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Dear Prof. Chomsky 2

This is a blog about nothing. Not about politics or the Arab-Israeli conflict. But since I posted already two posts about my conversation with Prof. Noam Chomsky, let me update you on that. After Prof. Chomsky replied in the last post, I replied the following:

Thank you Prof. Chomsky for taking some time to reply.

I already saw Mark Regev and he indeed said that. But do you think we can conclude by that the fact that Hamas, even though is the ruling power in Gaza, doesn’t have enough political strength to make other smaller groups stop their attacks on Israel?

In addition, could you please refer me to the sources in which you based your arguments regarding Iran and Hamas’ Ismael Haniyeh accepting a two-states proposal?

Thanks,

DB

Prof. Chomsky replied almost immediately:

I believe it would have been appropriate, and I hope you agree, for you to open your letter by acknowledging that your criticism was incorrect and my words were precisely accurate, as you now say you already knew. But put that aside, though you might want to think about it.

You are now raising an entirely different question. And the answer, as Regev will surely tell you (and Israeli intelligence if you proceed further), is that Hamas does not fully control other groups, like Islamic Jihad and other splinters. Israel, with incomparably more force at its command, and full control over the occupied territories extending vastly beyond what Hamas can hope to attain, was not able to stop terrorist attacks.

Note that we're discussing a footnote, about which my comments were precisely accurate. The text, which you're ignoring, is that Hamas lived up to the cease-fire fully and that total rocketing sharply declined, while Israel never for a moment lived up to the cease-fire -- as noted in my letter -- and went beyond on Nov. 4, under the cover of the US election, with a direct military violation, offering a pretext too absurd even to bother ridiculing, as Israeli commentators correctly observed.

On Haniyeh, one well-known example of his advocacy of the international consensus is http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/10/AR2006071001108.html, W Post July 12 2006. But if you just google you'll find others, including reports in the Israeli press. Of course, Israeli hasbara claims that Haniyeh didn't go far enough -- though we both know that that charge is pure cynicism, since he went far beyond what any Israeli leader has.

On Khamenei's endorsement of the Arab League position, see among others, http://www.khamenei.ir/EN/News/detail.jsp?id=20060604A. It's also well-known to Iran specialists, e.g., Ervand Abrahamian, in Barsamian ed., Targeting Iran. Again, Israeli hasbara will claim that he didn't go far enough -- just much farther than any Israeli leader.

All of this ignores the far more important facts that I reviewed briefly last night, and that I'm sure you already know. Immediately after the 67 war, Israel was informed by its highest legal advisers -- Meron and Shapira -- that any settlement in the occupied territories was a serious violation of the core of international humanitarian law, acknowledged by Moshe Dayan, who said it didn't matter. And you're I'm sure aware that for over 30 years, the US and Israel have virtually alone -- and by now completely alone -- barred the international consensus, while carrying very serious crimes in the occupied territories. If anything remotely similar were happening to Jews, I'm sure you would be the first to condone resistance, perhaps as violent as that of the Zionist resistance under the British. If so, and I presume it is so, you are hardly in a position to condemn the elected government of Palestine for not going far enough towards the international consensus (though of course much farther than Israel, the occupying power).

I think that should be clear.

Noam Chomsky

To which I replied:

Dear Prof. Chomsky,

Thank you again for taking the time to reply to me. When I said I saw Mark Regev I meant that I watched after reading your mail, so it is not the case that I was aware of that particular interview before that. I apologize if you perceived that I was being rude to you. I am thankful to have this discussion and I appreciate that you are answering me.

I just read Haniyah’s article, and I must tell you that as far as I understand, the international consensus does not include the right of return to Palestinian refugees from 1948, because that, as you may know, is an indirect denial of the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish AND Democratic state, which is the Israel that the peace movements in both sides are aspiring. The right of return to Palestinian refugees into Israel is not consistent with a two state solution. That is a fact.

Unfortunately, the link to the Iranian source didn’t work. However, how would you reconcile Iran's 'support' for a two state solution with their call to wipe Israel off the map. I believe that, aside from the Iranian sources you are sending me, there is no official declaration of the Iranian government in any international well-known news station, agency or newspaper (such as BBC for example).

