person:paul shaviv

  • Testing limits: Orthodox high school uninvites Palestinian-American scholar
    By Debra Nussbaum Cohen | Feb. 22, 2014
    Haaretz
    http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/.premium-1.575709

    NEW YORK CITY– The modern Orthodox Ramaz high school is the latest to join a growing list of venues where debate over the boundaries of acceptable discourse relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has led to major figures being uninvited from speaking engagements.

    RamPo, the school’s student-led extra-curricular politics society, recently invited Rashid Khalidi, a well-known historian of the Middle-East, to give a talk. Shortly thereafter, school head Paul Shaviv rescinded the invitation, overruling the students.

    Khalidi is the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Colombia University, and is the author of several major books concerning Palestinian national politics and identity.

    In response to Shaviv’s action, RamPo started a petition calling on Shaviv “to realize how important academic equitability is to the Ramaz community and reverse his prohibition on Professor Khalidi’s address.” By late Friday, the petition had collected some 180 votes. Many appeared to be from outside supporters of open dialogue, including leaders of the Open Hillel movement and J Street U. Other signees included “Adolph Hitler” and “Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.”