November 19, 2004
U.S. Representative Anthony D. Weiner
1112 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Fax: (202) 226-2253
Dear Congressman Weiner:
We are writing on behalf of Jews Against the Occupation (JATO) to express our outrage at your recent press release urging Columbia University President Lee Bollinger to fire Professor Joseph Massad and publicly denounce antisemitism on campus.
JATO is a nonsectarian group of progressive, secular and religious Jews of all ages and backgrounds who live throughout metropolitan New York City and advocate for peace through justice for both Palestinians and Israelis. JATO has existed since the fall of 2000, having formed shortly after the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Along with many American Jews, JATO does not support the Israeli military occupation of Palestine. We take seriously the matter of antisemitism and maintain that the security and safety of Jews everywhere are unattainable as long as the Palestinian people remain subjugated. We believe that a lasting peace must be achieved through mutual respect and recognition of all peoples’ inherent right to self-determination.
Professor Joseph Massad is a respected and renowned scholar whose pedagogy and research are consonant with the highest academic standards of professionalism. His writings on the Middle East have been published in peer-reviewed journals and by esteemed publishing houses throughout the world. He has fostered excellent relationships with dozens of Jewish students at a university campus recognized for its large and vocal Zionist community. By publicly recommending Professor Massad’s dismissal on the basis of rumor and hearsay that attribute a “racist” and “antisemitic” component to his academic work simply because it joins the international community in questioning U.S. and Israeli policy towards Palestine, you not only act irresponsibly but place your office in that long-reviled tradition of scapegoating and intolerance against which your laudable condemnation of antisemitism otherwise stands.
We therefore urge you to retract
your call for Professor Massad’s firing and, in the interest of
maintaining academic freedom in this country, issue instead a public
apology that celebrates and condones his research and pedagogy.
Representatives from JATO are happy to meet with you to discuss this
matter. We would ask for no more than a short period in which to
elaborate our concerns. You may reach our voice-mail at (212)
539-6683. We look forward to meeting with you and thank you in
advance for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
JATO Political Track