March 3, 2005
Joel I. Klein, Chancellor
New York City Board of Education
52 Chambers Street
New York, New York 10007
Fax: (212) 374-5584
Dear Chancellor Klein:
We are writing you on behalf of Jews Against the Occupation (JATO)
to share our views with you about recent events at Columbia
University that have apparently influenced your decision to dismiss
Professor Rashid Khalidi, Director of the Middle East Institute and
eminent historian at Columbia University, from the New York City
teacher training program on Israel-Palestine conflict curriculum
development.
JATO is a nonsectarian group of progressive, secular and religious
Jews of all ages and backgrounds who live throughout metropolitan
New York City. We advocate for peace through justice for both
Palestinians and Israelis, and have existed since the fall of 2000.
Along with many North 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 determine their future.
After careful review of the facts surrounding the events at
Columbia, members of JATO are incredulous that you have seen fit to
base a professional decision that affects the education of New York
City students upon scurrilous information disseminated by the New
York Sun. The Sun is upfront about its
ideologically motivated smear campaign against professors who
criticize Israeli policy. Its coverage of the limited-release David
Project film, Columbia Unbecoming, which purports to uncover
faculty intimidation of students in Columbia University's Middle
East Studies classrooms, merely repeats the movie's unsubstantiated
allegations without any additional investigation or contestation. An
excellent article by Leil Leibovitz in the generally pro-Israel
The Jewish Week (http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=10049)
exposes the film's flimsy evidence by interviewing students depicted
therein and finding most of them supportive of the very faculty
lambasted by the film.
Members of JATO, along with many other analysts of this issue,
believe that all of our safety and well-being is jeopardized, and a
cycle of violence and suppression is perpetuated, when responsible
decision-making is replaced by capitulation to bias and hearsay. By
barring Professor Khalidi from the New York City teacher training
program, you act hastily and provocatively, in turn marring the
dignity of your office. Professor Khalidi's scholarly perspectives
on the Israel-Palestine conflict are widely respected as credible,
valuable, and sound, even by those who disagree with him such as
Arthur Hertzberg, an authority on Zionism and Jewish history and an
eminent professor at Columbia. (See The Jewish Week, http://www.thejewishweek.com/top/editletcontent.php3?artid=3811&print=yes.)
JATO urges you to reinstate Professor Khalidi to the New York City
teacher training program on Israel-Palestine conflict curriculum
development. Members of JATO are available to discuss this matter
with you over the telephone or in person. You may reach our
voicemail at (212) 539-6683 or the undersigned at (212) 580-8081.
Sincerely,
Jews Against the Occupation
Cc: Lee C. Bollinger, President, Columbia University <bollinger@columbia.edu>