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The Case Against Academic Boycotts of Israel Paperback – November 3, 2014
by Cary Nelson (Editor), Gabriel Noah Brahm (Editor), Russell A. Berman (Contributor), Emily Budick (Contributor), & 24 more
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 16 ratings
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How should we understand the international debate about the future of Israel and the Palestinians? Can justice be achieved in the Middle East? Until now, there was no single place for people to go to find detailed scholarly essays analyzing proposals to boycott Israel and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement of which they are a part.
This book for the first time provides the historical background necessary for informed evaluation of one of the most controversial issues of our day― the struggle between two peoples living side-by-side but with conflicting views of history and conflicting national ambitions. This book encourages empathy for all parties, but it also takes a cold look at what solutions are realistic and possible. In doing so, it tackles issues, like the role of anti-Semitism in calls for the abolition of the Jewish state, that many have found impossible to confront until now. The book gathers essays by an international cohort of scholars from Britain, Israel, and the United States.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"I think that Nelson and Brahm are right but that their success depends on reaching an audience―especially the scientists who have a stake in these debates but are usually left out of them―beyond the audience their collection is most likely to find. That will require a retail politics at colleges and universities, and within scholarly associations, that will be difficult and time consuming. But I know of no better guide than this book to the kinds of arguments one needs to make, or of any more heartening example of the diversity of voices and talents that can be drawn to the effort."―Jonathan Marks, Scholars For Peace in the Middle East
". . . the essays as a whole are essential reading, for those who want to understand, in detail, why an academic boycotts of Israel is discrimination, pure and simple, and why it threatens not only Israeli academics, and not just Jewish academics in addition, but the academy itself. It is essential reading."―Kennth S. Stern, Jewish Journal
"Written mostly by academic scholars, the essays are diverse, informative, and lucidly presented, covering the philosophical problems of academic boycotts, discussions of contentious debates at some academic associations and a few college campuses, the BDS movement, and the Left and American culture among other topics. Verdict While some readers may want to dismiss this work as partisan because of its title, several contributors have broadened the topic in a crucial way: the importance of supporting academic freedom, lest narrow, single-issue politics irreparably damage the university's mission of encouraging the unfettered exchange of knowledge and ideas."―Donald Altschiller, Library Journal
"The essays in this compilation are both timely and timeless. Perhaps the timelessness has to do with antisemitism's enduring nature, but there is an unheimlich or uncanny quality to them as well―like knowing that I could be writing the same words circa 1930s, from a cafe in Berlin, and understanding that BDS is the latest but not last incarnation."―Steven K. Baum, The Journal of Anti-Semitism
"The editors deserve major kudos for having compiled an impressive anthology featuring contributions in opposition to the deeply sordid, yet potentially potent, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement."―Andrei S. Markovits, Fathom
"To refuse to accept an imposed defensive crouch as one's natural posture, as this book admirably does, also makes a case against academic boycotts of Israel."―Alvin H. Rosenfeld, Jewish Review of Books
"The recent successes and near-successes of the BDS campaign have forced liberal Jews to counterattack The result: a book which is both a useful anti-boycott resource and a fascinating psychological portrait of an elite look into the dilemmas and biases of American Jewish liberal academia."―Avi Wolf, Wolf Media Review
"For those who believe in the value and power of education and of the ability of knowledge to combat ignorance, [this book] is an invaluable collection."―Gila Wertheimer, Chicago Jewish Star
"...The book is essential for those who want to understand in some detail why an academic boycott of Israel is outright discrimination, and why it threatens not only Israeli professors and scholars, but the very reason for universities and the idea of free speech itself."―Gerald Sorin, Haaretz
"This is a useful tool for individuals and groups that have Israel's interests in mind and have the opportunity to raise an objection to BDS."―Sanford R. Silverburg, Catawba College, Salisbury, NC, Association of Jewish Libraries
