PrintMay 10, 2013
BDS and the Intellectuals
As a graduate student of English literature, I was constantly dismayed to discover that far too many literary luminaries held deeply anti-Semitic beliefs. Mary Ann Evans a.k.a. George Eliot was a notable exception and it was her book Daniel Deronda that gave me hope that intellect coupled with perceptive appreciation and empathy can sometimes go hand in hand.
But now some 40 years later, I am still confronted with the disquieting truth that intellectual accomplishment does not, indeed, result in empathy with other human beings, particularly Jews.
Enter Stephen Hawking, British professor who has now joined the ranks of those who support the academic boycott of Israel. Thus, he has decided to pull out of the upcoming Israeli president's conference in Jerusalem entitled "Facing Tomorrow", which features international personalities and attracts thousands of participants. In a Jerusalem Post article, Greer Fay Cashman writes that Hawking has
approved a statement published by the British...(Read Full Article)
