Columbia University president Lee Bollinger exercised his free speech rights by giving guest lecturer Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a good tongue lashing. It is doubtful his words swayed the Iranian despot – “OK, OK, the Holocaust happened, and I will dismantle my nuclear program just as soon as I get back home!” - but with his tough talk “Bollinger had clawed his way back to semi-respectability in polite society by insulting his guest - not the usual practice in polite society, but consider the depth of the hole Bollinger had dug for himself by insisting on being a good academic liberal,” as Dallas Morning News columnist Bill Murchison put it.
If all speech on college campuses was equally tolerated – Ahmadinejad had been invited to speak, and people heard him out instead of shouting him down – The Stiletto’s first instinct is to agree with New Yorker Pearl Atkins, 74, who lost relatives in the Holocaust: “Let him speak - let him open his mouth. This is America; people get their say here, not like in Iran. He only makes himself sound more stupid with every word anyway.” But it’s hard out there for a free speech advocate when foreign totalitarians are allowed to speak, but not home-grown totalitarians (AKA “conservatives” in academia).
The free-speech double standard notwithstanding, The New York Times editorial board is “dismayed” that Bollinger was “denounced and threatened … for inviting the Iranian leader to speak … [W]e can imagine no better way to lay bare the bankruptcy of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s views than to have him speak, and be questioned, at a university forum.”
All well and good, if Ahmadinejad had been willing to answer questions put to him, or to engage in a debate. But his appearance at Columba University was completely content free – a pointless exercise, because a favored rhetorical trick of his is to answer a question with a question (maybe he’s channeling his inner Jew).
For instance, in response to the question Ahmadinejad was asked on the Holocaust, he parried with a question of his own: “Why is it that the Palestinian people are paying the price for an event they had nothing to do with?”
The Stiletto will answer Ahmadinejad’s question with an answer, courtesy of Eli E. Hertz, whose blog, Myths and Facts, focuses on the Middle East:
Palestinian Arabs cast themselves as a native people in “Palestine” – like the Aborigines in Australia or Native Americans in America. They portray the Jews as European imperialists and colonizers. This is simply untrue.
Until the Jews began returning to the Land of Israel in increasing numbers from the late 19th century to the turn of the 20th, the area called Palestine was a God-forsaken backwash that belonged to the Ottoman Empire, based in Turkey. …
Most Arabs living west of the Jordan River in Israel, the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and Gaza are newcomers who came from surrounding Arab lands after the turn of the 20th century because they were attracted to the relative economic prosperity brought about by the Zionist Movement and the British in the 1920s and 1930s. …
Family names of many Palestinians attest to their non-Palestinian origins. Just as Jews bear names like Berliner, Warsaw and Toledano, modern phone books in the Territories are filled with families named Elmisri (Egyptian), Chalabi (Syrian), Mugrabi (North Africa). Even George Habash – the arch-terrorist and head of Black September – bears a name with origins in Abyssinia or Ethiopia, Habash in both Arabic and Hebrew.
So Ahmadinejad no longer need wonder why the Palestinans are left “holding the bag” for the Holocaust. They aren’t.
Note: The Stiletto writes about politics and other stuff at The Stiletto Blog.
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9 users commented in " Bollinger’s Free Speech Double Talk "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackWow! This is why I love the internet.
Thanks for the information! - I had no idea that over 5 million Arabs migrated to “Palestine” after the Zionists cultivated and brought prosperity to that ‘God-forsaken’ land in the 1920’s.
If uprooting those 100 year old olive trees from their fields and bullozing the hundreds of years old stone houses and villages is the only way Israel can bring more prosperity and god loving zionists from around the world to this land so be it.
I now fully support the billions my government is giving the Israel government each year to get rid of those Arab traspassers.
That last comment was sarcastic I think. Ahmadinejad makes many good
points that Americans obviously overlook. Americans are proud and
arrogant which makes listening difficult if it is something they don’t
want to hear. Sometimes a question needs to be answered with a question.
Many questions posed to Ahmadinejad were based on erroneous information
which rendered the question unanswerable, so he would ask a question
back to gently expose the issue. Some good points are, ‘What is wrong with
researching something which Americans use as argument such as a holocaust
in Europe?’ or ‘If Israel and the US can have nuclear weapons who are they
to complain about others having nuclear weapons?’. Many of his questions
have yet been offered satisfactory answers in the mainstream news. Adjectives
are used to cut him down and I find it childish. I wish our President had
the maturity he has displayed. Does Bush fly to Iran to speak? He’d probably
be shot since those options are too little too late now.