"This book does far more than make the case against academic boycotts of Israel: it reminds us what academic freedom actually means and its crucial importance in underpinning the entire scholarly edifice. We abandon this at our peril. At the same time there is also recognition that this alone is not enough to counteract the BDS movement. Equally as important is the need to mount a defence of liberal academic principles more broadly: to argue that knowledge is more than just identity and perspective; to assert the aspiration towards, and the possibility of, seeking truth; and to draw a distinction between scholarship and activism. This book is a vital step in this direction"―Joanna Williams, Spiked
"If un-blinkered students and professors (who still make up the majority at all schools, even if they might lack the conviction of Israel's defamers) are ever to make progress, they need to base their choices of action on a bedrock of ideas, including the powerful and compelling ideas that can be found on every page of The Case Against Academic Boycotts of Israel."―Divest This, Divest This Blog
"The book's 500-plus pages cover a lot of (contested) ground, with essays exploring the nexus between the boycott and the political left, the range of BDS-related activity on American campuses, and examples of Israeli-Palestinian collaboration in higher education, among other topics."―Elizabeth Redden, Inside Higher Ed
"This very substantial volume consists of no less than thirty-four solid and useful essays by (mainly) American scholars and writers against any proposed academic boycott of Israel. It is an invaluable guide to the subject, and ought to be read by anyone concerned with this arrant attack on the Jewish state and it alone. . . .Taken together, these essays provide powerful ammunition for academics and students who are appalled by this latest exercise in antisemitism, and the book should certainly be read by Australian university staff and students who are determined that no boycott
of Israel be allowed to happen here and need the intellectual cannon-fodder to fight proponents of a boycott."―William D. Rubinstein, Jewish Down Under
"All states commit crimes. Only one in the world is deemed illegitimate for that reason: Israel. Only one is subject to cultural and academic boycotts the world over: Israel. No one could agree with everything in these essays. I do not. But in the main they are both devastating and scrupulous and they are all indispensable. Fair-minded readers who have not yet thought through the issues, including some supporters of BDS, may wish to consult their consciences as well as their sense of history and reconsider. But this indispensable book is more than a dissection of gross canards. It is an anatomy of key intellectual and political corruptions of our time."―Todd Gitlin, Professor of Journalism and Sociology and Chair, Ph. D. Program in Communications, Columbia University
"No other issue has divided the progressive academic community in the United States as bitterly as the BSD movement against Israel. This balanced and informative volume gives an indispensable account of the controversy as well as of the larger historical and political context of the conflict in Israel/Palestine. It is a book that all who care about this issue must consult."―Seyla Benhabib, Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science and Philosophy at Yale University
"All states commit crimes. Only one in the world is deemed illegitimate for that reason: Israel. Only one is subject to cultural and academic boycotts the world over: Israel. No one could agree with everything in these essays. I do not. But in the main they are both devastating and scrupulous and they are all indispensable. Fair-minded readers who have not yet thought through the issues, including some supporters of BDS, may wish to consult their consciences as well as their sense of history and reconsider. But this indispensable book is more than a dissection of gross canards. It is an anatomy of key intellectual and political corruptions of our time."―Todd Gitlin, Professor of Journalism and Sociology and Chair, Ph. D. Program in Communications, Columbia University
"The Case Against Academic Boycotts of Israel provides a rare combination of intellectually challenging and thought-provoking investigation together with a strong dose of common sense; a valuable and necessary intervention in a debate desperately in need of both. This is particularly valuable with regard to the BDS movement, whose combination of dishonesty, naivete and dissimulation has ensnared many too many people who should know better (and would, if they spent a few hours with this collection)."―Eric Alterman, Cuny Distinguished Professor of English and Journalism at Brooklyn College and Media Columnist for the Nation
"What is the Academic BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement really all about? What is the relation, if any, of anti-Zionism to anti-Semitism? What are the historical, ethical, and political parameters of the current controversy over BDS on our campuses―a controversy that has, thus far, generated more heat than light? The editors of this book have brought together a set of thirty essays by leading scholars and public intellectuals―essays as stunning as they are wide-ranging, as remarkably well-informed and factually based as they are closely reasoned and persuasive. From the opening essays on academic freedom through the richly nuanced essays by Israeli academics currently teaching in mixed Arab-Israeli classrooms to the historical timeline, the case against Academic Boycott is made with such authority that no one who cares about global politics in the 21st Century can afford not to read these pages. This is that rare event―a necessary book, a real game-changer."―Marjorie Perloff, Professor Emerita of English at Stanford University
