Hatem Bazian |
Predictably, American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) has congratulated the Associated Students of the University of California, Berkeley (ASUC), for its recent passage of Resolution SB-160, which, as they describe it, calls for “divestment of student and university funds from companies that profit from Israel’s occupation of Palestine.” In the process, they published a letter written before the resolution’s passage from Hatem Bazian, AMP founder and chairman and senior lecturer in Near East studies at UC Berkeley--not to mention a fanatical anti-Israel activist--urging ASUC to approve the bill. In spite of its specious analogies to South African apartheid and ludicrous claims, including that UC Berkeley is “hostile and unwelcoming for Palestinians since the campus is affirmatively investing in the occupation and supporting it in deeds and words,” Bazian’s letter had its intended effect. Given his repeated emphasis on being “a member of the UC Berkeley faculty,” it’s hard to imagine ASUC did not take that into account when making its decision.
Once again, we see the nefarious influence that politicized Middle East studies academics such as Bazian can have on student opinion.
