tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4811648720376702345.post7808298792772830597..comments2023-08-08T05:00:44.191-04:00Comments on Peacelight: Voices of GrandchildrenBrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01961531244374047105noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4811648720376702345.post-69987002045912885572012-11-01T15:17:42.559-04:002012-11-01T15:17:42.559-04:00Tom,
Thanks for your question. While I certainly ...Tom,<br /><br />Thanks for your question. While I certainly respect the need for people to debate the political intricacies of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, I would not like for my personal blog to become the space for such debate. As this is a privately managed space, I would ask that conversation be restricted to the issue of the 24th of October and the topic of dialogue on campuses.<br /><br />If readers are interested in reading more opinions attacking or defending various parties to events, both at Edinburgh and in the Middle East, this week's issue of "The Student" provides some wonderful opinion pieces on the issue. Further, a 'debate' (if we can call it that in spite of the name-calling it includes) is currently being played out on various Facebook channels related to Wednesday's events.<br /><br />Cheers,<br />BrianBrianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01961531244374047105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4811648720376702345.post-72641775722573312712012-10-31T12:25:53.166-04:002012-10-31T12:25:53.166-04:00Do you not think this contradicts your position on...Do you not think this contradicts your position on free speech?Tom Coleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01884689391370822043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4811648720376702345.post-61654092829509699462012-10-31T11:15:37.946-04:002012-10-31T11:15:37.946-04:00Brian, I started to read this because your mom was...Brian, I started to read this because your mom was so proud of you and I wanted to share in her mazel. But as I read more and more I forgot why I was reading it. And found myself, first with goosebumps and the tears. That is how powerful you words were. <br /><br />Thank you for taking the time to share your experience in such a poignant way. <br />Lynn M.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4811648720376702345.post-23655251847919958962012-10-28T10:19:03.237-04:002012-10-28T10:19:03.237-04:00Jack,
Thank you for your comment. The problem isn...Jack,<br /><br />Thank you for your comment. The problem isn't with the protest on Wednesday - in the sense that one may protest a speaker - but rather the prevention of speech, which is dangerous. Whether or not one feels the available voices are equal, one cannot stifle one side's voices in an attempt to create equality.<br /><br />Desmond Tutu has boycotted a lot of things - including sharing a stage with Tony Blair - but notice that he boycotts; he does not prevent. Boycott is a personal choice, not one that should be instilled upon others. Sure enough, "Edinburgh students" as a whole did not support the prevention of this speaker's voice, and thus must be allowed to hear it.<br /><br />All of that said, I appreciate your civility in discussing this type of issue, rather than attempting to shout down opposing voices. If you would like to continue this conversation, we can do so offline. Preemptively, I would ask everyone reading to please refrain from engaging in comment wars on these posts; this is not the place for a debate - nor, I think, would back-and-forth comments sustain a healthy one.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01961531244374047105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4811648720376702345.post-55718035825990872812012-10-28T09:45:28.226-04:002012-10-28T09:45:28.226-04:00I can sympathise with your desire to have both sid...I can sympathise with your desire to have both sides heard, and I understand why people here in the West like the idea that dialogue is the path to resolving problems. However, sometimes dialogue has to be preceded by action to make meaningful discussion possible, as it was in the case of South Africa. There too we had a government and people who felt surrounded, threatened, and delegitimised by their opponents, and though they said they wanted an 'open discussion', what they really wanted was to entrench and preserve their privilege for as long as possible. The world decided this wasn't acceptable, and the apartheid state was boycotted and isolated, with dialogue in the form of Truth and Reconciliation committees only possible after some form of equal footing had been established for both sides.<br /><br />We are far from establishing equal footing for Israelis and Palestinians, and so to talk of 'both sides' is disingenuous, as it was when we challenged the massive imbalance of power in South Africa. Today Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela have described the situation in Palestine as apartheid, and the Palestinians have called for a campaign of boycott to echo the success of the one (started in the UK) that helped to bring about the end of South African apartheid.<br /><br />If you can understand why Edinburgh students would refuse to have a South African ambassador on our campus in the 1980s, and if you can see why Mandela and Tutu have made the comparison that they have, then maybe you can understand the reasons for our protest on Wednesday.<br /><br />I hope you don't delete my comment, I have tried to be civil, and count myself as one 'affected by the incident'.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15701493719163485823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4811648720376702345.post-7722317227325326952012-10-28T07:00:17.470-04:002012-10-28T07:00:17.470-04:00Readers: Please note that some comments have been ...Readers: Please note that some comments have been removed in the interests of keeping this a place for those affected by the incident to voice their concerns, without fear of verbal abuse. Demonstrators eager to defend their actions are welcome to do so in a separate forum, as has already begun to be the case on various protest blogs. This is a privately managed blog and, unfortunately, I can not accommodate a debate of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict here.