Subject: Jehuda Reinharz’ reply to ZOA inquiries
From: Jehuda Reinharz
Sent: Monday, January 23, 2006
Dear XX,
I am writing in response to your email inquiring about Professor Khalil Shikaki. Professor Shikaki is a world-respected expert on Palestinian politics and public opinion. He is a sought-after speaker at major American think tanks, including the pro-Israel Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He is also currently an adviser to the State Department. We live in a country where people are presumed innocent until proven guilty. If someone has real evidence, let him or her bring it forward.
As to the ZOA, I thought that McCarthyism had disappeared long ago, but obviously it can still be found. The ZOA’s charges against Professor Shikaki constitute a form of Jewish McCarthyism -- accusing and judging him before any credible evidence has been put forward. Justice Brandeis, who served as the honorary president of the ZOA when it was first established, would be saddened and distressed to see the depths to which the ZOA has fallen.
Sincerely,
Jehuda Reinharz
President
Brandeis University
Waltham, MA 02453
