Desertpeace

Voices from Kolkata to Casablanca
Voices of struggle, Voices for change

Thursday, October 4, 2007, 3-4pm PDT

KPFK 90.7fm Los Angeles, 98.7 Santa Barbara
and streaming live at www.kpfk.org
also available on audio archive for 90 days following broadcast

The Campaigns to Silence Critics of Israel

While the case of political scientist Norman Finkelstein has been widely publicized, other organized campaigns to silence academic critics of Israel are taking place around the country - from New York city to Missoula, Montana. At one university, even Nobel Laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu was denied a speaking engagement. At the same time, vicious attacks and charges of anti-Semitism have been leveled against those organizing for a just peace in the Middle East using the time-honored strategy of boycott, divestment and sanctions - the very same ones used in the earlier struggle against the apartheid South African regime.

This week’s program will focus on these various campaigns and on the way that charges of anti-Semitism are used to silence critics of Israel.

Guests include:

Laurie Brand, School of International Relations at USC; Chair, Committee on Academic Freedom of MESA (Middle East Studies Assn)

Cris Toffolo, Department of Political Science and Peace and Justice Program, University of St. Thomas (St Paul, Minn)

Dennis Kortheuer, Department of History, California State University and activist in California Faculty Association

Richard Kuper, Spokesperson, European Jews for a Just Peace

To Robin