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01961531244374047105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4811648720376702345.post-78102595047115999092012-10-27T22:10:06.709-04:002012-10-27T22:10:06.709-04:00Really, really biased. I would take your position ...Really, really biased. I would take your position more seriously if it tried to look at both sides. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4811648720376702345.post-10388610905832003552012-10-27T15:52:41.019-04:002012-10-27T15:52:41.019-04:00Henry Harad speaking. Brian we are proud to be yo...Henry Harad speaking. Brian we are proud to be your grandparents. I'm sorry you had to feel the hate that exists in this world at so tender an age. I'm proud of the way you are handling yourself. I know that you will make a great mark on civilization in the future and all our grandchildren will be better off because of you. Love youshelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00375515780516641279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4811648720376702345.post-50903110133951614542012-10-26T20:58:12.728-04:002012-10-26T20:58:12.728-04:00Brian, you are an amazing, insightful young man an...Brian, you are an amazing, insightful young man and a fantastic writer. I applaud your intellect. I know that you will make a difference in the world. Shalom!!!Vivian Lichtmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4811648720376702345.post-81087232826482865422012-10-26T19:47:16.988-04:002012-10-26T19:47:16.988-04:00Thank you to everyone who's written in so far;...Thank you to everyone who's written in so far; I hope to see more comments after this one, too. I'd just like to jump in and preempt what I know a lot of readers are thinking, in relation to a few comments above: Antisemitism is not necessarily related to Anti-Israel attitudes, and a Jewish education is neither required nor indicative of a healthy and receptive attitude toward understanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Students involved in all aspects of the issue may or may not have any negative or positive relation to Judaism.<br /><br />That said, for Jews in particular, it is fair to be concerned about the suppression of expression. Holocaust-era book-burnings and forbidden texts are still in recent memory. Part of "never again" includes not allowing anyone to tell anyone else what they can and cannot say, read, or write. But these are values that everyone in our world - Jewish, Muslim, anything - need to protect for one another. One of my favorite poems, "First they came..." by Martin Niemöller, illustrates the need to stand up for one another's rights. (Link: "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came..." )Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01961531244374047105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4811648720376702345.post-62384312132040054472012-10-26T17:04:13.553-04:002012-10-26T17:04:13.553-04:00Wow, what insight and sensitivity! Brian, I also a...Wow, what insight and sensitivity! Brian, I also am a friend of your mom & dad's (remember we met at your dad's party). Unfortunately, this is the world we live in (especially being in Europe, where there is so much anti-Semitism, and also at college campuses everywhere! We are a minority and need to know and spread the facts and the truth about Israel and the Jews. Because there are so many more of them than us, it's hard to fight back (not physically, but intellectually!!). So the more educated you are, the easier it will be to educate the ones surrounding you in that kind of environment....one by one! Not in such a hostile crowd where they actually hire and pay for that kind of disruption at college campuses all over the world. A sorry state of affairs for all of us!!! Stay strong and learn all the facts! Yasher Koach!!! Shabbat Shalom!!!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16296899531487152945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4811648720376702345.post-90098603903227730082012-10-26T14:41:25.445-04:002012-10-26T14:41:25.445-04:00Brian you made me cry. You are the smartest pers...Brian you made me cry. You are the smartest person I know. karol cohennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4811648720376702345.post-89836261982608753612012-10-26T13:58:05.783-04:002012-10-26T13:58:05.783-04:00Wonderful and sobering account of the HATE you exp...Wonderful and sobering account of the HATE you experienced in the world, but glad it was mentioned more than one that PEACE can exist between some Israelis and Palestinians. Such a wonderful learning experience for you Brian, and thank you for sharing it with us! Go with strength!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4811648720376702345.post-70661141024275484842012-10-26T12:44:22.709-04:002012-10-26T12:44:22.709-04:00Brian, your mom forwarded me your blog. I'm gl...Brian, your mom forwarded me your blog. I'm glad to see that your Jewish roots, fostered at JCHS are serving you well! Your story is a compelling one, and thank you for sharing. It is very disconcerting that no one, representing the University in an official capacity, was able to refocus the talk and reinforce an open dialogue policy that the protesters were preventing. It is shocking what is allowed to take place in venues such as the one you experienced. I'm going to forward your blog to our Faculty Advisor for Israel & Middle East Affairs to make sure he's aware. Thank you for sharing! Ruth Schapira www.gratz.edu/jchsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4811648720376702345.post-79752733467548328782012-10-26T11:08:35.180-04:002012-10-26T11:08:35.180-04:00That is a very sad story, Brian, but beautifully e...That is a very sad story, Brian, but beautifully expressed. I only wish it was fiction! Thank you for being brave enough to share it. Shabbat Shalom ~ Allison SassonAllison Sassonnoreply@blogger.com