"No other issue has divided the progressive academic community in the United States as bitterly as the BSD movement against Israel. This balanced and informative volume gives an indispensable account of the controversy as well as of the larger historical and political context of the conflict in Israel/Palestine. It is a book that all who care about this issue must consult."―Seyla Benhabib, Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science and Philosophy at Yale University
"The Case against Academic Boycotts of Israel features contributions from almost 30 scholars from the US, Israel and the UK. It includes essays opposing academic boycotts on principle; accounts of how a boycott motion was passed in 2013 by the American Studies Association in what Professor Nelson calls a 'very coercive' way; essays on Israeli history, culture and education, so 'people don't remain ignorant about the country they are boycotting'; and analyses of the beliefs underlying the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign and its likely impact."―Matthew Reisz, Times Higher Education
"The Case Against Academic Boycotts of Israel is 550 pages long, and it contains, in addition to essays, a dossier of official documents on the ASA and other boycott resolutions, as well as a short history of Israel. It is intelligent and wide-ranging, from David Caplan's essay on the representation of Jews in current American literature to Shira Wolosky's memoir of what it is actually like to teach Arab and Jewish students in an Israeli university"―Adam Kirsch, Tablet
"The Case Against Academic Boycotts of Israel provides a rare combination of intellectually challenging and thought-provoking investigation together with a strong dose of common sense; a valuable and necessary intervention in a debate desperately in need of both. This is particularly valuable with regard to the BDS movement, whose combination of dishonesty, naivete and dissimulation has ensnared many too many people who should know better (and would, if they spent a few hours with this collection)."―Eric Alterman, CUNY Distinguished Professor of English and Journalism at Brooklyn College and media columnist for The Nation
"What is the Academic BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement really all about? What is the relation, if any, of anti-Zionism to anti-Semitism? What are the historical, ethical, and political parameters of the current controversy over BDS on our campuses―a controversy that has, thus far, generated more heat than light? The editors of this book have brought together a set of thirty essays by leading scholars and public intellectuals―essays as stunning as they are wide-ranging, as remarkably well-informed and factually based as they are closely reasoned and persuasive. From the opening essays on academic freedom through the richly nuanced essays by Israeli academics currently teaching in mixed Arab-Israeli classrooms to the historical timeline, the case against Academic Boycott is made with such authority that no one who cares about global politics in the 21st Century can afford not to read these pages. This is that rare event―a necessary book, a real game-changer."―Marjorie Perloff, professor Emerita of English at Stanford University
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Review
"I think that Nelson and Brahm are right but that their success depends on reaching an audience—especially the scientists who have a stake in these debates but are usually left out of them—beyond the audience their collection is most likely to find. That will require a retail politics at colleges and universities, and within scholarly associations, that will be difficult and time consuming. But I know of no better guide than this book to the kinds of arguments one needs to make, or of any more heartening example of the diversity of voices and talents that can be drawn to the effort."—Jonathan Marks, ". . . the essays as a whole are essential reading, for those who want to understand, in detail, why an academic boycotts of Israel is discrimination, pure and simple, and why it threatens not only Israeli academics, and not just Jewish academics in addition, but the academy itself. It is essential reading."—Kennth S. Stern, "Written mostly by academic scholars, the essays are diverse, informative, and lucidly presented, covering the philosophical problems of academic boycotts, discussions of contentious debates at some academic associations and a few college campuses, the BDS movement, and the Left and American culture among other topics. Verdict While some readers may want to dismiss this work as partisan because of its title, several contributors have broadened the topic in a crucial way: the importance of supporting academic freedom, lest narrow, single-issue politics irreparably damage the university's mission of encouraging the unfettered exchange of knowledge and ideas."