Brandeis Caves to Pipes, Donor Pressure

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"Columbia (Joseph Massad), Yale (Juan Cole) and Princeton (Rashid Kahlidi) have had the honor of their Mideast studies faculty (and faculty candidates) being subjected to a pro-Israel smear campaign. Now, it appears Brandeis is suffering the same fate. But instead of the David Project (behind the Columbia smear), Daniel Pipes is single-handedly taking on Brandeis with the help of some of its pro-Israel donors who've threatened a financial boycott.

It all started with Jimmy Carter (doesn't it always), who spoke on campus several weeks ago. The Pipes-Dershowitz crowd was in high moral dudgeon because Carter refused a one on one debate with Dershowitz. (Last I checked, Dershowitz hadn't invited Carter to debate him when the Big D's last book was published either). University president Jehudah Reinharz was tarred and feathered. Jewish Week reported as much as $5 million in donations was being withdrawn.

The president was even quoted in the student newspaper as being opposed to either Pipes or Norman Finkelstein speaking on campus because of the "inflammatory nature" of their views, saying they were "weapons of mass destruction."

In its second report on the controversy, Jewish Week indicates that Reinharz has softened his views on at least one of the two speakers. I bet you can't guess which one…yes, it's Pipes. Instead of being described as the vapid ideologue he really is, Reinharz now lauds him as serious scholar. He even offers him the hospitality and imprimatur of the president's office:



Anything to cool down pro-Israel donors and demagogues on the warpath."

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:beer:

Islam and has been correct in his predictions about Islam/Arabs/the mid-east for the last 15 years.

Dr Pipes should be any interesting speaker (as one holds one's nose on the conservative ideas and the expel Arabs from Israel ideas).