Comments on: Barghouti to Advocate Boycotting Israel at the University of Minnesota

By: Annon

Annon — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:50:27 +0000

Letters have been written and signed by leaders of a number of U of M institutes, including the Student and Faculty Presidents. Not to mention Humphrey, who also wrote a letter against the boycott of Israel. Right now it seems as if their movement is dead in the water, but if it grows legs there will definitely be work to do.

We have video of the whole speaker (Omar) if anyone missed it. If anyone is interested, e-mail UMN@Mpls2020.com. Thanks for the great article

By: Paula Maccabee

Paula Maccabee — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:21:23 +0000

An Arab calling for a boycott of Jews, using the Palestinian “cause” as a mantle for a goal to destroy the state of Israel. An American university incapable of responding to even the most extreme and deceptive political fringe due to its own concept of “academic freedom.” Some things never change. . .

By: Yehoshua

Yehoshua — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:03:26 +0000

There are two kinds of anti-Semites: stupid ones and clever ones. Stupid ones march through the streets, throw rocks and shout “Throw the Jews into the sea!” The clever ones say are just criticizing Israel and hide behind the so-called human rights farce. If one has actually been to Israel they would know how much better they live than in Lebanon, Jordan, or any one of their twenty-some countries. I don’t recall any boycotts against China, or Turkey who just recently bombed Kurds in Kurdistan, or Russia with Chechnya? To single out Israel can only be construed as the obvious. I still can’t get over why the Extreme Left is so anti-Israel (as is the Extreme-Right), especially when comparing Israel to its neighbors, including Gaza. Israel in general much more closely represents liberal Western values as we enjoy here in America and Europe. I wonder if Hamas has implemented their new law on crucifying gays? I’m sure the wonderfully enlightened UN Human Rights Council will run right out to investigate.

By: ML

ML — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:47:13 +0000

David, what does any of that have to do with a boycott of academic institutions? And what are his very good reasons, exactly?

By: David

David — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:41:56 +0000

Barghouti is advocating a boycott for very good reasons. The state of Israel has committed atrocities against the people of Palestine, violating international law and its own laws (specifically regarding illegal settlements), and this should be discussed openly. It is also appalling that our tax payer dollars pay for this kind of activity (since you’re so worried about public dollars and how they’re being used at the university of Minnesota). To be fair, I also think that the recent reports that Hamas has committed war crimes must be aired as well, so let’s have an open and frank discussion about human rights and democracy and our responsibilities to ALL people in this conflict, not just the Palestinians or Israelis (many of whom are Arab, by the way).