Letter to the editor

11/28/12 6:00pm

 

To the editor: 

It has come to my attention that there is a new club on campus. Its members call themselves the Rice Progressives. 

---

---

A quick look at their Web page reveals an alarming pattern of pernicious misinformation and slander against the Jewish state of Israel. This being a college campus, there is certain to be a healthy and spirited debate among students; however, the problem is that the club, contrary to any progressive ideals suggested by its name, have instead stifled debate and hijacked a potentially fruitful conversation. 

This is not the Progressives' first foray into attacking Israel. Last March, they hosted a notorious critic of Israel, Norman Finkelstein. At the time, I suggested that they balance the discussion by bringing a voice from the other side of the debate. This idea was immediately shot down by the club's leaders. One said, "In terms of the question of contrast, I'd encourage you to participate in the [question-and-answer session]." Another who chimed in said, "I support Rice Progressives' [sic] decision not to invite a pro-Israel speaker. Zionism is neither progressive nor underrepresented. It would have no place." The absurdity of both these sentiments demonstrates a serious lack of self-awareness and a disdain that the Progressives appear to harbor against appropriate academic discourse. 

Thus, perhaps I should not have been surprised to see last week that during the Israeli operation in Gaza, the Progressives propagated noxious lies about Israel's defensive campaign. On their Web page, the Rice Progressives linked to Jewish conspiracy sites and blogs, they encouraged protesting against Israel and advertised on behalf of the Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Houston, which is a radicalized, hateful group that supports sanctions and divestment against Israel - a position whose adherents even Norman Finkelstein said belong to a "hypocritical, dishonest cult." Apparently, the Progressives' hate for Israel defies even their own organizational logic. 

Last Monday night, having learned from a link on the Rice Progressives' Web page that a rally against Israel would take place along the Dunlavy Street bridge over U.S. Highway 59, I took it upon myself to stage a counter demonstration in support of Israel. I stood with an Israeli flag at the neighboring Mandel Street bridge until sunset, at which point a man from the rally that the Rice Progressives supported approached me. He ambushed me with a point-and-shoot camera, attempting to intimidate me or provoke an unseemly reaction. This man, who told me he is an active member in the sorts of protests the Rice Progressives support, also recounted a long list of vile conspiracy theories, ranging from Israel's involvement in 9/11 to denying the Holocaust. Although this man is not a student or employee at Rice, this encounter is suggestive of the kind of company the Rice Progressives choose to keep. 

So who are the Rice Progressives? The ironic tragedy is that they are by no means progressive. A truly progressive organization does not stifle what could be a rich debate, nor does a truly progressive organization conspire against one of the most progressive social movements of the 20th century - Zionism. It is unclear who these progressive imposters are in their entirety, but research shows the club's leadership is entirely comprised, rather curiously, of graduate students in the English department, including Joanna "Jo" Fax and faculty sponsor Jose Aranda. 

The Rice Progressives' activities span beyond their mistreatment of Israel. With Occupy Houston, they also organized the interruption of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's speech at the Baker Institute last year, which drew negative media attention to the university and even police action. More recently, it appears that this band of English graduate students is teaching a course on social movements under the guise of the "Americas Research Center." Based on the club's utter mishandling of one such social movement in Israel, I would seriously question its leaders' qualification to teach even a paltry one-credit course on the topic next semester. 

I told the madman on the bridge last Monday that if he wanted to talk in a civilized manner, he should arrange a time and place to speak. But he was not interested. He continued to harass me until I ignored him for long enough. Indeed, the Rice Progressives have also somewhat ironically stifled debate on their own Web page, preventing me from corresponding or commenting in any fashion. An email I sent over two weeks ago asking why I had been specifically denied the privilege to engage with them has gone unanswered. Thus, being unable to express my concerns to the club directly, I wish to express them to the entire Rice community. I do not think the Rice Progressives ought to be silenced like they have tried to silence me, but I do think they should begin to behave within the acceptable standards of this university. 

Eli Spector 

McMurtry College Junior 

---