Let me just say something about your assumption about me condoning ‘Jewish resistance’. I am an Israeli, born in Venezuela to a second-generation Holocaust survivors and immigrated to Israel in 2004. I was a member of Hashomer Hatzair and Peace Now (Shalom Achshav) movement, and currently an elected member in the National Convention of the Meretz Party. I am currently doing Graduate school in Harvard University. To make it clear, I condemn any act of terrorism, either Muslim, Jewish or any other form of it. I condemn Jewish settlements in the occupied territories as well simply because I believe they are an obstacle to peace and are the core of the Israeli occupation. I do not praise Begin either for his terrorist acts in the pre-state era, but I do have some respect him for bravely putting together the Peace treaty with Egypt. Similarly I respect Fatah and the PLO for accepting a two state solution and renouncing to violence. But I also condemn Palestinian violent resistance from other groups. I think it is immoral to target civilians and the Palestinian resistance in my opinion is actually hurting the Palestinian cause more than helping.

We can go back in history and find thousands of quotes from Dayan, and even the more classic ‘socialist-zionists’ such as Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir and Rabin making statements against the Palestinians. I think those are unfortunate now, but I believe that they should be kept in that historic context and not use them to try to diminish all the efforts that the same and other Israeli leaders have done for Peace in the last decades. You know that anybody could come with thousand of quotes (and even actions beside words) of PLO and even AP members stating clearly anti-Israeli positions in violent languages before the Oslo Accords – and even after. However, I think that those kind of political attitudes do not contribute to constructive discussions. That is why Prof. Chomsky, I think that the event we shared – me as a humble viewer – and you as the main panelist, DID NOT contribute to find solutions for peace, but rather lacked of any academic spirit of discussion and learning and was purely propaganda (mainly when for every question the panel instead of answering they diminished publicly the student by calling them ‘illiterate’). The Israeli-Arab conflict is extremely complex. I wish it was as black and white as the panelist tried to present it. But if your narrative really wants to help bring peace, I would humbly suggest you to try engage also with mainstream Israelis, understand their fears and help them get past them. I felt that the talk did not help give Israelis, like me, the space to work for peace. Moreover, talks like this cause Israelis - even those on the left - to close ranks and retreat into a sort of intellectual ghetto.

Thank you again for reading my thoughts,

Respectfully,

DB

I'll keep you -- literally -- posted...

He replied!

Yes, Prof. Chomsky replied. But before I copy his answer (as promised) I would like to address one comment of a reader in the previous post. Rachel Fierstein commented the following in the "Dear Prof. Chomsky..." post:

I attended the same event and just re-watched it. The moderator said the organizers attempted to make it more balanced, but these were the only speakers that responded. You miss quoted here. I know for a fact they contacted Dershowitz.

And just because none of them were pro-Israeli doesn't mean there weren't different perspectives. Perspectives don't only consist of "for" or "against." Perhaps that misunderstanding is why you felt fooled? The speakers did offer different perspectives. You should have paid more attention.

Dear Rachel, thank you for writing. Maybe Prof. Dershowitz couldn't or did not want to come. I will write him an email with your quote just to clarify if he couldn't or did not want to. But in any case, Prof. Dershowitz is not the only person in a panel that can represent the Israeli position in the Boston Area. From an outsider's view (outsider to the organization of the event): it appears that if they did not find anyone to present the Israeli narrative is because they didn't put a big effort looking for one.

There were different interpretations and expositions, but not different perspectives on the narrative side of the conflict. There was nobody explaining the position of Israel. It is a fact. But if you read careful my post, this is not my critique. My critique is don't insult the public calling it a balanced or a "would have been balanced" if a speaker representing the Israeli position would have come.

In any case, Prof. Chomsky answered my email. As I promised, here is the answer. Of course, he claims, I am guilty for mishearing him:

You misheard. I very carefully said that not a single rocket was fired by Hamas from the onset of the cease-fire until Nov. 4, when Israel invaded Gaza, breaking the cease-fire, which in fact it had never observed, maintaining the siege -- of course, an act of war, as Israel has long insisted.