—Donald Altschiller, "The essays in this compilation are both timely and timeless. Perhaps the timelessness has to do with antisemitism's enduring nature, but there is an unheimlich or uncanny quality to them as well—like knowing that I could be writing the same words circa 1930s, from a cafe in Berlin, and understanding that BDS is the latest but not last incarnation."—Steven K. Baum, "The editors deserve major kudos for having compiled an impressive anthology featuring contributions in opposition to the deeply sordid, yet potentially potent, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement."—Andrei S. Markovits, "To refuse to accept an imposed defensive crouch as one's natural posture, as this book admirably does, also makes a case against academic boycotts of Israel."—Alvin H. Rosenfeld, "The recent successes and near-successes of the BDS campaign have forced liberal Jews to counterattack The result: a book which is both a useful anti-boycott resource and a fascinating psychological portrait of an elite look into the dilemmas and biases of American Jewish liberal academia."—Avi Wolf, "For those who believe in the value and power of education and of the ability of knowledge to combat ignorance, [this book] is an invaluable collection."—Gila Wertheimer, "...The book is essential for those who want to understand in some detail why an academic boycott of Israel is outright discrimination, and why it threatens not only Israeli professors and scholars, but the very reason for universities and the idea of free speech itself."—Gerald Sorin, "This is a useful tool for individuals and groups that have Israel's interests in mind and have the opportunity to raise an objection to BDS."—Sanford R. Silverburg, Catawba College, Salisbury, NC, "This book does far more than make the case against academic boycotts of Israel: it reminds us what academic freedom actually means and its crucial importance in underpinning the entire scholarly edifice. We abandon this at our peril. At the same time there is also recognition that this alone is not enough to counteract the BDS movement. Equally as important is the need to mount a defence of liberal academic principles more broadly: to argue that knowledge is more than just identity and perspective; to assert the aspiration towards, and the possibility of, seeking truth; and to draw a distinction between scholarship and activism. This book is a vital step in this direction"—Joanna Williams, "If un-blinkered students and professors (who still make up the majority at all schools, even if they might lack the conviction of Israel's defamers) are ever to make progress, they need to base their choices of action on a bedrock of ideas, including the powerful and compelling ideas that can be found on every page of The Case Against Academic Boycotts of Israel."—Divest This, "The book's 500-plus pages cover a lot of (contested) ground, with essays exploring the nexus between the boycott and the political left, the range of BDS-related activity on American campuses, and examples of Israeli-Palestinian collaboration in higher education, among other topics."—Elizabeth Redden, "This very substantial volume consists of no less than thirty-four solid and useful essays by (mainly) American scholars and writers against any proposed academic boycott of Israel. It is an invaluable guide to the subject, and ought to be read by anyone concerned with this arrant attack on the Jewish state and it alone. . . .Taken together, these essays provide powerful ammunition for academics and students who are appalled by this latest exercise in antisemitism, and the book should certainly be read by Australian university staff and students who are determined that no boycott of Israel be allowed to happen here and need the intellectual cannon-fodder to fight proponents of a boycott."—William D. Rubinstein, "No other issue has divided the progressive academic community in the United States as bitterly as the BSD movement against Israel. This balanced and informative volume gives an indispensable account of the controversy as well as of the larger historical and political context of the conflict in Israel/Palestine. It is a book that all who care about this issue must consult."—Seyla Benhabib, Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science and Philosophy at Yale University "All states commit crimes. Only one in the world is deemed illegitimate for that reason: Israel. Only one is subject to cultural and academic boycotts the world over: Israel. No one could agree with everything in these essays. I do not. But in the main they are both devastating and scrupulous and they are all indispensable. Fair-minded readers who have not yet thought through the issues, including some supporters of BDS, may wish to consult their consciences as well as their sense of history and reconsider. But this indispensable book is more than a dissection of gross canards. It is an anatomy of key intellectual and political corruptions of our time."