Friday December 25, 2015

I've Been Thinking:

A world famous Arab expert in Islam, Dr. Omer Salem, was heckled at the University of Haifa.

From news coverage these days one would naturally think that the hecklers were Israeli Jews. But no, it was not Israeli Jews who heckled Dr. Salem.

Two Palestinian psychology students disrupted the lecture. They called Salem a collaborator and said that he had Palestinian blood on his hands.

Dr Omer Salem was born in Egypt. He teaches at Yale University. His area is what Islam thinks of Jews and the opposite and he has created an institute for bringing Jews and Arabs together. Salem focuses on Israel and also deals with other areas of the Middle East.

The hecklers shouted that "the blood of martyrs is spilled and you get the middle finger." In Arabic and Hebrew the expression is graphic and vulgar. In English - well, you get the idea. The hecklers shouted that Salem "should just go back to Egypt and solve their problems."

These two students succeeded in stopping the meeting. It was all caught on tape. Security came. The hecklers were referred to the university's committee on disciple.

The university responded by saying that it is unacceptable to disturb a presentation in an academic institution. The students will be punished. Freedom of expression and academic independence are essential.

The sad part is that these students represent the Balad party, an Israeli Arab party which is represented in the Israeli parliament. These students clearly have difficulty with freedom of speech.
There are ways to protest and ways to disagree. Heckling and being disrespectful is not a time honored democratic principle, However, freedom of speech and freedom of expression are.

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