Scholars for Peace in the Middle East
Encyclopedia
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME) is an independent non-profit international community network of academic scholars, which according to its founder, conducts "pro-Israel advocacy". According to the SPME's Web site, the organization's goal is to seek peace
in, "the Middle East
is consistent both with Israel's
right to exist
as a sovereign Jewish state within safe and secure borders, and with the rights and legitimate aspirations of her neighbors".
SPME examines issues of suspected anti-semitic or anti-Israel biases in the mandatory multicultural religious and ethnic teachings on campus and in the community and works to maintain "intimidation
free" campuses. SPME deals with academic integrity with respect to fabricating and falsifying data when discussing the Middle East, and responds to alleged anti-Israel and anti-semitic incidents on campus as they arise, especially in classrooms and university sponsored events.
SPME publishes the SPME Faculty Forum bi-weekly during the academic year and once a month during the summer months and breaks.
, Dr. Judith Jacobson, Columbia University
and Dr. Ruth Contreras of Vienna Austria. Members of the Board of Directors have included:Matthias Küntzel
, Ernest Sternberg
, Laurie Zoloth, Gerald M. Steinberg
, Efraim Karsh
, Daniel Pipes
, Peter Haas, Stanley Dubinsky, John R. Cohn, Rev. India E. Garnett, G. Don Morris, Leila Beckwith, Philip Carl Salzman
, Donna Robinson Divine
, Kenneth L. Marcus
, David Menashri and many others. The organization states that it has nearly 60,000 members from 3000 campuses worldwide. Its network includes college and university presidents and Nobel Laureates.
In 2008, SPME was in a partnership with Jewish National Fund
. MediaWatch International, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
, Tel Aviv University
, Bar-Ilan University
, Technion, Ben Gurion University and University of Haifa
initiated the Faculty Fellowship to Israel Summer Institute. The Program was offered again in 2010
In, November, 2009, Dr. Edward Beck
stepped down as Founding President and became President Emeritus. He continues to serve as an Officer on the Board of Directors. He was succeeded by Prof. Rabbi Peter Haas of Case Western Reserve University. Prof. Samuel Edelman of California State University-Chico was anamed Executive Director in February, 2009. The other current officers are Judith Jacobson
, Columbia University
, Vice President for Internal Relations; Ruth Contreras, Vienna, Austria, Secretary; and Leila Beckwith, UCLA, Treasurer.
's resolution calling on its members to "consider the moral implications of links with Israeli academic institutions," SPME started an online petition signed by thousands of non-Israeli academics stating, "We all agree that singling out Israelis for an academic boycott is wrong. To show our solidarity with our Israeli academics in this matter, we, the undersigned, hereby declare ourselves to be Israeli academics for purposes of any academic boycott. We will regard ourselves as Israeli academics and decline to participate in any activity from which Israeli academics are excluded," Michael Yudkin of Oxford University, a SPME member, debated John Chalcraft of London School of Economics on the issue of boycotts against Israeli academics
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
in, "the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
is consistent both with Israel's
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
right to exist
Right to exist
The right to exist is said to be an attribute of nations. According to an essay by the nineteenth century French philosopher Ernest Renan, a state has the right to exist when individuals are willing to sacrifice their own interests for the community it represents. Unlike self-determination, the...
as a sovereign Jewish state within safe and secure borders, and with the rights and legitimate aspirations of her neighbors".
Mission
The stated mission of the organization is to, inform, motivate, and encourage faculty to use their academic skills and disciplines on campus, in classrooms, and in academic publications to develop effective responses to real or perceived anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements. SPME welcomes scholars from all disciplines, faiths groups and nationalities who share their desire for peace and commitment to academic integrity and honest debate.SPME examines issues of suspected anti-semitic or anti-Israel biases in the mandatory multicultural religious and ethnic teachings on campus and in the community and works to maintain "intimidation
Intimidation
Intimidation is intentional behavior "which would cause a person of ordinary sensibilities" fear of injury or harm. It's not necessary to prove that the behavior was so violent as to cause terror or that the victim was actually frightened.Criminal threatening is the crime of intentionally or...
free" campuses. SPME deals with academic integrity with respect to fabricating and falsifying data when discussing the Middle East, and responds to alleged anti-Israel and anti-semitic incidents on campus as they arise, especially in classrooms and university sponsored events.
SPME publishes the SPME Faculty Forum bi-weekly during the academic year and once a month during the summer months and breaks.
History
The organization was founded in 2002 by Dr. Edward BeckEdward Beck
Edward S. Beck, Ed. D., CCMHC, NCC, LPC is a Contributing Faculty Member to the Mental Health Counseling Program of the School of Counseling and Social Services at Walden University, Director of the and President-Emeritus of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East...
