By NEVE GORDON and JEFF HALPER

Not one of the nearly 450 presidents of American colleges and universities who prominently denounced an effort by British academics to boycott Israeli universities in September 2007 have raised their voice in opposition to Israel’s bombardment of the Islamic University of Gaza earlier this week. Lee C. Bollinger, president of Columbia University, who organized the petition, has been silent, as have his co-signatories from Princeton, Northwestern, and Cornell Universities, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Most others who signed similar petitions, like the 11,000 professors from nearly 1,000 universities around the world, have also refrained from expressing their outrage at Israel’s attack on the leading university in Gaza. The artfully named Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, which organized the latter appeal, has said nothing about the assault.

While the extent of the damage to the Islamic University, which was hit in six separate airstrikes, is still unknown, recent reports indicate that at least two major buildings were targeted, a science laboratory and the Ladies’ Building, where female students attended classes. There were no casualties, as the university was evacuated when the Israeli assault began on Saturday.

Virtually all the commentators agree that the Islamic University was attacked, in part, because it is a cultural symbol of Hamas, the ruling party in the elected Palestinian government, which Israel has targeted in its continuing attacks in Gaza. Mysteriously, hardly any of the news coverage has emphasized the educational significance of the university, which far exceeds its cultural or political symbolism.

Established in 1978 by the founder of Hamas — with the approval of Israeli authorities — the Islamic University is the first and most important institution of higher education in Gaza, serving more than 20,000 students, 60 percent of whom are women. It comprises 10 faculties — education, religion, art, commerce, Shariah law, science, engineering, information technology, medicine, and nursing — and awards a variety of bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Taking into account that Palestinian universities have been regionalized because Palestinian students from Gaza are barred by Israel from studying either in the West Bank or abroad, the educational significance of the Islamic University becomes even more apparent.

rest of it is at:

http://www.counterpunch.org/gordon12312008.html

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To target civilians in this manner is a war crime worthy of Nazis. Have the Jews become the Germans?

Glenn,

You said this to a commenter today:

(One of the vital points, in my view, is that there is not "two sides to every issue.")

Really...I never thought of you as being this close-minded. I usually associate this attribute to more conservative elements...lol. This is disappointing to me.

If your statement is true then what is the answer to gun control, abortion, intersection stoplights....surely there must be room for debate on every issue. If not, why is the first amendment worth anything or the press? And who is to say which issues there are not to sides to? You, me, who?

In any case, I do enjoy this article and please keep hammering for justice and getting government officials prosecuted for the the crimes of warrantless wiretapping and torture.

Respectfully,

vv

So you don't think that crucifixion is as bad as any torture you can imagine (with or without breaking the skin, it matters not)?

Maybe in your next life you can experience it yourself, and thereby learn the truth. Hell, maybe you'll get the opportunity to experience it in THIS life, if things continue in the USA in the same direction they've been going for quite a while now.

"It's demeaning to Charles Taylor's victims to imply that there is any resemblance between the country they live in and the US."

-- Duckfloss

Aside from your straw man argument equating the US with Liberia (which no one has done), I'm curious which victims of the Bush administration's torture regime you are referring to, the ones who survived or the ones who died?

It's hard to imagine someone lying on a cell floor, naked and beaten to hell, thinking, "Thank God the USA isn't as scary as Liberia!"

I haven't researched the question, but I'm sure that a few convicted capital criminals at Nuremberg went to the gallows weeping in wretched bewilderment much like Alberto Gonzales'.

I don't mean this as an expression of sympathy. I just flashed on Alberto's stunted self-awareness and alienated mind going round and round, vainly grappling, like Job, to comprehend how a person who has always worked hard and tried to do right can fall on such difficult times-- not to mention being considered a miscreant or a Bad Man.

But what did I supposedly do wrong? Why do bad things happen to good people?

You should be afraid of being tortured. Glenn Greenwald is afraid dopusses such as your own self might be tortured. Our current leaders might torture somebody just to find out whether that person really likes them, or maybe, rather, is trying to infiltrate their inner circle.

Torture might be the initiation ritual. Do you remember that guy who worked for Nixon, who held his palm over a candle to prove how devoted he was? (Now he is a whacko right-wing radio celebrity. He has a thick mustache. I have forgotten his name.)

For you to say that Glenn Grenwald is not afraid of torture is an indication of how awful the USA has become under W. Bush and Cheney. Glenn is no enemy. Why would you even bring up the idea? If you were in charge, would you threaten people such as Glenn Greenwald?

If not, where do you draw the line? Is torture an interrogation technique or a punishment for people who never have been convicted? What is obvious to you? It is obvious to me that you are a dope. But, I would not torture you for that.

It may be obvious to you that I already am sort of drunk on New Years Eve. Would you torture me for that?

I bought a new pair.

Mine are torn and shredded from being hurled at the television so many times.