Oxford University once again takes the intellectual wimp-out

By Aussiegirl

Oxford University showed its true colors once again by hosting an anti-Israel "week". Anti-Semitism is alive and well in the hallowed halls of Oxford. I'm surprised that Hamas didn't send along any speakers to further inflame things.

Oxford holds 'Apartheid Israel' week

Oxford University is this week holding an "Israeli Apartheid week." Hosted by the Palestinian Society, and sanctioned by the university's student union, flyers state it is to commemorate the "30th anniversary of the international convention on the suppression and punishment of the crime of apartheid."Fliers show a caricature of two Israeli soldiers beating a Palestinian man with maps of Israel, stated as Palestine, and South Africa. The conference's themes are apartheid and Zionism, divestment and resistance.
[...] Adrienne Rivlin, ex-president of the Oxford University Jewish Society and current Graduate Chair, said, "Given the current political climate, it's deeply concerning that the Palestinian Society should choose such an inflammatory title, designed to be provocative and reinforce preconceived prejudices, rather than trying to build bridges and foment dialogue. Israeli and Jewish students on campus unfortunately can only feel intimidated by their actions."

What follows is from an article I found published shortly after 9/11, with this title: Even Pacifists Must Support This War, Those who refuse are reminiscent of the Oxford Union in 1933.

When We Must Fight

In 1933 the Oxford Student Union conducted a famous debate over whether it was moral for Britons to fight for king and country. The exquisite intellects of that leading university reviewed the many ways in which British colonialism exploited and oppressed the world. They cited the ways in which vengeful demands made of Germany in the wake of World War I had helped to kindle nationalism and fascism. They saw no moral difference between Western colonialism and world fascism. The Oxford Union ended that debate with this famous proclamation: "Resolved, that we will in no circumstances fight for king and country."

Von Ribbentrop sent back the good news to Germany's new chancellor, Hitler: The West will not fight for its own survival. Its finest minds will justify a silent surrender.

In short, the best-educated young people of their time could not tell the difference between the deficiencies of their own nation, in which liberty and democracy were cornerstones, and a dictatorship founded on racism, tyranny and fear.