E-mail exchange between Dr. Nona Fienberg & Dr. Sohail Hashmi after presentation by Dr. Hashmi on 11/7 at KSC.
> Date: Wed, 08 Nov 06 13:01:28 -0500
> From: Nona Fienberg
> Subject: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/misc/profile/shashmi.shtml
Dear Dr. Hashmi,
Thank you for your clear and helpful talk on Nov. 7 at Keene State College
I learned much from it, as did the many students who attended. I do have an urgent question, however, and a request. I am sure that you have given this talk many times and will give it again. Are you unaware, and am I the first to note that in your geographic list of the countries of the Middle East, you do not include Israel, but do list Palestine?
I do hope that others gave commented, since in creating such a list which includes a state that does not exist and excludes a state that does exist, the talk offers misinformation to students.
I hope you believe as I do that providing accurate information is an important component of our responsibility as teachers and scholars. The elimination of Israel from the map of the Middle East is, we both know the stated goal of terrifying extremists, but it is not a fact. I appreciate your response to my urgent question. The question cuts to the heart of your responsibility as a teacher and scholar.
Thank you,
Dr. Nona Fienberg
Dean of Arts and Humanities
Keene State College
From: shashmi@mtholyoke.edu [mailto:shashmi@mtholyoke.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, November 08, 2006 2:19 PM
To: Fienberg, Nona
Subject: Re: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/misc/profile/shashmi.shtml
Dear Dean Fienberg,
Thank you for writing. I enjoyed very much the chance to visit Keene State and to meet with your students and faculty. I regret I didn't have the opportunity to talk with you in person.
Thank you also for raising your concern. I never listed all the states that belong in to the Middle East region in my talk yesterday, but had I done so, Israel would surely be included. I believe I did mention, in an answer to a student's question, the contested territory that Arabs call Palestine and Jews call the Land of Israel, emphasizing that religion is but one of many factors underlying the conflict over this piece of land.
In your email, I believe you are referring to a table I showed of Arab
Christians as a percentage of different Arab populations. I've attached
the slide in question for your reference. As you will see, the list is
not of the countries of the Middle East. The inclusion of Palestine in
the list of Arab countries is perhaps inappropriate, but it is
frequently done in the Middle East studies literature. Here "Palestine"
is listed not as a state, but as a national group in which some 5-10%
of the population (living in Israel, the Palestinian-administered
territories, or elsewhere) are Christians. The percentage of Arab
Christians who are Israeli citizens is today quite small, less than 2%,
and for that reason Israel is not listed in the table. I will be more
careful to explain all this in future presentations of this particular
slide.
If you are referring to something else that I said yesterday, I hope
you will elaborate further.
With all best wishes,
Sohail Hashmi
From: Fienberg, Nona
Sent: Monday, November 13, 2006 1:01 PM
To: 'shashmi@mtholyoke.edu'
Subject: RE: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/misc/profile/shashmi.shtml
Dear Dr. Hashmi,
I heard you when you spoke of "contested territory that Arabs call Palestine" and so on. Israel's existence is put into question and under erasure in suggesting that only Jews "call" the land "Israel." Jews and Arabs live together in Israel. All who live there are Israelis, while some are also Israeli-Arabs. The presentation falsifies the fact of Israel's existence by reducing the nation to no more than merely a name that Jews use.
The country of Israel is Israel. The territory is indeed contested and the contest bears much study and discussion. Israel's erasure on maps and in discussions by some scholars of the Middle East is hardly a useful strategy for the future or for presentations to students who hunger for information.
Such corrections for future presentations would open the possibility of further honest discussion.
Thank you,
Dr. Nona Fienberg
Dean of Arts and Humanities
> From: Nona Fienberg
> Subject: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/misc/profile/shashmi.shtml
Dear Dr. Hashmi,
Thank you for your clear and helpful talk on Nov. 7 at Keene State College
I learned much from it, as did the many students who attended. I do have an urgent question, however, and a request. I am sure that you have given this talk many times and will give it again. Are you unaware, and am I the first to note that in your geographic list of the countries of the Middle East, you do not include Israel, but do list Palestine?
I do hope that others gave commented, since in creating such a list which includes a state that does not exist and excludes a state that does exist, the talk offers misinformation to students.
I hope you believe as I do that providing accurate information is an important component of our responsibility as teachers and scholars. The elimination of Israel from the map of the Middle East is, we both know the stated goal of terrifying extremists, but it is not a fact. I appreciate your response to my urgent question. The question cuts to the heart of your responsibility as a teacher and scholar.
Thank you,
Dr. Nona Fienberg
Dean of Arts and Humanities
Keene State College
From: shashmi@mtholyoke.edu [mailto:shashmi@mtholyoke.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, November 08, 2006 2:19 PM
To: Fienberg, Nona
Subject: Re: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/misc/profile/shashmi.shtml
Dear Dean Fienberg,
Thank you for writing. I enjoyed very much the chance to visit Keene State and to meet with your students and faculty. I regret I didn't have the opportunity to talk with you in person.
Thank you also for raising your concern. I never listed all the states that belong in to the Middle East region in my talk yesterday, but had I done so, Israel would surely be included. I believe I did mention, in an answer to a student's question, the contested territory that Arabs call Palestine and Jews call the Land of Israel, emphasizing that religion is but one of many factors underlying the conflict over this piece of land.
In your email, I believe you are referring to a table I showed of Arab
Christians as a percentage of different Arab populations. I've attached
the slide in question for your reference. As you will see, the list is
not of the countries of the Middle East. The inclusion of Palestine in
the list of Arab countries is perhaps inappropriate, but it is
frequently done in the Middle East studies literature. Here "Palestine"
is listed not as a state, but as a national group in which some 5-10%
of the population (living in Israel, the Palestinian-administered
territories, or elsewhere) are Christians. The percentage of Arab
Christians who are Israeli citizens is today quite small, less than 2%,
and for that reason Israel is not listed in the table. I will be more
careful to explain all this in future presentations of this particular
slide.
If you are referring to something else that I said yesterday, I hope
you will elaborate further.
With all best wishes,
Sohail Hashmi
From: Fienberg, Nona
Sent: Monday, November 13, 2006 1:01 PM
To: 'shashmi@mtholyoke.edu'
Subject: RE: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/misc/profile/shashmi.shtml
Dear Dr. Hashmi,
I heard you when you spoke of "contested territory that Arabs call Palestine" and so on. Israel's existence is put into question and under erasure in suggesting that only Jews "call" the land "Israel." Jews and Arabs live together in Israel. All who live there are Israelis, while some are also Israeli-Arabs. The presentation falsifies the fact of Israel's existence by reducing the nation to no more than merely a name that Jews use.
The country of Israel is Israel. The territory is indeed contested and the contest bears much study and discussion. Israel's erasure on maps and in discussions by some scholars of the Middle East is hardly a useful strategy for the future or for presentations to students who hunger for information.
Such corrections for future presentations would open the possibility of further honest discussion.
Thank you,
Dr. Nona Fienberg
Dean of Arts and Humanities
posted by Kathy at
9:32 AM
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