Middle East studies in the News

Sara Roy: 'This One-Sidedness Dissuaded Readers from Reading the Piece to the End' [of Harvard's Center for Middle Eastern Studies]

by Martin "Sol" Solomon
Solomonia Blog
July 9, 2007

http://www.solomonia.com/blog/2007/07/sara_roy_this_onesidedness_dis/

http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/3681

A Tufts Fletcher School editor rejects a review written by Harvard professor Sara Roy on a new book about Hamas for too "one-sided"...in favor of Hamas:

...Your review was evaluated by several of our editors and an external editor for objectivity. Unfortunately, they disagreed with my decision to publish your review for the following reasons: despite their agreement with many of your points, all reviewers found the piece one-sided. This one-sidedness dissuaded readers from reading the piece to the end; ultimately, this last point is the most important. Although I found your arguments valuable, if readers consistently feel this way, I am unable to move forward with a piece...

A common flaw in the academic world: Many who study a subject or region become its advocates. All the more serious when you've been living in Gaza studying Hamas. The reviewer found the book, Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad by Matthew Levitt insufficiently nuanced and too tough on Hamas.

Roy once used the occasion of "a Holocaust memorial lecture to suggest that Israelis are Nazis" and delivered what must be described as a fawning introduction to Norman Finkelstein during a recent visit to Brandeis.

Note: Articles listed under "Middle East studies in the News" provide information on current developments concerning Middle East studies on North American campuses. These reports do not necessarily reflect the views of Campus Watch and do not necessarily correspond to Campus Watch's critique.

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