Rocket firing dropped very sharply until Israel broke the truth. There were a few, but not by Hamas, as recognized by Mark Regev, Israeli government spokesman. Can send you the link if you like.

Noam Chomsky

My reply in the next post...

Dear Prof. Chomsky...

In the Microeconomics Summer School of the Hebrew University in June 2008, Prof. Kenneth Arrow - in his last address as the Summer School Director - gave to the participants (me among them) an advise for their academic life: If you find a result while doing research you should always think that you did something wrong along the way... check twice, three, four and even a million times. Relax the assumptions, give all possible values to all the variables. In short terms he told us: "Always question yourself, until there is no other questions to ask, before you can argue that you are right".

I think this is the spirit of a real and committed scholar in search of the truth.

I just came from a talk about the Gaza events in Boston University. Four out of the four panelist were presenting a very strong anti-Israeli view. Now, that doesn't bother me. Everybody is free to say and think pretty much whatever they want. As an Israeli I sometimes criticize the Israeli government. Thus, if other people want to do it (even all the time), go ahead, do it. It does not really bother me.

What really bothers me is when these kind of events open with the sentence: "This will be a very balanced panel, with different perspectives on the topic". The moderator even added "probably what the panelist will say here tonight won't please either the Israeli nor the Hamas Government"... but as my good friend M said: "I think Hamas would have been very happy to be in that talk!".

In any case, I believe that it is an insult to the public attending the event to say that a panel composed by four distinguished professors with clear strong opinions against Israel (Prof. Noam Chomsky, Prof. Duncan Kennedy, Prof. Stephen Walt and Prof. Irene Gendzier) is balanced. Just say that they will present one perspective of the conflict. But please, don't call it balanced trying to fool the public. It is irrespectful and even inmoral.

In any case, there are two issues about this event that I would like to share with you.

I met a very interesting Israeli Professor that in a very academic and professional manner came to the microphone to ask Prof. Chomsky. Prof. Paula Kabalo has been researching on Israel and Palestine in the period of the late 40s. She made very clear arguments - all of them based on quoted sources. For a humble student, like me, this could have been a very interesting situation: two scholars arguing - having a academic level discussion - on facts and not emotions. However, the response of the panel was almost as with everybody else that came to the microphone with a different view: "You have the problem of the illiterate, go and read some more". Of course they could not say that to Prof. Kabalo, but instead of engaging into a healthy discussion, they just diminished her using the advantage of siting in the stage as the panelist. It is a shame that the "you're an illiterate, go out and read" is the weapon of those who don't want to have a high level discussion. But even more shameful is that professors from the most prestigious universities in the world engage in that attitude like the ones I saw today.

A second thought. Prof. Noam Chomsky stated that "not a single rocket was fired from Gaza to Southern Israel from June to November 2008..." Please let me share with you the email I just sent to Prof. Chomsky:

Dear Prof. Chomsky,



I carefully heard your arguments today at Boston University in the talk “Gaza: Beyond the Headlines”.



You stated that “not a single rocket” was fired from Gaza to Southern Israel between June and November 2008. I invite you to visit the following link in Google News with a search on rockets attacks from Gaza in that period. As you may see your argument (as well as many others I believe) were based in wrong historic facts. Could you please explain what did you mean by saying that “not a single rocket was fired”?



http://news.google.com/archivesearch?as_user_ldate=2008%2F06&as_user_hdate=2008%2F11&q=rockets+gaza&scoring=t&hl=en&ned=us&q=rockets+gaza&lnav=od&btnG=Go



Thanks,

DB

I hope he will reply. Since I beleive in discussion Prof. Chomsky, your reply will be posted in my blog.

But if you are reading this, I am not trying to challenge your views. I am sure that I won't change them. I don't even intend to do so. But please, be as humble as Nobel Price Laureate Prof. Kenneth Arrow and follow his simple advise and before you make an statement, just make sure you are not missing any facts or don't distortionate them. And if you do, please be open to debate. You are a Professor as well.