Comments on: Academic Conference on Israeli-Palestinian Peace … and Justice? http://blog.dennisfox.net/index.php/archives/2007/09/14/academic-conference-on-israeli-palestinian-peace-and-justice/ Political and Personal Observations Tue, 13 May 2008 20:17:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3 By: George Salzman http://blog.dennisfox.net/index.php/archives/2007/09/14/academic-conference-on-israeli-palestinian-peace-and-justice/#comment-234587 George Salzman Sat, 15 Sep 2007 14:28:00 +0000 http://blog.dennisfox.net/index.php/archives/2007/09/14/academic-conference-on-israeli-palestinian-peace-and-justice/#comment-234587 Oaxaca, Mexico Saturday 15 September 2007 Dear Dennis Fox, This is just a short followup to my note yesterday. Since then I've looked more at your blog and thought about responding to the announced conference. Moises Salinas website is a giveaway. As far as I can see he's a very busy macher trying to paddle/peddle his way up the academic swamp. The very notion that it's possible to isolate consideration of real conflicts (Israel vs. Palestine, Capitalism vs. indigenous Mexicans, and so on) from political struggles is just academic bullshit. As a member of the Jewish Academic Network for Israeli-Palestine (JANIP), there's no way he can be non-political or objective. Nor does his work have anything at all to do with conflict resolution. Rather, he feeds on maintaining the illusion that there are valid grounds for the conflict on what he terms BOTH SIDES. Purporting to work at conflict resolution is what keeps him in business. Like an undertaker, who profits from lots of deaths. Regarding Alexander Cockburn, I think he's a very smart and very nasty person. I haven't personally had any unpleasant encounters with him, but judging from his idiotic writing on global warming, and inferring from a note I got from Manuel Garcia Jr. that he wouldn't even consider Manuel's first-rate piece on global warming (It's in Dissident Voice), I think it's probably a waste of time trying to get a fair hearing from him. I had always liked what I saw as his feisty style (the liveliest column in The Nation), but after my friend Carmelo Ruiz Marrero did a flip following Cockburn's global warming piece, I wised up a bit. If I do further publicize Salinas' conference it'll probably be with a suggestion that folks consider instead spending the resources they would have used to attend the meetings to support some really valuable efforts. I've sent the Anarchists Against the Wall $1,000 and The Wheels of Justice current bus tour in the U.S. two contributions of $1,000 each (inspired by Mazin Qumsiyeh). That's money that doesn't go to the IRS or corporate America. What we need to trun this world around is real education. I'll send you the correspondence with Kobi Snitz of Anarchists Against the Wall. It's pretty funny. Those young people are marvelous. All best wishes, George Oaxaca, Mexico Saturday 15 September 2007

Dear Dennis Fox,

This is just a short followup to my note yesterday. Since then I’ve looked more at your blog and thought about responding to the announced conference. Moises Salinas website is a giveaway. As far as I can see he’s a very busy macher trying to paddle/peddle his way up the academic swamp. The very notion that it’s possible to isolate consideration of real conflicts (Israel vs. Palestine, Capitalism vs. indigenous Mexicans, and so on) from political struggles is just academic bullshit. As a member of the Jewish Academic Network for Israeli-Palestine (JANIP), there’s no way he can be non-political or objective. Nor does his work have anything at all to do with conflict resolution. Rather, he feeds on maintaining the illusion that there are valid grounds for the conflict on what he terms BOTH SIDES. Purporting to work at conflict resolution is what keeps him in business. Like an undertaker, who profits from lots of deaths.

Regarding Alexander Cockburn, I think he’s a very smart and very nasty person. I haven’t personally had any unpleasant encounters with him, but judging from his idiotic writing on global warming, and inferring from a note I got from Manuel Garcia Jr. that he wouldn’t even consider Manuel’s first-rate piece on global warming (It’s in Dissident Voice), I think it’s probably a waste of time trying to get a fair hearing from him. I had always liked what I saw as his feisty style (the liveliest column in The Nation), but after my friend Carmelo Ruiz Marrero did a flip following Cockburn’s global warming piece, I wised up a bit.

If I do further publicize Salinas’ conference it’ll probably be with a suggestion that folks consider instead spending the resources they would have used to attend the meetings to support some really valuable efforts. I’ve sent the Anarchists Against the Wall $1,000 and The Wheels of Justice current bus tour in the U.S. two contributions of $1,000 each (inspired by Mazin Qumsiyeh). That’s money that doesn’t go to the IRS or corporate America. What we need to trun this world around is real education. I’ll send you the correspondence with Kobi Snitz of Anarchists Against the Wall. It’s pretty funny. Those young people are marvelous.

All best wishes,
George

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