Professors from U. Maryland, Georgia Tech, Israel and Student React To SPME Statement on University of Pennsylvania “Suicide Bomber” Incident and President’s Actions

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To SPME:

The issue of what should happen following the publication of the revolting photo of University of Pennsylvania Amy Gutmann posed and smiling next to a student dressed as a suicide bomber also holding a toy machine gun is for the faculty, students, alumni and board of trustees of that university to resolve. I would urge the University of Pennsylvania community to consider the following points:

First, Amy Gutmann is reported to be one of the more highly paid university presidents in the United States. This means that her annual compensation is likely over $500,000 a year, perhaps considerably more. University Presidents are paid large sums for a variety of reasons, one of which is the assumption that they show good political judgment and do not bring discredit to the institution. By agreeing to pose with a student dressed up as a terrorist, President Gutmann failed on both counts. That is, she has harmed the University of Pennsylvania. When executives in major institutions harm the institutions they are leading, the boards consider replacing them. The University of Pennsylvania community should consider replacing President Gutmann.

Second, a president of a major American university is thought to carry a certain moral stature. The irony of this grotesque case is that Amy Gutmann has commented on issues of ethics, politics and human rights. Having publicly posed with a student dressed as a suicide bomber, why and how can she be taken seriously in American society regarding matters of urgent public concern? A president of a major university, and an Ivy League university at that, whose moral authority has eroded is a serious liability for that institution. While one of the natural scientists or economists who serve as university presidents might have a tin ear for such things, a scholar such as Gutmann who has written extensively on political issues has little margin for error regarding politically sensitive issues. Whether this has episode has an impact on fund raising is an issue for University of Pennsylvania alumni to consider.

Third, SPME suggests sensitivity workshops about the impact of terrorism. The impact of terrorism is obvious. Less obvious are the ideological wellsprings of radical Islamic terrorism. These include radical anti-Semitism. The University of Pennsylvania could sponsor a gathering on the nature of radical Islam and the threat it poses to human rights, ethnic and religious tolerance, to Israel, the United States, Europe and the moderate states in the Middle East. Or more simply, students could be asked to read and discuss Paul Berman’s Terror and Liberalism, and to visit the website of New American liberalism (www.newamericanliberalism.org ).

Fourth, to err is human. Like President Gutmann, my father fled from Nazi Germany in the 1930s. I cannot imagine that she would intentionally do anything that would certainly cause anguish to our parents. But she has made a serious error. In my view, to restore her now fractured moral credibility and to revive her viability as President of the University of Pennsylvania, she needs to do far more than she has done so far to emphatically and unequivocally denounce in no uncertain terms the ideology and practice of radical Islam and the terrorism it has and continues to justify and incite.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Herf

Jeffrey Herf
Professor
Department of History
University of Maryland
2115 Francis Scott Key Hall
College Park, Maryland
Tel: 301 405 7667
Fax: 301 314 9399

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Sensitivity Training? Excuse Me????

Dear SPME Board of Directors:

Sensitivity training? Excuse me???? Do you honestly believe this disgusting action occurred because

Amy Gutmann is not sufficiently sensitive to the feelings of Jews and others who object to being murdered in the name of Allah? Who find nothing amusing in a student playing “suicide bomber” on Halloween? And do you honestly believe that a few hours in a workshop will correct bigotry that took a lifetime to develop and is so much a part of her (and others’) character that she didn’t even consider that some people (read “Jews” here) might be offended, or care if they were?

When are well-intentioned academics going to realize that moral persuasion only works if those being persuaded have morals to start with? What you want to change is behavior, not “sensitivity,” whatever that is. To change behavior you need power, pure and simple. Hearts and minds, as they say, will follow.

Sincerely,

Jack M. Feldman
Professor of Psychology
School of Psychology
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta GA 30332-0170

“The state that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its
thinking done by cowards, and its fighting by fools.”
Thucydides

“The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.”
John W. Gardner

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Student’s Actions “Slap in the face…”

Dear Friends,

This condemned action of Mr. Saad Saadi
glorifying terror and terrorists is a slap to peace
and world security. We condemn such acts and such
irresponsible behavior by students and the staff.

Those who are encouraging terror and suicide bombers
and considering them “freedom fighters” are
encouraging blood shed of innocent people and forcing
others to dictate their ideology upon others. It is
imperative to encourage diplomatic negotiations,
mutual understanding, tolerance and peaceful means of
cooperation between people and nations.

Prof. Shmuel Moreh
Chairman Association of Jewish
Academics from Iraq in Israel.

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Thank you for your statement

It had to be said.

Trudy Kuehner, UofP College ’91
Philadelphia, PA

Professors from U. Maryland, Georgia Tech, Israel and Student React To SPME Statement on University of Pennsylvania “Suicide Bomber” Incident and President’s Actions

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AUTHOR

SPME

Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME) is not-for-profit [501 (C) (3)], grass-roots community of scholars who have united to promote honest, fact-based, and civil discourse, especially in regard to Middle East issues. We believe that ethnic, national, and religious hatreds, including anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism, have no place in our institutions, disciplines, and communities. We employ academic means to address these issues.

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