Published: December 10th, 2013
A talk given by a former IDF Spokesperson at Brandeis
University was the subject of an event described very differently in separate
op-eds written by students
A talk
given by a former IDF Spokesperson at Brandeis University was the subject of an
event described very differently in separate op-eds written by students
Last week The Jewish Press ran an op-ed, "J Street
Activists Defame Former Israeli Spokesperson." It was written by a
Brandeis junior, Daniel Mael.
That op-ed was an edited version of one which had
briefly appeared as a blog post, but had been pulled by a Times of Israel
editor. It was removed post-publication, even though the editor had read and
approved the blog post before it was published. The reason it was removed,
according to the editor, is that the subjects of the post complained that
information in the article could hurt their chances for employment. Since when
is that a justification for censorship?
Here's the
full background.
Mael wrote
the op-ed in order to provide a fuller context, and to correct
misrepresentations in an op-ed penned by two other Brandeis students about an
event that took place on their campus this fall. Mael was present for the
entire event. The op-ed to which Mael was responding was printed in the
Philadelphia Jewish Exponent (the two authors are from the Philadelphia region)
and various J Street publications and sites.
J STREET U ARTICLE HEAVY ON VIEWPOINT VICTIMHOOD As Mael
explained, the J Street U students described negative feedback they received as
being solely based on the "Brandeis pro-Israel tent" rejecting their
critical view of Israel. It set up the authors as the brave defenders of the
minority viewpoint, struggling to have their voice heard amongst a crowd of
adamantly, single-viewpoint supporters of Israel.
In fact, as Mael pointed out, one of the op-ed's
authors, who is the current president of Brandeis J Street U, was indeed
heavily criticized by many other Brandeis students. But the criticism was not
of his political views, it was of his hostile and disruptive verbal attacks on
the event's speaker, former spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, Capt.
Barak Raz.
Following the Raz talk, but before penning the op-ed,
Eli Philip wrote on his Facebook page that Raz had lied to the Brandeis
audience when he said there were "no checkpoints in the West Bank."
As Raz himself pointed out in the comments that
followed, Philip would have understood what Raz was saying had Philip been
present during the first hour of Raz's talk. It was during that time that the
former IDF spokesperson set up the context for his statement, and provided the
technical definitions of terms he used - including checkpoint - throughout his
talk.
Philip
walked in an hour late to Raz's talk - he had first attended that night's J
Street event, a speaker from Breaking the Silence.
Because he was so late, Philip missed the explanations Raz
gave. Having missed those eplanations, what Philip heard Raz say seemed
entirely inconsistent with what Philip believed to be true. That is why Philip
challenged Raz, in a manner that even Philip acknowledged in his op-ed was
intemperate.
Mael
provides the context, and linked to the Facebook exchange in which Philip wrote
that Raz lied to the Brandeis audience. That entire portion of Philip's
Facebook wall has since been deleted. But before writing the op-ed, Philip knew
that Raz had provided official definitions of the terms he was going to employ
in his talk before Philip entered the room. So even if Philip actually believed
Raz lied when he posted that statement on his own Facebook wall, by the time he
penned and submitted his op-ed, he knew he was omitting a relevant fact.
THE CENSORED BLOG POST
Now back to
the Times of Israel disappearing act.
Frustrated
by what he believed were distortions of reality in the Exponent op-ed, Mael
wrote up his description of the event and of Philips's behavior and its
aftermath, and posted it as a blog on the Times of Israel. His op-ed went live
following the pre-publication editorial review for bloggers. People began
reading his version of events.
But in less than 24 hours, Mael's Times of Israel blog
post was deleted from the site, with no explanation. It just disappeared.
Mael and other students who wanted to read his
explanation of what happened at the Raz talk were perplexed by the blog
disappearance. Several people wrote to the Times of Israel editor to ask what
happened, including staff for pro-Israel organizations.
The reason the Times of Israel editor gave for pulling
Mael's op-ed was that the J Street U students who were the "subjects of
its criticism made a convincing case that it could cause them economic hardship
in terms of future employment."
Wow.
It's okay
for the students to disrupt a speaker brought to campus, it's fine to publicly
call a former IDF spokesperson a liar on social media, and it's just dandy to
pen and have published an op-ed that paints yourself as someone victimized
because of unpopular political opinions (which are actually the mainstream
political opinions on American campuses, so where's the glory in that?) while
omitting critical inculpatory details.
