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Defend Professor Leighton Armitage!
Leighton Armitage, Adjunct Political Science Professor at Foothill College, is under serious attack for his critical remarks about Israel and the Israel lobby in an interview with the campus newspaper. What follows is a letter in support of Professor Armitage that I received this morning. I have also uploaded a copy I received from another source of the controversial interview referred to.
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 06:20:47 -0800
To: "Foothill College President Bernadine Fong" <fongbernadine@foothill.edu>, "Vice President of Technology and Instruction Penny Patz" <patzpenny@foothill.edu>
From: [Name withheld by reposter]
Subject: Hands off Professor Leighton Armitage!
Cc: armitage@smccd.net, letters@mercurynews.com, opinion@smdailyjournal.com, editor@foothillsentinel.com, editor@sfbayview.com, (undisclosed recipients)
To: "Foothill College President Bernadine Fong" <fongbernadine@foothill.edu>, "Vice President of Technology and Instruction Penny Patz" <patzpenny@foothill.edu>
From: [Name withheld by reposter]
Subject: Hands off Professor Leighton Armitage!
Cc: armitage@smccd.net, letters@mercurynews.com, opinion@smdailyjournal.com, editor@foothillsentinel.com, editor@sfbayview.com, (undisclosed recipients)
Dear Ms. Fong and Ms. Patz:
I am writing to express my outrage at the persecution of
Professor Leighton Armitage for his remarks regarding Israel
and its treatment of the Palestinian people, and on the power of
Israel's supporters in the U.S.. I have read everything I have been
able to find on this matter by searching the internet (URL's
reproduced below), and can't see how there is a shred of justification
for any official investigation into or other action in relation to any
of the remarks quoted in any of the available articles. (Apparently
none of those attacking Professor Armitage have chosen to make the
original interview with the Foothill Sentinel available!)
This is not to question the right of the so-called "Anti
Defamation League " or other propagandists for Israel to
disagree with his remarks. Indeed, I would not consider his remarks on
the subject to be worth any attention if Zionist groups and
individuals didn't disagree with them or were not offended by them!
But that is a far cry from an "investigation" into his
alleged remarks by anyone who has the power to affect his professional
career. Such an "investigation" is clearly meant to
intimidate not only Professor Armitage but anybody else who
might want to speak up against Israel and Zionism, even if those
actually conducting the "investigation" are themselves
acting out of fear of Zionist political and economic power rather than
personal support for Zionism.
Defend Free Speech and Academic Freedom!
Hands Off Professor Leighton Armitage!
Defend the Palestinian People!
Sincerely,
[Name withheld by reposter]
P.S. In case it matters to you, I am an ethnic Jew -- the
descendant of four Eastern European Jews who came to the United States
about 100 years ago. I will leave it to the Zionists to decide whether
I am a "self-hating Jew" or an "anti-Semite",
since I must be one or the other according to their way of dealing
with opposition.
P.P.S. The following are the only articles I found on this
matter. I would appreciate being informed of any others that may be
available.
[End of letter!]
See also:
For more information:
http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2004/02/16781...
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You are neither. Just another propagandist fronting like you are good leftist Jew. Better luck next time...
(Posted by JA)
Editor,
I am an American Jew who is living abroad and have read about Professor Armitage’s statement on the treatment by Israel of Palestinians living under its military occupation (“CSM professor investigated for ‘anti-Semitic’ remarks” in the Feb. 11 edition of the Daily Journal).
After many journeys to the occupied territories because of my marriage to a Palestinian, I can only say that many Americans are not facing the truth about the Israeli occupation, the construction of the Wall on Palestinian land and NOT on the Green Line (what is its possible use except to confiscate land and water resources and make ghettos and prisons for the indigenous population, the Palestinians, who are the rightful owners of the land?), the fast-growing, illegal settlements (forbidden by international law) and the ethnic cleansing being conducted by the fourth military power in the world, the Israeli army, on an unarmed population. American taxpayers’ money and many donations given to Israel by the wealthy are contributing to war crimes.
Whether ethnic cleansing is committed quickly by a massacre, or slowly, by starving people and depriving them of everything: food, water, medical help, employment and education, it does amount to the same thing! This has even been stated by a former Israeli minister. And that is what is happening in the occupied territories. Preventing people from expressing their opinion about this killing is a method of killing freedom of speech.
Israel seems to be the only country which has received world condemnation for its countless breaches of international law and is treated with immunity by the United States. This is the main reason why people living outside the United States resent American policy and feel it is unbalanced with regard to the Middle East conflict. Instead of silencing opinions, one should encourage discussion. Comparisons are perhaps unfortunate but the current situation is so tragic that it should be spoken about, by all means, and not covered up.
Paula Abrams-Hourani
http://www.smdailyjournal.org/article.cfm?storyID=28166