Students for Israel protest Said’s arrival by Brett Beach-Kimball Staff Writer Students For Israel (SFI) criticized Edward Said’s remarks on Tuesday, saying it offered a biased and factually inaccurate picture of the current Middle East conflict. Many members of the student group, including Israeli co-founder Jonathan (Yoni) Klein ’05, attended the lecture, then passed out literature that they felt better represented the situation. “What we wanted to show was that Edward Said is not an honest academic; that he has lied in research that he has done and works that he has published. His most famous book, Orientalism¸ is full of lies and half-truths,” Klein said. “As far as talking about the Arab-Israeli conflict, he largely misrepresents it, tells many half-truths and distorts historical facts.” “In reality…when he went to visit Lebanon, he took part in throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers…On the same trip he also met with leaders of the Hezbollah, the leading Palestinian terrorist group,” Klein said. Before the lecture, SFI put up posters around campus containing a picture of Said throwing a stone at Israeli soldiers from the other side of the Lebanon-Israel border. According to SFI, Said claims that the Israelis are at fault for the conflict regarding control of Jerusalem. He strongly supports Palestinian control of Jerusalem as well as an independent Palestinian state. According to a 1999 essay by Justus Reid, cited by SFI, Said is an Egyptian Arab born on a trip to Palestine. Said has continually maintained that he and his family were kicked out of Israel by the Israelis, but Weiner’s essay asserted that he lived in Egypt, according to SFI. The group asserted that he has lied about being a refugee and misrepresented the history of Israel, among other things. A British mandate record shows no record that Said inhabited the house where he claimed to live in Palestine. However, the University advertised Said as a Palestinian educated in the United States, and co-sponsored his trip to campus. “I feel the University billed him as an objective lecturer, but he presented an incredibly biased view…yet he spoke well enough to persuade people,” said Matt Goisman ’05, an SFI member. “I think he is a dishonest person,” Klein said, “and they shouldn’t bring liars to an academic forum. I know it’s not my job to tell them who they can and who they can’t bring, but what I will do is…make a request for school funding to bring a speaker who I think is more reputable and who will give the Israeli side of the conflict.” Students for a Free Palestine brought Said here with some financial help from the president’s office, according to Justin Harmon, Director of University Communications. They also appealed to the Office of the Dean of the College, Alpha Delta Phi and a number of departments for funds. Harmon noted that students have the ability to sponsor whomever they want, to an extent, but their proposals must be reviewed by the WSA. He added that students in opposition to the event should have a dialogue with the group sponsoring the lecturer if they have a problem with the guest. “I think that the University’s role is to try to help encourage faculty and students to bring to campus responsible speakers from various viewpoints, and it’s not for us to try to be arbiters of which viewpoints should be heard…Our interest is in trying to establish an environment where as many viewpoints can be heard from as possible,” Harmon said. He later added, “We can’t as a university shy away from hearing people’s points of view that we disagree with.” “I am sure that members of our community, which is known for questioning, raise questions about every distinguished visitor that comes to Wesleyan,” agreed Dean of the College Freddye Hill. “Some may question their integrity, and that is their right and that is what we expect in an academic community. We bring people here whose views are not shared by everyone in our community, but they come, and I am proud to say that we give them an opportunity to express their views. Every time we fund something the goal is to increase students’ understanding and perspectives of different types of issues.” “I cannot speak for other offices, but my office has received and provided financial support for a number of student proposals ranging from speakers, workshops, and performances in the spirit of contributing to and enriching the intellectual, cultural, and social life of the community,” Hill stated. After the meeting, Klein and Steve Lazer ’05, members of SFI, passed out booklets written by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) entitled Israel and the Middle East: A Resource for Journalists. They maintained that the ADL’s views on the conflict present a more balanced view of the situation while being written by a reputable source. Despite their enthusiasm for their cause, SFI did not feel as though they accomplished as much as they could have. “People [at the lecture] seemed pretty convinced by his lecture…I wish I could have done more,” Klein said. At the SFI meeting the night following the lecture, many students spoke out against Said’s methods. According to members of the group, his methods of persuasion are both deceiving and powerful. They maintained that he lectures and seems like an academic, demonstrating a certain amount of respect for the conflict. “I was physically shaken by his speech because he said all of the right things that people wanted to hear,” said Nancy Wassner ’05, a member of SFI. Said received a standing ovation at the end of his lecture by about two-thirds of the audience. Other SFI members shared Wassner’s sentiment and a dislike of his use of propaganda as well as his reference to Arab-Israelis and Palestinian-Israelis. SFI was started this year by a handful of students, and currently has about a dozen active members whose goal is to influence the general image of Israel on campus. Members said they were troubled when their posters about Said’s lecture were ripped down shortly after they were put in place, feeling it was an infringement on their freedom of speech. Klein also commented on the apparent lack of support for his cause. “I am troubled by the demonization of Israel that I have experienced on Wesleyan’s campus,” Klein said. “I have an open door to any student and any organization that wants to talk to me about anything,” Hill said. “The Students for Israel should feel that they have a standing invitation to come and talk with me about anything.”

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