—Todd Gitlin, Professor of Journalism and Sociology and Chair, Ph. D. Program in Communications, Columbia University " provides a rare combination of intellectually challenging and thought-provoking investigation together with a strong dose of common sense; a valuable and necessary intervention in a debate desperately in need of both. This is particularly valuable with regard to the BDS movement, whose combination of dishonesty, naivete and dissimulation has ensnared many too many people who should know better (and would, if they spent a few hours with this collection)."—Eric Alterman, Cuny Distinguished Professor of English and Journalism at Brooklyn College and Media Columnist for the Nation "What is the Academic BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement really all about? What is the relation, if any, of anti-Zionism to anti-Semitism? What are the historical, ethical, and political parameters of the current controversy over BDS on our campuses—a controversy that has, thus far, generated more heat than light? The editors of this book have brought together a set of thirty essays by leading scholars and public intellectuals—essays as stunning as they are wide-ranging, as remarkably well-informed and factually based as they are closely reasoned and persuasive. From the opening essays on academic freedom through the richly nuanced essays by Israeli academics currently teaching in mixed Arab-Israeli classrooms to the historical timeline, the case against Academic Boycott is made with such authority that no one who cares about global politics in the 21st Century can afford not to read these pages. This is that rare event—a necessary book, a real game-changer."—Marjorie Perloff, Professor Emerita of English at Stanford University
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Publisher : Wayne State University Press (November 3, 2014)
Language : English
Paperback : 232 pages
ISBN-10 : 0990331601
ISBN-13 : 978-0990331605
Item Weight : 1.94 pounds
Dimensions : 6.13 x 1.32 x 8.96 inchesBest Sellers Rank: #3,594,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)#2,368 in Jewish Social Studies
#4,414 in Israel & Palestine History (Books)
#10,471 in Jewish History (Books)Customer Reviews:
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 16 ratings
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Sharon Ann Musher
Sharon Ann Musher is Associate Professor of History at the Stockton University. She holds a Ph.D. in History from Columbia University and an M.Phil. in Economic and Social History from Oxford University. Her first book, Democratic Art: The New Deal's Influence on American Culture, traces a range of aesthetic visions that flourished during the 1930s to outline the successes, shortcomings, and lessons of the golden age of government funding for the arts. She has also contributed to The Case against Academic Boycotts of Israel, The Oxford Handbook of the African American Slave Narrative, and Interpreting American History: The New Deal and the Great Depression. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and three daughters.
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From the United States
Cary Nelson
5.0 out of 5 stars “What is the Academic BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) ...Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2014
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“What is the Academic BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement really all about? What is the relation, if any, of anti-Zionism to anti-Semitism? What are the historical, ethical, and political parameters of the current controversy over BDS on our campuses—a controversy that has, thus far, generated more heat than light? The editors of this book have brought together a set of thirty essays by leading scholars and public intellectuals—essays as stunning as they are wide-ranging, as remarkably well-informed and factually based as they are closely reasoned and persuasive. From the opening essays on academic freedom through the richly nuanced essays by Israeli academics currently teaching in mixed Arab-Israeli classrooms to the historical timeline, the case against Academic Boycott is made with such authority that no one who cares about global politics in the 21st Century can afford not to read these pages. This is that rare event—a necessary book, a real game-changer.”
—Marjorie Perloff , Professor Emerita of English, Stanford U;Florence Scott Professor of English and Comparative Literature Emerita, University of Southern California
2006 President, Modern Language Association
“All states commit crimes. Only one in the world is deemed illegitimate for that reason: Israel. Only one is subject to cultural and academic boycotts the world over: Israel. No one could agree with everything in these essays. I do not. But in the main they are both devastating and scrupulous and they are all indispensable. Fair-minded readers who have not yet thought through the issues, including some supporters of BDS, may wish to consult their consciences as well as their sense of history and reconsider. But this indispensable book is more than a dissection of gross canards. It is an anatomy of key intellectual and political corruptions of our time.”
—Todd Gitlin, Professor of Journalism and Sociology and Chair, Ph. D. Program in Communications, Columbia University, and co-author, The Chosen Peoples: America, Israel, and the Ordeals of Divine Election.