But when
someone who disagrees with your version of reality, who was an eyewitness to
the event, calls you on showing up an hour into a speaker's talk and being
disruptive, rude and even slandering the speaker, you turn tail and whine about
possible harm to future employment?
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF ONE'S ACTIONS
There is a
lesson for students to learn from this experience, lessons that are applicable
to their lives as students and beyond. First, students need to understand that
the safe university bubble only extends as far as the university. Once you
venture out into the public - the first step here was calling Capt. Barak Raz a
liar in a Facebook posting, the second was publishing an op-ed in a
non-university publication - you might actually be held responsible for the
consequences of your actions.
Perhaps the
Times of Israel editor thought she was doing the Brandeis students a favor by
pulling a post that named and shamed them. But everyone, even college students,
need to stand up for their convictions. If the fallout threatens their
livelihood and they fold when that happens, perhaps their convictions weren't
that strong in the first place.
Here's a catchy shorthand version of the lesson:
"if you can't do the time, don't commit the crime."
About the Author: Lori Lowenthal Marcus is the US
correspondent for The Jewish Press. She is a recovered lawyer who previously
practiced First Amendment law and taught in Philadelphia-area graduate and law
schools.
Read more at: http://www.jewishpress.com/news/editor-deleted-post-of-j-street-u-students-misconduct/2013/12/10/?print
Read more at: http://www.jewishpress.com/news/editor-deleted-post-of-j-street-u-students-misconduct/2013/12/10/?print
: Lori Lowenthal Marcus
Published: December 10th, 2013
A talk given by a former IDF Spokesperson at Brandeis University was the
subject of an event described very differently in separate op-eds
written by students
A talk given by a former IDF Spokesperson at Brandeis University was the
subject of an event described very differently in separate op-eds
written by students
Last week The Jewish Press ran an op-ed, "J Street Activists Defame
Former Israeli Spokesperson." It was written by a Brandeis junior,
Daniel Mael.
That op-ed was an edited version of one which had briefly appeared as a
blog post, but had been pulled by a Times of Israel editor. It was
removed post-publication, even though the editor had read and approved
the blog post before it was published. The reason it was removed,
according to the editor, is that the subjects of the post complained
that information in the article could hurt their chances for employment.
Since when is that a justification for censorship?
Here's the full background.
Mael wrote the op-ed in order to provide a fuller context, and to
correct misrepresentations in an op-ed penned by two other Brandeis
students about an event that took place on their campus this fall. Mael
was present for the entire event. The op-ed to which Mael was responding
was printed in the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent (the two authors are
from the Philadelphia region) and various J Street publications and
sites.
J STREET U ARTICLE HEAVY ON VIEWPOINT VICTIMHOOD
As Mael explained, the J Street U students described negative feedback
they received as being solely based on the "Brandeis pro-Israel tent"
rejecting their critical view of Israel. It set up the authors as the
brave defenders of the minority viewpoint, struggling to have their
voice heard amongst a crowd of adamantly, single-viewpoint supporters of
Israel.
In fact, as Mael pointed out, one of the op-ed's authors, who is the
current president of Brandeis J Street U, was indeed heavily criticized
by many other Brandeis students. But the criticism was not of his
political views, it was of his hostile and disruptive verbal attacks on
the event's speaker, former spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces,
Capt. Barak Raz.
Following the Raz talk, but before penning the op-ed, Eli Philip wrote
on his Facebook page that Raz had lied to the Brandeis audience when he
said there were "no checkpoints in the West Bank."
As Raz himself pointed out in the comments that followed, Philip would
have understood what Raz was saying had Philip been present during the
first hour of Raz's talk. It was during that time that the former IDF
spokesperson set up the context for his statement, and provided the
technical definitions of terms he used - including checkpoint -
throughout his talk.
Philip walked in an hour late to Raz's talk - he had first attended that
night's J Street event, a speaker from Breaking the Silence.
Because he was so late, Philip missed the explanations Raz gave. Having
missed those explanations, what Philip heard Raz say seemed entirely
inconsistent with what Philip believed to be true. That is why Philip
challenged Raz, in a manner that even Philip acknowledged in his op-ed
was intemperate.
Mael provides the context, and linked to the Facebook exchange in which
Philip wrote that Raz lied to the Brandeis audience. That entire
portion of Philip's Facebook wall has since been deleted. But before
writing the op-ed, Philip knew that Raz had provided official
definitions of the terms he was going to employ in his talk before
Philip entered the room. So even if Philip actually believed Raz lied
when he posted that statement on his own Facebook wall, by the time he
penned and submitted his op-ed, he knew he was omitting a relevant fact.