, Dr. Judith Jacobson, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and Dr. Ruth Contreras of Vienna Austria. Members of the Board of Directors have included:Matthias Küntzel
Matthias Küntzel
Matthias Küntzel , is a German author and a political scientist. He is a research associate at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a member of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East.-Career:...
, Ernest Sternberg
Ernest Sternberg
Ernest Sternberg is an American scholar of urban planning who specializes in disaster preparedness. He is a professor in the school of Architecture at the University of Buffalo....
, Laurie Zoloth, Gerald M. Steinberg
Gerald M. Steinberg
Gerald M. Steinberg is an Israeli academic and political scientist.-Biography:Gerald M. Steinberg obtained his doctorate in government from Cornell University, in 1981. M.A. Government Department, Cornell University, 1978. M.Sc. Physics Department, University of California, San Diego, 1975. B.A...
, Efraim Karsh
Efraim Karsh
Efraim Karsh is professor and head of Middle East and Mediterranean Studies at King's College London, and director of the Philadelphia-based think tank, the Middle East Forum...
, Daniel Pipes
Daniel Pipes
Daniel Pipes is an American historian, writer, and political commentator. He is the founder and director of the Middle East Forum and its Campus Watch project, and editor of its Middle East Quarterly journal...
, Peter Haas, Stanley Dubinsky, John R. Cohn, Rev. India E. Garnett, G. Don Morris, Leila Beckwith, Philip Carl Salzman
Philip Carl Salzman
-Research:Salzman received his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 1972. He has done field research among pastoral peoples, in Baluchistan , Rajasthan , and Sardinia ....
, Donna Robinson Divine
Donna Robinson Divine
Donna Robinson Divine is Morningstar Family Professor in Jewish Studies and Professor of Government at Smith College. She holds a B.A. from Brandeis University, 1963, and a Ph.D. from Columbia University, 1971, in Political Science...
, Kenneth L. Marcus
Kenneth L. Marcus
Kenneth L. Marcus is the Lillie and Nathan Ackerman Chair in Equality and Justice in America at Baruch College of the City University of New York. Formerly, he was staff director at the U.S...
, David Menashri and many others. The organization states that it has nearly 60,000 members from 3000 campuses worldwide. Its network includes college and university presidents and Nobel Laureates.
In 2008, SPME was in a partnership with Jewish National Fund
Jewish National Fund
The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for Jewish settlement. The JNF is a quasi-governmental, non-profit organisation...
. MediaWatch International, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
, Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
, Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University is a university in Ramat Gan of the Tel Aviv District, Israel.Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is now Israel's second-largest academic institution. It has nearly 26,800 students and 1,350 faculty members...
, Technion, Ben Gurion University and University of Haifa
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
initiated the Faculty Fellowship to Israel Summer Institute. The Program was offered again in 2010
In, November, 2009, Dr. Edward Beck
Edward Beck
Edward S. Beck, Ed. D., CCMHC, NCC, LPC is a Contributing Faculty Member to the Mental Health Counseling Program of the School of Counseling and Social Services at Walden University, Director of the and President-Emeritus of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East...
stepped down as Founding President and became President Emeritus. He continues to serve as an Officer on the Board of Directors. He was succeeded by Prof. Rabbi Peter Haas of Case Western Reserve University. Prof. Samuel Edelman of California State University-Chico was anamed Executive Director in February, 2009. The other current officers are Judith Jacobson
Judith Jacobson
Judith Jacobson is Associate Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health.Jacobson is a 1964 graduate of Brown University...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Vice President for Internal Relations; Ruth Contreras, Vienna, Austria, Secretary; and Leila Beckwith, UCLA, Treasurer.
Views on anti-Israel sentiment and antisemitism
Regarding anti-Israelism and anti-semitism on college campuses, the organization states, that neither "contribute to peace for anyone affected." The organization states that they agree with Thomas L. Friedman's comment that, "Criticizing Israel is not anti-Semitic, and saying so is vile. But singling out Israel for opprobrium and international sanction out of all proportion to any other party in the Middle East is anti-Semitic, and not saying so is dishonest."Academic boycott against Israeli academics
In response to Britain's University and College UnionUniversity and College Union
The University and College Union is a British trade union formed by the merger in 2006 of the Association of University Teachers and the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education ....
's resolution calling on its members to "consider the moral implications of links with Israeli academic institutions," SPME started an online petition signed by thousands of non-Israeli academics stating, "We all agree that singling out Israelis for an academic boycott is wrong. To show our solidarity with our Israeli academics in this matter, we, the undersigned, hereby declare ourselves to be Israeli academics for purposes of any academic boycott. We will regard ourselves as Israeli academics and decline to participate in any activity from which Israeli academics are excluded," Michael Yudkin of Oxford University, a SPME member, debated John Chalcraft of London School of Economics on the issue of boycotts against Israeli academics