The Albuquerque Journal reports on the "controversry" over my upcoming talk at the University of New Mexico on 7 November. In perhaps a new low for anti-Palestinian activists, Sam Sokolove, the executive director of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico, which has been leading the campaign of vilification and slander, likens me to the KKK while advocates for racist Zionist apartheid Israel are supposedly the equivalent of the NAACP.
What's striking is that the Zionists' smear tactics and vilification have failed. I am really looking forward to being at the University of New Mexico, and we will see if Mr. Sokolove and his colleagues will have the courage of their convictions to show up. I will be more than happy to answer their questions.
Read the full story at the newspaper's website. Here are a few excerpts:
Tuesday, November 02, 2010UNM Jews Upset Over Palestinian SpeakerBy James MonteleoneJournal Staff WriterLocal Jewish groups are asking two University of New Mexico departments to disassociate themselves from a speech by a Palestinian-American author who they say is anti-Semitic and who could have a "chilling" effect on Jewish students and faculty.Heads of the American Studies and Peace Studies departments co-hosting the event, however, say that what is "chilling'" is the attempt to stifle academic debate at UNM by confusing criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism.[snip]American Studies Head Alex Lubin, who is Jewish, said he was disappointed that the groups labeled a political conversation hosted on a university campus as anti-Semitism." I understood that it was a controversial topic, but it's particularly chilling, I think, when groups that publicly represent Jews accuse people of being anti-Semites merely for their critique of Israel," said Lubin.[snip]Sam Sokolove, executive director of the Jewish Federation who signed the letter, said Abunimah represents a hate movement that is not interested in dialogue. He compared a Jewish conversation with Abunimah to a debate between the NAACP and the Ku Klux Klan.[snip]Abunimah, in an interview with the Journal, said the opposition isn't a surprise. The letter-writing campaign is an attempt to stop the conversation before it occurs because the debate is one critics don't win, he said."I'm against apartheid in Israel. I'm against discrimination. I'm for equal rights for everyone, I say that every time I speak. ... I believe Israeli Jews and Palestinians have a right to live in peace, tranquility and equality, just like Americans do," he said. "But that's a very threatening message for people who believe there should be a system where one group of people has more rights than another. I'm assuming that's why they don't want me to be there and speak."
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