THE CENSORED BLOG POST
Now back to the Times of Israel disappearing act.
Frustrated by what he believed were distortions of reality in the
Exponent op-ed, Mael wrote up his description of the event and of
Philips's behavior and its aftermath, and posted it as a blog on the
Times of Israel. His op-ed went live following the pre-publication
editorial review for bloggers. People began reading his version of
events.
But in less than 24 hours, Mael's Times of Israel blog post was deleted
from the site, with no explanation. It just disappeared.
Mael and other students who wanted to read his explanation of what
happened at the Raz talk were perplexed by the blog disappearance.
Several people wrote to the Times of Israel editor to ask what happened,
including staff for pro-Israel organizations.
The reason the Times of Israel editor gave for pulling Mael's op-ed was
that the J Street U students who were the "subjects of its criticism
made a convincing case that it could cause them economic hardship in
terms of future employment."
Wow.
It's okay for the students to disrupt a speaker brought to campus, it's
fine to publicly call a former IDF spokesperson a liar on social media,
and it's just dandy to pen and have published an op-ed that paints
yourself as someone victimized because of unpopular political opinions
(which are actually the mainstream political opinions on American
campuses, so where's the glory in that?) while omitting critical
inculpatory details.
But when someone who disagrees with your version of reality, who was an
eyewitness to the event, calls you on showing up an hour into a
speaker's talk and being disruptive, rude and even slandering the
speaker, you turn tail and whine about possible harm to future
employment?
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF ONE'S ACTIONS
There is a lesson for students to learn from this experience, lessons
that are applicable to their lives as students and beyond. First,
students need to understand that the safe university bubble only extends
as far as the university. Once you venture out into the public - the
first step here was calling Capt. Barak Raz a liar in a Facebook
posting, the second was publishing an op-ed in a non-university
publication - you might actually be held responsible for the
consequences of your actions.
Perhaps the Times of Israel editor thought she was doing the Brandeis
students a favor by pulling a post that named and shamed them. But
everyone, even college students, need to stand up for their convictions.
If the fallout threatens their livelihood and they fold when that
happens, perhaps their convictions weren't that strong in the first
place.
Here's a catchy shorthand version of the lesson: "if you can't do the
time, don't commit the crime."
About the Author: Lori Lowenthal Marcus is the US correspondent for The
Jewish Press. She is a recovered lawyer who previously practiced First
Amendment law and taught in Philadelphia-area graduate and law schools.
Read more at: http://www.jewishpress.com/news/editor-deleted-post-of-j-street-u-students-misconduct/2013/12/10/?print
Read more at: http://www.jewishpress.com/news/editor-deleted-post-of-j-street-u-students-misconduct/2013/12/10/?print
A J Street U student was rude and disruptive during a campus event at
Brandeis, wrote about the event omitting relevant details, then asked an
editor to remove someone else's blog post describing his behavior
because it might affect his "future employment."
By: Lori Lowenthal Marcus
Published: December 10th, 2013
print
tell a friend
A talk given by a former IDF Spokesperson at Brandeis University was the
subject of an event described very differently in separate op-eds
written by students
A talk given by a former IDF Spokesperson at Brandeis University was the
subject of an event described very differently in separate op-eds
written by students
Last week The Jewish Press ran an op-ed, “J Street Activists Defame
Former Israeli Spokesperson.” It was written by a Brandeis junior,
Daniel Mael.
That op-ed was an edited version of one which had briefly appeared as a
blog post, but had been pulled by a Times of Israel editor. It was
removed post-publication, even though the editor had read and approved
the blog post before it was published. The reason it was removed,
according to the editor, is that the subjects of the post complained
that information in the article could hurt their chances for employment.
Since when is that a justification for censorship?
Here’s the full background.
Mael wrote the op-ed in order to provide a fuller context, and to
correct misrepresentations in an op-ed penned by two other Brandeis
students about an event that took place on their campus this fall. Mael
was present for the entire event. The op-ed to which Mael was responding
was printed in the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent (the two authors are
from the Philadelphia region) and various J Street publications and
sites.
