If you happened to receive an invitation cordially inviting you to an evening with Rashid Khalidi at the First Amendment Center--sponsored by Nashville Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle--please, put away your evening gown and your anti-Israeli invective. The American-Palestinian who nearly scuttled the Jewish vote for Obama--through no fault of his own, really--was never coming to Nashville for a Feb. 12 speaking engagement.
Actually, former Tennessee U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. is scheduled for the evening. Not quite as scandalous, but he is a Democrat. The Tennessee judge told the Associated Press that someone, maybe a disgruntled litigant, sent out fake invitations to a number of local lawyers.
Khalidi is the Middle East studies professor at Columbia University who has very publicly criticized Israel--how dare he! During the presidential campaign McCain latched on to a perceived Obama-Khalidi association to question the then-candidate’s dedication to Israel.
For more conservative types, an evening with Khalidi might not play so well. But in Davidson County, is this really supposed to hurt the good judge?