Dr. Shaul Rosenfeld
Beware ideological perverts
Shaul Rosenfeld points to foolishness, hypocrisy of some Western intellectuals
Part 2 of article
This is precisely how Hannah Arendt found it possible to be horrified by human evil, yet at the same time study under the Nazi Martin Heidegger (and even share her bed with him).
In the past, we saw a proud socialist like George Bernard Shaw favorably referring to Stalin’s show trials, claiming that nobody could have any doubt whatsoever as to the guilt of the people put on trial. Similarly, today, we are seeing Noam Chomsky finding it possible to honor the great Lebanese humanist Hassan Nasrallah.
In the past, we saw the official magazine of the leftist Mapam party in Israel mourning the death of Stalin in 1953, referring to the demise of anti-Semitic mass murderer Joseph Vissarionovich by writing that “deep sorrow is currently felt at all Socialist countries and in the heart of every peace-loving person across the world.”
Part 1
Shaul Rosenfeld
Bogus intellectuals join forces with Islamic zealots to condemn Israel
Similarly, an uncompromising feminist such as Judith Butler can enthusiastically support a boycott on Israel, yet then head to Ramallah and Jenin and share with local Arabs her pearls of wisdom on the issues of gender and women’s rights, while outside the lecture hall the subject of her lectures walk around wearing veils, burkas, or hijabs.
Muslim money affects research
And if this perverse ideology is not enough, here comes the Islamic money and complements the picture. And so, a distinguished academic institution such as Columbia University in New York has no moral problem in taking money from the Alavi Foundation, which earmarks hundreds of thousands of dollars for Middle Eastern and Iran studies, as long as the university in question employs lecturers that support the Iranian regime.
Similarly, Saudi Prince al-Walid Bin Talal can spend hundreds of millions of dollars at various Western universities, including Oxford, thereby dramatically affecting the findings of quite a few studies pertaining to the Israeli-Arab conflict.
“Certain ideas are so stupid, only an intellectual could believe in them,” wrote George Orwell once upon a time, for a moment forgetting that the foolishness of certain intellectuals does not approach the extent of their hypocrisy.
Dr. Shaul Rosenfeld is a philosophy lecturer
