Noam Chomsky‘s politics are not my own — but I read him and want to remain aware of his views. I also read Alan Dershowitz, who essentially has become a Noam Chomsky of the right when it comes to Israel policy.
Blocking intellectuals, professors at leading American universities, from entering a country because of their “views” — which is not yet the official reason but the probable excuse that Israel’s Interior Minister will later offer — is an enormous mistake.
Chomsky was scheduled to speak at Bir Zeit University near Jerusalem but was blocked from entering the country. Clearly, someone like Dershowitz is on the list of those who say approved things and will be permitted in the country.
I have always been intrigued and impressed with the depth and breadth of internal debate inside Israel and always wanted to import the quality of that debate to the US, which has a much more binary, narrow band approach to US-Israel issues. It’s a really bad sign when official Israel begins to try and squelch those with which it disagrees rather than debating them publicly — which was always Israel’s forte.
— Steve Clemons
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