J STREET U ARTICLE HEAVY ON VIEWPOINT VICTIMHOOD
As Mael explained, the J Street U students described negative feedback
they received as being solely based on the “Brandeis pro-Israel tent”
rejecting their critical view of Israel. It set up the authors as the
brave defenders of the minority viewpoint, struggling to have their
voice heard amongst a crowd of adamantly, single-viewpoint supporters of
Israel.
In fact, as Mael pointed out, one of the op-ed’s authors, who is the
current president of Brandeis J Street U, was indeed heavily criticized
by many other Brandeis students. But the criticism was not of his
political views, it was of his hostile and disruptive verbal attacks on
the event’s speaker, former spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces,
Capt. Barak Raz.
Following the Raz talk, but before penning the op-ed, Eli Philip wrote
on his Facebook page that Raz had lied to the Brandeis audience when he
said there were “no checkpoints in the West Bank.”
As Raz himself pointed out in the comments that followed, Philip would
have understood what Raz was saying had Philip been present during the
first hour of Raz’s talk. It was during that time that the former IDF
spokesperson set up the context for his statement, and provided the
technical definitions of terms he used – including checkpoint –
throughout his talk.
Philip walked in an hour late to Raz’s talk – he had first attended that
night’s J Street event, a speaker from Breaking the Silence.
Because he was so late, Philip missed the explanations Raz gave. Having
missed those explanations, what Philip heard Raz say seemed entirely
inconsistent with what Philip believed to be true. That is why Philip
challenged Raz, in a manner that even Philip acknowledged in his op-ed
was intemperate.
Mael provides the context, and linked to the Facebook exchange in which
Philip wrote that Raz lied to the Brandeis audience. That entire
portion of Philip’s Facebook wall has since been deleted. But before
writing the op-ed, Philip knew that Raz had provided official
definitions of the terms he was going to employ in his talk before
Philip entered the room. So even if Philip actually believed Raz lied
when he posted that statement on his own Facebook wall, by the time he
penned and submitted his op-ed, he knew he was omitting a relevant fact.
THE CENSORED BLOG POST
Now back to the Times of Israel disappearing act.
Frustrated by what he believed were distortions of reality in the
Exponent op-ed, Mael wrote up his description of the event and of
Philips’s behavior and its aftermath, and posted it as a blog on the
Times of Israel. His op-ed went live following the pre-publication
editorial review for bloggers. People began reading his version of
events.
But in less than 24 hours, Mael’s Times of Israel blog post was deleted
from the site, with no explanation. It just disappeared.
Mael and other students who wanted to read his explanation of what
happened at the Raz talk were perplexed by the blog disappearance.
Several people wrote to the Times of Israel editor to ask what happened,
including staff for pro-Israel organizations.
The reason the Times of Israel editor gave for pulling Mael’s op-ed was
that the J Street U students who were the “subjects of its criticism
made a convincing case that it could cause them economic hardship in
terms of future employment.”
Wow.
It’s okay for the students to disrupt a speaker brought to campus, it’s
fine to publicly call a former IDF spokesperson a liar on social media,
and it’s just dandy to pen and have published an op-ed that paints
yourself as someone victimized because of unpopular political opinions
(which are actually the mainstream political opinions on American
campuses, so where’s the glory in that?) while omitting critical
inculpatory details.
But when someone who disagrees with your version of reality, who was an
eyewitness to the event, calls you on showing up an hour into a
speaker’s talk and being disruptive, rude and even slandering the
speaker, you turn tail and whine about possible harm to future
employment?
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF ONE’S ACTIONS
There is a lesson for students to learn from this experience, lessons
that are applicable to their lives as students and beyond. First,
students need to understand that the safe university bubble only extends
as far as the university. Once you venture out into the public – the
first step here was calling Capt. Barak Raz a liar in a Facebook
posting, the second was publishing an op-ed in a non-university
publication – you might actually be held responsible for the
consequences of your actions.
Perhaps the Times of Israel editor thought she was doing the Brandeis
students a favor by pulling a post that named and shamed them. But
everyone, even college students, need to stand up for their convictions.
If the fallout threatens their livelihood and they fold when that
happens, perhaps their convictions weren’t that strong in the first
place.
Here’s a catchy shorthand version of the lesson: “if you can’t do the
time, don’t commit the crime.”
Read more at: http://www.jewishpress.com/news/editor-deleted-post-of-j-street-u-students-misconduct/2013/12/10/
Read more at: http://www.jewishpress.com/news/editor-deleted-post-of-j-street-u-students-misconduct/2013/12/10/
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