[Slonopotam845]

The place is a cesspool. No Jew should attend it. Next time they ask for money from me I'm going to send them a perfumed letter in response.

[PhillipHer]

There should be massive protests beyond anything New York has ever seen from it's Jewish communities.... but I know I'm just dreaming.

I expect a very small protest of some Iranian exiles and modern orthodox Jews. "Progressives," "anti-war" people and other people who claim to care for human rights will be noticeably absent from these protests..

[Beerinkol]

I actually expect to see some decent protests. The most ferocious I expect from the Iranian commies (from past experience) . The one at the UN should be large... if the city doesn't squash it with regulations that is (which has happened before IIRC). The one outside of CU, I'm attending so I guess we'll see.

CU is a house full of hypocrites they denied an appearance by Kehane, by the Minutemen founder recently. So their "freedom of speech" is utter and complete hogwash. It doest allow for ROTC on campus. They are highly selective. Nor do they like negative publicity, with Massad and that pali revisionist in Barnard, nor their borg like attack on Harlem real estate, nor the Muslim Arab [State] money secretly funding chairs in MEALAC and other departments [e.g., "Edward Said" chair]. The key now is not to relent the pressure, let them enjoy the microscope. I actually hope JTS reconsiders their relationship with Columbia after this incident, although I doubt it. Ditto YU (they also have a dual degree program with the CU engineering school I believe). It is outed as Jihad University, Berkley East. Hillel should pull out of campus and do an advert say in the Post and/or the WSJ asking all concerned citizens to consider *not* sending their children to this institution associated with anti-Semitism, anti-Americanism and outright Jihad support. They should further inform people to contact their congressmen and senators and ask that NIH and DARPA money be cut to all projects undergoing in the university. If even some of these things occur I'm quite sure Bollinger will be gone shortly and the university will see some serious restructuring in many of it's departments.

[TorryJens]

The one outside of CU, I'm attending so I guess we'll see.

I'm glad. Can't wait for your report

[Peptobismol]

Much as I do believe giving this fool a platform is a danger, it doesn't exactly ordain him the next Hitler.

I think there is some other aspects of this story:

1. Columbia actually invited Hitler to speak, after Krystalnacht in 1939. In his stead an official of the Nazi party attended and was treated with kid gloves if not outright respect and admiration. In private I'm sure the latter.
2. Reciprocally, a Columbia representative attended a ceremony in Germany commemorating a University there... after all the Jewish academics were sacked per anti-Semitic laws.
3. Finally, the dean of SIPA of CU, stated publicly that they would [again] invite Hitler if they could; *thats* with the Holocaust in hindsight.

Also bare in mind: Iran's open support for a genocidal program embodied in the Hamas charter; their treatment of women, dissidents (count the kangaroo courts and executed dead) and minorities (Bahai, Zoroastrians, Kurds, Jews, etc); their fueling the war in Iraq (on both sides), their cooperation and protection of AQ. None of this is certainly comparable to the Holocaust, by any measure, but the regime may very well (I hope not) collapse in a bang (like the Kamer Rouge) rather than a whimper (= former SU).

So the popular comparisons are not so much actual comparisons but rather they are reverberations of CU's own public policy- relating a rather long tradition of giving platform to anti-Zionists and/or anti-Semites. While, for the most part banning any well known and respected anti-Islamist, anti-Leftist etc., and so, speakers on Campus. Lest anyone doubts the hypocrisy we are seeing, this is a University that bans ROTC and other US government institutions (other Ivys do not) while allowing numerous appearances by the Nation of Islam (at my time there, there were two visits, nearly a riot when Khalid Mohammed made an appearance).

BTW, I'm sorry to disappoint but I wasn't able to make it to the demonstration today because of a work conflict. A friend of mine is attending though, so I'll get his take on it and relate it.

[Lt_Apple]

This isn't about Ahmadinejad per se or even Hitler. This is about Columbia University. When people loose site of the issue is when they conflate all these things and then some of them blow it off saying "hyperbole!" or worse. Columbia's record needs careful examination, more so than has been given in the last decade or two. Especially the mounds of money coming into it's coffers from the Middle East (save Israel). And I'm sure this will certainly set of a number of interesting bells in both the Jewish community and the American public at large. I cant even relate to you the disgusting treatment of pro Zionist Jews (and supporters) in the MELAC department, project David only scratched the surface... and guess what... CU did not change a damn thing after they were publicly outed as harboring hate mongers on their faculty.

BTW I heard from my friend (who is a Rabbinical student across the street in JTS) that the demonstration was very impressive. He thinks many of the people that demonstrated in front of the UN made their way uptown and the CU demo. was actually even larger, spilling over on both sides, Amsterdam Ave and B'way. The police took over most of the traffic management from the CU public security force.

[TorryJens]

I heard them cheering. I heard him say there are no gays in Iran. I wonder if they were dealt with the same way? Anyway the audience was cheering and this is same place that invited the poet laureate of England to come and give a speech about 'shooting all those Brooklyn Jews who invaded the west bank'.

The thing I want to know is what does anyone from the JTS (Jewish Theological Seminary) program which is an adjunct to Columbia have to say about any of this? Anything? Nothing? Too busy being liberal twits?

[Fegasderty]

They were cheering everything except about his treatment of women and gays. Hypocrites.

[Peptobismol]

The thing I want to know is what does anyone from the JTS (Jewish Theological Seminary) program which is an adjunct to Columbia have to say about any of this? Anything? Nothing? Too busy being liberal twits?

Speaking as an Alum of both... the JTS community is fairly pro-Israel. In my memory, there has never been a speaker or professor that has even criticized Israel in the JTS. There are also a bunch of visiting professors and students from Israel, most of them Masorti and MO, all that I've met staunch Zionists. While many students there are liberal very few are anti-Israel and none I think are anti-Semitic. Many Profs. are publicly critical of CU crappy hiring decisions, specifically in MELAC. Some, in my classes, would even go on tirades . All the deans at my time, were pro Israel, some educated in Israel, one or two rather militant- in effect balancing the perspective for joint degree students. We had JDL rallies hosted on a number of occasions. Rabbi Weiss would speak on countless occasions to sizable and supportive audiences. Many JTS students would also attend the Hillel sponsored events on the CU campus, often in greater numbers than students from CC or Barnard. You can almost guarantee that much of the indigenous demonstration within the walls of CU came today came from JTS students, and alums, actually... since they have CU id cards. Furthermore, YU also has a program with CU and they comparably would comedown and support the cause, not to mention use our way better Library resources (both at the JTS and CU) .

[brraverishhh]

Overwhelming majority of people protesting were Jews (mostly of the M.O. variety). Nobody else seemed to give a damn.

[HedgeYourBets]

Overwhelming majority of people protesting were Jews (mostly of the M.O. variety). Nobody else seemed to give a damn.

I think you may be mistaking all kepa wearing Jews for MO