13 people found this helpful
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Werner Cohn
5.0 out of 5 stars A Book that Must be Studied in DepthReviewed in the United States on December 11, 2014
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"The Case Against Academic Boycotts of Israel," a somewhat awkward and misleadingly narrow title, contains a welcome surprise. Instead of the shrill polemics so customary around this topic, these collected essays -- most of them -- are on a very high intellectual level; some are brilliant. The topic as conceived in this volume is not only the so-called BDS movement but the larger anti-Israel campaign by certain self-styled progressives in our day.
Without invidious intent, let me mention which to me seemed the most rewarding among the contributions. First there is the very convincing and well-written preface by Paul Berman. Next we have the thoughtful and thorough dissection of Judith Butler's hatred of Israel by Cary Nelson. Then there is Richard Landes's comprehensive review of the synthesis of Jihadism and secular "progressivism." Finally, the article by Alan Johnson, "Intellectual Incitement: The Anti-Zionist Ideology and the Creation of the Anti-Zionist Subject," is a brilliant piece of analysis, well worth the price of the book.
The book was put together in a very short time, and there are some minor editing quirks. The method of documentation varies from article to article and is at times confusing. An overall complete bibliographic listing of all references would have been helpful.
Despite these minor annoyances, we must be most grateful to the editors and contributors for this altogether necessary work.
24 people found this helpful
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Simone Signoret
5.0 out of 5 stars This excellent book is a collection of contributions from University Professors ...Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2014
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A must read for anyone who is trying to make a semblance of sense out of this madness, the attempt by SJP (Students for Justice in Palestine) to make American University campuses into a 'war zone' of words, mainly, but with scattered violent behavior - for emphasis - one might suppose? These provocative and incendiary rallies, the reporting of them and the comments to the reports, all demonstrate a complete ignorance of the history of the State of Israel, the sources of its sovereignty (the Treaty of San Remo, 1920, the establishment of the 'British Mandate for Palestine,' 1922 and legitimacy (UN Charter, article #80), 1945. Ignorance also of the history of the Arabs living in Palestine, which was for the last 400 years (prior to 1920) a province of the Ottoman Empire with rather ill-defined and shifting borders and mostly shifting nomadic populations. Palestine was never a political entity with its own distinct language, culture, government and defined borders. Completely absent from these rallies is a true concern for Academic Freedom, for Justice, or even an understanding of the words or concepts and that without truth, there can be no freedom or justice for anyone.
This excellent book is a collection of contributions from University Professors and presents a great variety of viewpoints.
I would highly recommend it
13 people found this helpful
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Jeffry V. Mallow
5.0 out of 5 stars "The Case Against Academic Boycotts Against Israel" a must-readReviewed in the United States on December 3, 2014
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This book is a compilation of essays exposing the bigotry of those who lead the Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions campaign singling out Israel, and the ignorance of those who support BDS. I don't make the accusation of anti-Semitism lightly, but it fits the BDS leaders. The book lays bare the bias of those academics who support BDS, and their efforts at undermining academic freedom to do so. Bravo to editors Cary Nelson and Gabriel Noah Brahm and to the book's contributors.
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Maria
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book on an important subjectReviewed in the United States on November 17, 2014
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The editors have done an admirable job of assembling a set of informative and highly readable essays that should provoke discussion not only about the troubling movement to institute academic boycotts against Israel, but also should prompt some soul-searching on the part of American academics, administrators, and students.
21 people found this helpful
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Seth C.
