sources for an “Edward Said Chair in Middle Eastern Studies.” Though Edward Said was neither a scholar or teacher of either Islam, or of the Middle East, but a celebrated polemicist, Anderson found nothing peculiar in naming this chair after him—rather as if one had decided to create the “Noam Chomsky Chair in American Political Theory.” Indeed, she managed to raise $4 million, and was instrumental in keeping the sources of that funding secret for as long as possible. Much effort had to be expended to persuade Columbia to reveal those sources, though New York State Law requires such information to be reported when it involves foreign funds.
Read it all.
Let me guess: Brasil? Andorra?No?
What's that, you say 'Saudi Arabbbia?" where is that? Never heard of such a thing...
Wasn't it GB Shaw who famously observed, "those who can do, and those who cannot teach". Seems Anderson can't do that or she would be doing that instead of busying herself with "...setting up conferences, fund-raising, putting out fires, and the other hectic vacancies of modern university life..." all with a very political agenda.
The following is an exchange between Dean Lisa Anderson of Columbia's School of Public and International Affairs (SIPA) and me following the infamous SIPA conference in September 2002 on Israeli "occupation and apartheid," policy. Note the civil discourse at the conference with panelists and a member of the audience who approached me at the conclusion.
As I pointed out to Bob and Hugh this morning in a separate email that Dean Lisa Anderson of Columbia's SIPA is a protege of Martin Kramer of the Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University. That is not to cast aspersions on Professor Kramer, but rather to use the Star Wars analogy that Dean Anderson like Annikin Skywalker has opted for the power of the dark side of the Siths.
Subj: Fwd: Re: WCAR Redux: "A South African Conversation on Israel and Palestine"
Date: 10/31/02 3:16:51 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: la8@columbia.edu
To: Chinese Gordon
CC: jl25@columbia.edu
Sent from the Internet
Herewith, your e-mail and my reply. Its so good to know I am not the only
person who loses my own e-mail!
LA
>Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 09:35:47 -0400
>To: Chinese Gordon
>From: Lisa Anderson
>Subject: Re: WCAR Redux: "A South African Conversation on Israel and
>Palestine"
>Cc: george.bulow@verizon.net, harrisd@ajc.org, franklind@ajc.org,
>renertj@ajc.org, dcohen, jo, mmamdani, rsimon
>
>
>Dear Mr. Gordon,
>
>For better or worse, I don't seem to be able to download the document you
>attached to your letter. I do not think I need to, however, to respond to
>your note.
>
>I am sorry that I myself was out of the country during the conference
>since I would have liked to attend. The issues it addressed are difficult
>and painful ones, about which, as you well know, there is considerable
>controversy. I think the university is an appropriate place for the airing
>and exploration of controversial questions, including the view that
>Israel's policy in the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza is analogous
>to South Africa's discredited policy of apartheid. In the present
>atmosphere, it is hard to have a conversation about this sort of question
>without being provocative and provoked, and I am sure there were failures
>of civility. That I certainly regret. Still, wholly apart from my
>personal opinions about matters like this, I think it is very important
>that universities like Columbia provide environments in which complex,
>even painful ideas are aired. In this, as in many other things, I believe
>that sunshine is the best disinfectant.
>
>Once again, let me express my regret at whatever inappropriate behavior
>may have taken place in the heat of the exchanges. I hope and expect that
>we will continue to offer public programming about controversial issues,
>and I hope and expect that they will generate light as well as heat.
>
>Best wishes,
>
>Lisa Anderson
>
>
>
>
>At 08:28 AM 9/24/2002 -0400, Chinese Gordon wrote:
>>Dean Lisa Anderson:
>>
>>I had the pleasure of meeting and hearing both you and Professor Martin
>>Kramer at a national seminar of the American Jewish Committee last fall.
>>I am a member of the board of the New York City chapter of the AJC and
>>its diplomatic outreach committee. I found your presentation last fall on
>>the looming dangers in the Arab lands cogent, compelling and supported by
>>high standards of academic scholarship. It was certainly a wake up call
>>to the realities of the post 911 world environment and issues.
>>
>>When I attended last Friday morning's session of the Seminar program: "A
>>South African Conversation on Israel and Palestine," I was confronted
>>with something else: World Conference Against Racism, redux. Even to the
>>extent of being called a Zionist racist pig in a confrontation by a
>>seminar attendee-see below.
