U. welcomes scholars with a range of views
Regarding ‘Khalidi candidacy for new chair draws fire’ (Friday, April 22):
While I am Chair of the Board of the Center for Jewish Life (CJL), the views I present here are my own. The consideration of Rashid Khalidi for a faculty appointment at Princeton has raised concerns among some members of the University community regarding his political beliefs. My view is that these concerns are misplaced. The process for making academic appointments at Princeton is a very serious and thoughtful process that rigorously evaluates the scholarly contributions of candidates. There is no legitimate place in this process for a vetting of a candidate’s political views unless these views inappropriately affect his or her teaching or scholarly work. It is through rigorous adherence to this process that Princeton has assembled one of the finest and most exciting faculties in the world.
The CJL, as an organization and as part of the University community, must respect the academic appointment process. We are certainly opposed to intolerance, be it of Jews or of other groups. As far as I know, there is no indication of intolerance on the part of Professor Khalidi evident in his scholarly work or in his teaching record. Neither is there any evidence of which I am aware in Professor Khalidi’s long career that he has used his position inappropriately. There exists a wide range of political views on the Princeton faculty, and we celebrate these differences as we learn from them.
Henry Farber
Professor of Economics
Khalidi would add diversity to NES
Regarding ‘Khalidi candidacy for new chair draws fire’ (Friday, April 22):
It seems that the main worry about Khalidi as a potential faculty member is his strongly pro-Palestinian views. What should really be concerning us, apart from his academic credentials, is how far his ability to exercise his power in the classroom would be compromised by his political views.
While many of his colleagues at Columbia have recently been accused of intimidating students who disagree with them in classroom, Khalidi’s implication in academic misconduct is questionable at best. The controversy began when several students made a documentary, “Columbia Unbecoming,” funded by a pro-Israeli group called the David Project, criticizing the intimidating practices of certain Middle Eastern Studies professors when faced with opposition to their political views in the classroom. These students have since repudiated the way in which their specific criticism was coopted by political extremists on both sides, blurring the reality that they were trying to portray. As accusations of anti-Semitism were thrown around, professors who were not criticized in the documentary were summarily denounced as part of the brigade of pro-Palestinian professors suppressing academic freedom in favor of political advocacy. Rashid Khalidi is one such professor. While nobody is denying his extreme political views — after Said’s death, he has become the most visible proponent of the one-state solution that would mean the end of Israel — his professionalism is another matter. A report following an investigation into the charges brought by the students did not mention Khalidi at all. More persuasively, the makers of the documentary have actually said that his respectful engaging manner in the classroom is a model for the professors they were criticizing. Given the lack of balance in our own Near Eastern Studies department, which still uses the lens of Orientalism and whose guiding lights are the conservative Professors Bernard Lewis and Michael Doran, a professor such as Khalidi, who has shown that he can temper his politics in the classroom, is worth at least considering as a new addition to our faculty.
Ananya Chakravarti ’05