5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsReviewed in the United States on May 16, 2015
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a well-reasoned and argued report against the malicious and vicious campaign to delegitimize Israel
7 people found this helpful
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Jack Straw
1.0 out of 5 stars An excessively academic book that misses the markReviewed in the United States on October 21, 2015
The book as a whole is a belabored, sometimes obsessive-compulsive, absurdly pedantic, lit-crit-style constellation of essays. It goes overboard in pretending to be even-handed but, in fact, perpetuates the notion that behind the BSD movement antisemitism is the force that matters most (notwithstanding the fine parsing of antisemitism compared with anti-Zionism). Anti-semitism should not receive this excessive attention; even if it exists in some places it is illegitimately claimed in many others and it does not invalidate deep and legitimate concerns about Israeli society. There are strong and easy arguments against boycotting Israeli academics, and I agree with these. The book should enumerate and then quickly move beyond them in order to address or even simply acknowledge the issues that matter most. It does not, with sufficient force and directness, declaim the profound human rights abuses for which Israel must bear responsibility -- even in the face of terrorism and a Palestinian people who have always had ineffective, terrible, and sometimes absent leadership. The book does not describe how it might be possible to move beyond the logjam of empty rhetoric that only perpetuates a worrisome and tragic status quo. It does not convincingly explain how Israeli academics can assist in this process.
Practically-speaking, economic tools are among the most potent and effective tools available. The real question is how best to apply them. Boycotting Israeli academics might not make sense, and might even be counterproductive, but one doesn't need such a painfully abstruse and tedious collection of essays to make this argument.
I am an American who now lives in Israel, I love my Israeli friends, I love Israeli ingenuity and character, I admire the original Zionist project, and I marvel at and support Israel's burgeoning high-tech sector, which I think is critical to Israel's future. I also feel sad that so many talented, warm, and decent Israelis are held hostage to the disastrous decisions, policies and actions made by their leaders and by a burgeoning, hardcore Haredi and settler population. The issues are intense and painful, but this volume of essays is bland, weak and largely useless in terms of representing the dilemmas and suggesting potential solutions -- any of which will be painful to most Israelis. The book's excessive attention to anti-semitism is a distraction and a dodge. If something meaningful and disruptive isn't accomplished in time, using forces external to Israel, ideally by people who care about Israel, then Israel will become a country that I - and I daresay the authors of this book - will no longer be able to countenance and support.
In a recent editorial, Ari Shavit writes, "If Israel will not be condemned as South Africa was, it will become what Kosovo became..." The authors of this book should unflinchingly condemn Israel where it matters to do so, thoughtfully explore the extent to which competing factions within Israel can by themselves extricate the country from the immoral and disastrous course it is moving along, explain why and how interested external observers can manifest their concern and help create change (or when and why they shouldn't have the "right" to vote with their wallets), and they should delineate how economic pain can be selectively applied to help salvage the long-term future of the country. This, rather than the drivel that Nelson and colleagues has produced, would represent a genuine contribution.
5 people found this helpful
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Amazon customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent case against the boycotts of IsraelReviewed in the United States on September 25, 2017
A must read !!! Excellent case against the boycotts of Israel .
One person found this helpful
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arizonacoffeedrinker
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is the cutting edge of the intellectual response ...Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2014
This book is the cutting edge of the intellectual response to the racism and injustice of the academic BDS movement. Its origins are in opposition to Israel's occupation as much as in a left-wing, progressive rejection of BDS tactics. The essays are individually and cumulatively persuasive.
10 people found this helpful
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David Green
1.0 out of 5 stars I support BDS and the Palestinian cause, but I ...Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2014
I support BDS and the Palestinian cause, but I do not support an academic boycott. Academic boycotts risk violating academic freedom. However, Nelson targeted Steven Salaita well prior to his dehiring, thus making a mockery of academic freedom.
I support a two-state solution, as Nelson does.
Nevertheless, genuine support involves resistance against occupation. Neither Nelson nor his 30 co-authors can claim to offer such resistance. Instead they offer apologetics for Israeli aggression and lurid, baseless accusations of anti-Semitism in academia. Their arguments are for the most part propagandistic, decontextualized, irrelevant or Islamophobic.
Collectively, they display enormous self-pity among privileged academics who work in environments free of anti-Semitism.
Nelson, along with Rachel Harris of the University of Illinois and Kenneth Stein, has written a chapter called "The History of Israel." This chapter is not scholarship but liberal Zionist propaganda. It romanticizes Jews while being defamatory of Palestinians and Arabs.
It's comparable to an exoneration of those who committed genocide against American Indians. I find it selective, tendentious, ethnocentric, and racist.
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