>>
>>Not on the video record was a hand scribbled poster by an activist in the
>>audience entitled: "The ANC didn't blow up schoolchildren." This was an
>>obvious reference to the homicide bombing that had occurred in Israel the
>>prior day that killed several innocents and injured dozens.
>>
>>I had gone to hear the presentation of Mr. Jeff Halper of The Israel
>>Committee against House demolitions entitled Nishul (Displacement);
>>Israel's Form of Apartheid-see attached paper and handout.
>>
>>During the Q+A following Mr. Halper's presentation and those of
>>discussants Nadia Abu El-Haj of Barnard College and Andre du Toit of the
>>University of Cape Town, I put on the record an observation and a question.
>>
>>The observation was a quote from an Egyptian national hero and Arab
>>playwright, Tawfiq al-Hakim to wit:
>>
>>"Unlike the British and the Dutch who had colonized Southern Africa
>>without having any historic links with that region, the Zionist who
>>settled Palestine was returning to a homeland he had inhabited in the past."
>>
>>I also asked Mr. Halper if his concept in Hebrew of Nishul met the
>>standard of "symmetry" as regarded the plight of the more than 800,000
>>Mizhrahi and Mahgrabi Jews dispossessed from Arab lands.
>>
>>My assertion was roundly dismissed by the presenter and discussants as
>>being irrelevant and intellectually not the same as the Palestinian case.
>>Further, they suggested that those Jews dispossessed from Arab lands
>>should seek compensation from those Muslim countries. In their view, it
>>was not the same case as was the alleged Palestinian "displacement." Mr.
>>Halper went further to say that in the specific case of Iraq that Israeli
>>provocateurs blew up synagogues in that country to scare Iraqi Jews into
>>leaving.
>>
>>Following the seminar, I found myself confronted by a member of the
>>audience who virulently asked me if I was a Zionist. I answered in the
>>affirmative and was called a racist pig!!
>>
>>Civil discourse and debate? Hardly. Professional seminars usually are
>>hallmarked by presentations challenged intellectually by
>>discussants. Unfortunately at this SIPA conference there was none, save
>>for my lone question.
>>
>>Professor Mahmood Mamdani, Director of the Institute of African studies
>>set the tone when he replied in his August 19th email to a colleague and
>>fellow Columbia alumnus, George Bulow, thus:
>>
>>>
>>>We announced the Conference several months ago with the following
>>>statement: “If Palestine/Israel seems today's most intractable global
>>>problem, then apartheid South Africa surely occupied that place
>>>yesterday. This workshop offers a conversation amongst prominent
>>>activist intellectuals -- mainly South African, some Israeli and
>>>Palestinian -- hoping to harness the lessons of South Africa for greater
>>>clarity on contemporary Palestine/Israel.
>>
>>
>>I was further dismayed to find out in Professor Mamdani's opening remarks
>>that this program had been funded by the Columbia University Academic
>>Quality fund under its "new initiatives" program and the center for
>>National Studies of your institution, the School of International and
>>Public Affairs.
>>
>>If assertions are left unchallenged in academic debate, then the growth
>>of new ideas is stifled. I thought this was the best tradition of the
>>University seminars that I attended at my alma mater. It would appear
>>that I was mistaken.
>>
>>Instead of passing my comments for reply by Professor Mamdani, I would
>>urge you to take the time out of your busy schedule and read the attached
>>paper by Mr. Halper, view the video of his presentation at the seminar.
>>
>>I would hope to have the courtesy of a reply from you.
>>
>>
>>Respectfully yours.
>>
>>
>>Chinese Gordon
>>Columbia Business School, Class of 1962
>>
This is slightly off topic but has to do with academics...Dhimmitude beaten off at school by ticked off mother...A poster named Slayerkendra, posted a complaint to the administrator of ATC...Anti-terror coordinator, that her sons teacher was going to teach Islam in class. The administrator told her to go to the superintendant and assert herself. She did so and posted this AM, that the words "lawer", "lawsuit", scared them off. Their sanity was restored and Islam will not be taught this school...Slayerkendra gets duh swami's award for perpetual excellence...
Here is the link to the story on the funding of the Edward Said Chair in Middle Eastern Studies, and the attempt to keep the identity of sources with Palestinian Authority and Saudi connections hidden:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=10835
It appears from this story that not all sources had been accounted for. Any new information?
I should click before I speak.
At the bottom of this page (provided by Martin Kramer)among the updates is a list of donors:
http://www.geocities.com/martinkramerorg/2003_09_08.htm