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Sept. 14, 2007
Hebrew U comes to the JCC
Visiting professors tackle subjects of Mideast peace, economics,
academic excellence.
PAT JOHNSON
The presidents of the University of British Columbia and Simon
Fraser University stood shoulder to shoulder with academics from
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem last weekend, condemning efforts
by British university teachers to boycott Israeli academic institutions.
"We should not allow this kind of calumny to progress,"
said SFU president Michael Stevenson. UBC's president, Stephen Toope,
described the concept of boycotting academics "ridiculous"
and "outrageous."
The two local university leaders were honorary co-chairs of Stretch
Your Mind: The Best of Hebrew University, a biannual Vancouver event
featuring professors from varied disciplines in the venerable Israeli
university founded by Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Martin Buber
and Chaim Weizmann.
The opening night keynote address by historian and political scientist
Uri Bialer grappled with the question "Is peace possible between
Israel and the Arab world?" By the end of the evening, the
question remained unresolved, but Bialer reminded the audience that
14 years of dialogue – beginning with the 1993 peace process
and following a half-century of enforced non-recognition between
Israel and the Palestinians – "is not a long period in
the international forum."
The notable progress since 1993, he said, is that both sides "have
really moved from their entrenched positions." For both the
Israelis and the Palestinians, Bialer said, problems remain and
the way ahead is unclear.
"Where does our prime minister [Ehud Olmert] want to go?"
he asked. "We don't know."
"What does Abu Mazen [Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas]
mean?" he continued. "We are not sure."
Uncertainty may seem the only certainty, with Bialer implying that
the current situation is entirely unprecedented.
"We are not in 1993," he said. "We are not in 1967
and we are certainly not in 1948."
The closest historical parallel, he suggested, was the Peel Commission
of 1937, which asserted that neither side – the Jews or Arabs
of Palestine – are likely to get everything they seek, but
a two-state solution would at least ensure security and freedom.
In a second presentation the following day, Bialer was less equivocal,
outlining some little-known and less understood aspects of Israeli
history. The internal political machinations leading to the rescue
of the Iraqi Jewish community from 1948-'51, he said, succeeded
because Israel employed the time-tested strategy of "buying
Jews."
The Soviet Union, by 1950, was desperate for foreign currency, Bialer
said, and Israel came up with $20 million to secure the release
of thousands of Eastern European Jews from the newly "democratic"
republics in the Soviet orbit.
"Tiny little Israel provided much of what was needed [by the
USSR] in terms of foreign currency," he said. But while the
Soviets permitted the emigration of Jews from Warsaw Pact partner
countries, the quid pro quo was that the Jews in the Soviet Union
proper would not be free to make aliyah.
At the same time, Israel walked a dangerous path between its greatest
ally, the United States, and the Soviets. At the time the Americans
were enforcing a boycott of the Soviet Union, Israel was engaged
in a "transit trade," Bialer said, in which they were
smuggling iron and drilling equipment to the Soviets in direct affront
to the American embargo, in trade for the lives of the Jews of Eastern
Europe. It would not be until the 1970s that a large-scale emigration
of Soviet Jews began.
Internal political and economic demands played roles as well, he
said. Some East Bloc states wanted to get rid of their Jews. Others
used the opportunity to rid their countries of the burden of elderly,
unproductive or disabled citizens, as well as political dissidents.
In Romania, a huge industrialization program was underway, resulting
in increased urbanization, so Jews fleeing for the new state of
Israel left behind much-needed housing.
Similar intrigue allowed Israel to obtain desperately needed oil
through trade with Iran. One of only two regional states to recognize
Israel – Turkey was the other – Iran had self-interest
at heart. Israel was the only customer who would pay the exorbitant
price Iran demanded.
Other lectures at the weekend event covered such diverse topics
as climate change, Islamic art, adult Jewish education and social
entrepreneurship.
In a concluding panel discussion, all six visiting professors addressed
the question of how Israel can maintain academic excellence. Prof.
Jonathan Mirvis made the case that nothing is more important.
"I believe we are sitting on Israel's greatest resource,"
he said, "the minds and brains of our younger generation."
Pat Johnson is, among other things, director of development
and communications for the Vancouver Hillel Foundation.
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