This is still America people, and in a America we should allow our visitors and/or distinguished guest to speak freely. In this case, President Ahmadinejad truly provided us a glimpse into how distorted the truth really is in Iran. To most Americans, his speech only further isolated he and his country from the values we as Americans hold dear. We should not point fingers or muffle the voices of others but we should share in dialogue in hopes to understand and to educate ourselves with the dealings of foreign policy.
We should lead by example and not by threats of violence.
i am astounded.
first, by the lack of comments on mr. bollinger’s introductory insults to president ahmanidejad. he was invited to speak at columbia. why not show the minimum of civility to an invited guest? you don’t have to love him, just be polite. this nation has become as boorish, uncivil and intolerant as its present government.
second, by the absurdity and outright falsehood of the comment on this page about the palestinians settling in the 20th century. read history, don’t invent.
Most articles The Stiletto saw about Bollinger’s performance took the view that it was stupid or unseemly to invite the Iranian leader and then to be rude to him - and that Bollinger’s remarks were self-serving, to counteract the criticism he received for extending the invitation. The Stiletto is all for free speech and has no problem with the invitation to speak. But Columbia is very selective as to whom it extends free speech opportunities: Iranian despot, OK; Minuteman founder, no way. That’s hypocritical. No one shouted this speaker down, no one attacked him with pies, no one rushed the stage. All of these things have happened at Columbia when conservatives try to give a speech - if they are even invited to do so at all. This is pure BS plain and simple.
As for Eli Israel’s answer to the comment made above, I must say I am happy you have internet I think you should use it to Google the truth not what you want to hear.
A good point the president made in one of his speeches is that the US has calculated Iran can create enough fuel for A nuclear bomb a year. He said what am I going to do with a single bomb. I could buy one if I really needed one.
About the holocaust. He never answered a question with another question. He simply said more research should be done. Let the guy believe what he wants. If jewish people believe in it they are believing what they want and if other people don’t believe in it then let them not. Additionally what is wrong with doing more research? Is someone afraid that if research is done, something they don’t want to find out will come out of it? Why is it we know or hear about the holocaust? Maybe it is because we were told it is what happened by powerful sources and therefore we don’t question it, and as soon as we do question it we are hit in the head. We are basically told you have to believe it or you’re a bad person. To all those non-jewish whom get mad every time they hear about ahmadinejad talk about the holocaust, did you do the research yourself and know for fact or did you just read and hear about it in the media including history books and news. Try doing the research yourself and go there and do the math and true analysis. When you find all the answers and reach a conclusion go to your peers and or professors and tell them what you think and what you have found out. First they will be afraid to talk about it second they will say your wrong with out listing to you have to present. Try presenting your results and conclusions in a presentation within hours or days your speech and your thoughts will be echoed and you will be hated and kicked out of where ever you are. (Is this practice of freedom of speech in America?). I am saying let the guy be in his believes do you have to force him to believe what you do, which may not be right? Do this research to if you do decide to do any research and not be arrogant. What is the population of jewish people in Iran and who runs the media and is the arm of the media we are learning from?
The president of Iran was not invited by the US, he was invited by the United Nations so don’t take points for inviting him. The US showed 100% disrespect and demonstrated what type of people they are and how influenced they are by the jewish community, with their rude behavior towards a leader. In yesterdays peace talk the Americans walk out when the Iranian president was to speak. Is this any way of trying to make peace? By walking out on peace talks at the UN?
As for Mr. Ken, what distorted truth do you speak of? What is it that you think Iranians are kept behind from? Is it that you liked ahmadinejad and when he spoke you realized how wrong you were? Or is it you didn’t like him in the first place and regardless of what he said you would have the same comments. What did you expect him to come and say yes and no to everything? And when did he ever make threats of violence? Did you even learn anything?
As for stiletto, what did you want for people to throw banana peels for it to be rude? Grow up do some research and think before you talk.
Amer Irani: What a bravura performance you put on. Perhaps you will now be safe from the thought police, religious police or whatever police it is that would drag you away in the middle of the night and jail or execute you for disagreeing with your government or your religion. The Stiletto is allowed to think and speak as she sees fit. You, clearly, are parotting whatever BS it takes to keep you and your family safe.
Funny you think that way.
Believe it or not I am a US citizen and federal employee in the United States. Amer Irani isn’t my real name it stands for American-Iranian not Amir as you may think to be an Iranian name. I was born in the US and not of the boat. Pity you made a foul of your self with comments such as what you said. Iran is not what you think or told pity again for not knowing what comes out of your mouth. If I wanted to stay safe and keep my family safe I wouldn’t say anything at all and stay out of everything. Keep away from words like “I think”, “maybe” and “probably”. If you don’t know for sure lay low otherwise you just make a fool of your self.
Amer Irani: You are living proof that there is a Fifth Column in this country.
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