By Robert Kaufman, , Seattle
I am glad to see the JTNews giving the Evergreen issue the coverage it deserves (“Evergreen: The hard conversation not taking place about Israel,” Dec. 10).
In an op-ed I wrote (“The tragic indoctrination of Rachel Corrie,” June 25), I referred to a student who had published a vitriolic letter in the school paper condemning Israel for intercepting the “peace flotilla” and giving full support to the position of Hamas, whose charter not only demands the total destruction of Israel but encourages the Muslim annihilation of the Jewish people. The student, whose name I withheld out of respect for her privacy, proudly announced that she was a Jew.
Now that she has named herself in the latest article I can identify the author of the
article. Her name is Emily Weisberg. She was quoted in defense of the tolerant atmosphere at Evergreen, but I regret to inform her that she is actually the star witness for the prosecution.
Of course you have no problem stating your views at Evergreen. You are totally supporting the position of the faculty, led by Prof. Steve Niva, who ran from the hall when I questioned him on his views at his talk at the University of Washington in 2008. If you will take a break from the torrent of anti-Israel invective that is your daily diet, and study some real Jewish history, you will find that in every generation there were Jews who sought safety and acceptance from their neighbors by giving up everything Jewish in their lives and turning state’s witness against their fellow Jews. From the apostates of the Middle Ages to the Soviet Anti-Zionist Committee, to today’s “I don’t hate Jews, just Zionists,” the pattern is always the same.
Sorry, Emily, but your school is totally intolerant to anyone who dares question the prevailing dogma. I challenge you to study the information from the other side and try questioning what is unquestionable at Evergreen. You might even develop some pride in your people and our heritage, and well-deserved contempt for the distorters of the truth who are attacking us.