Dr. Ilan Pappe: a letter to the American historical society by Ilan Pappe (via Alef email list) 8:11pm Fri Nov 23 '01 I appeal to you as a member and as a colleague to voice your opinion and protest against a shameful decision taken by Haifa University on November 18, 2001. On that date, the university decided to disqualify an MA thesis that has originally passed cum laude in the department of Middle Eastern History. print article To the president of the American Historical Society To the president of the British Middle Eastern Society To the president of the American Middle Eastern Association Dear madam\sir, I appeal to you as a member and as a colleague to voice your opinion and protest against a shameful decision taken by Haifa University on November 18, 2001. On that date, the university decided to disqualify an MA thesis that has originally passed cum laude in the department of Middle Eastern History. I attach my article in the Journal of Palestine Studies that describes the chronicles of this sad affair, and I beseech you to read it so that you can be updated with the events surrounding this thesis. The article describes how the student revealed in his thesis the occurrence of a terrible massacre a Jewish military unit committed in the Palestinian village of Tantura on the night between the 22ed and the 23rd of May. This was probably one of the worst massacres in the war. The veterans of this unit have exerted pressure on the university to disqualify the thesis and succeeded in doing so, by that trampling the very elementary freedoms of academic research and expression. This may not come to you as a surprise given the present atmosphere in Israel – a consensual nationalist and jingoist mood – and yet the Israeli academia depends very much on the opinion of your members and association (if not for anything else, you are badly needed for the completion of promotion and tenure procedures). You can not possibly allow them to evade the basic rules of decency and honesty even when the issue at hand is the Palestinian catastrophe, the history of which has bearings on the present conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Your intervention and assistance would be most welcome and appreciated at these dark hours when Israeli academics can not find in themselves the courage to remain loyal to the basics rules of academic research and freedom. Yours sincerely, Dr. Ilan Pappe Department of Political Science Haifa University Haifa 31905 Israel add your comments

The attachment by editor 8:21pm Fri Nov 23 '01 print comment The attachment mentioned in this letter was posted as a separate article and can be found at: http://indymedia.org.il/imc/israel/webcast/10285.html add your comments

Ilan lies by Baruch 3:16am Sat Nov 24 '01 Baruch_Cohen@hotmail.com print comment Teddy Katz like you is a liar. Teddy Katz made the thing all up. Teddy Katz is a well known peace now activist. He made this whole story up about a massacre. The soldiers he interviewed every one called Teddy Katz a liar and how Katz put words in there mouth. Its sad, that left wing Jews have to make up stories, to do there Pro Palestinian Propaganda. In todays age, where Israel and Americans have to deal with Arab terrorism all the time. Ilan and Teddy katz are the dream of every Arab terrorist. Ilan, your a well know communist. Didn't you lose the Cold War. By the way Ilan, do you have any stories how Hajj Amin Al Husseini was a genocidal partner of Hitler. Ofcourse not. This site documents the genocidal deal Husseini made with Hitler. http://notendur.centrum.is/~snorrigb/muftism.htm add your comments

dispute facts no slander please by jon gubits 1:55am Tue Dec 4 '01 dejuang@aol.com print comment Please disagree with T Katz or Ilan Pappe on the contents of the rejected thesis instead of relying on cold war tactics as guilt by assn (the well known peace now activist) or outright red baiting (calling Pappe a communist). add your comments

dispute facts no slander please by jon gubits 1:58am Tue Dec 4 '01 dejuang@aol.com print comment Please disagree with T Katz or Ilan Pappe on the contents of the rejected thesis instead of relying on cold war tactics as guilt by assn (the well known peace now activist) or outright red baiting (calling Pappe a communist). add your comments

Baruch ? by mrblue 3:15am Tue Dec 4 '01 jad@altern.org print comment Baruch, Massacres are always denied by some people. That reminds me of something ... Are you trying to deny that Israel is a country built on terror and imperialism. israel hasn't been built on a Zionist idealism but on massacres and dollars. add your comments

Dumu Ani by The Hitler Connection 1:04am Fri May 24 '02 print comment Baruch. I find it appalling how people keep making these Hitler/Palestinian connections in response to every debate concerning anything to do with Israel.(this includes you by the way) Not only is it highly misleading, methodologically flawed, anachronistic but you keep forgetting that the great Jabotinski himself (you know, the man whose 'Iron Wall' strategy has been adopted by all Israeli governments up until this very day, whether they have been left or right wing) would have loved to cut a deal with Hitler, so you shouldnt just point the finger at Husseini. Next time look a bit closer to home. The history of Zionism is littered with great men of vision trying to cut dirty deals, as indeed is all history. Oh, and by the way, before you start moralising about the terror that Americans and Israelis are fighting, consider stretching that underused brain a little further to ponder on the moral quagmire that is state terrorism. add your comments