UCLA Professor Saree Makdisi Lectures Us on Charlie Hebdo

UCLA Professor Saree Makdisi has written an op-ed in the LA Times that lectures us on division and the “us vs them” mentality. This is a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Makdisi is a regular participant in all those panel discussions we see on University of California campuses devoted to delegitimizing the Jewish state of Israel and attributing all kinds of horrors to the Middle East’s lone democracy. I saw him speak at UC Irvine back in 2009 at a one-sided event called Whither the Levant, in which an entire day was devoted to condemning Israel with numerous professors speaking-not one of whom defended Israel.

While Makdisi suggests that we need to stop and think twice before expressing our thoughts about Islamic hate and violence-satire or otherwise- he apparently gives scant thought as to how this campaign of hate against the Jewish state has contributed to the rise of anti-Semitism on UC campuses.

I would suggest to Professor Makdisi that if Islamic terror and persecution of religious minorities went away, there might not be a need for the likes of Charlie Hebdo. In the meantime, he should resign himself to the fact that freedom of speech works both ways. It not only allows him to express his views on Israel, but it allows the rest of us to speak out on the horrors perpetrated by jihadists around the globe.

Yes, Professor Makdisi: That is what we celebrate in the West. You should learn more about it. It would be an education for you.