President George W. Bush, when asked about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's September visit to Columbia University, was quoted by Fox News Channel as having said, "I mean, when you really think about it, he's the head of a state sponsor of terror, he's ... and yet an institution in our country gives him a chance to express his point of view, which really speaks to the freedoms of the country."
The issue of speakers on college campuses was brought into the national consciousness by Ahmadinejad's visit to Columbia this fall. It brought attention to Columbia University itself, but said something not only about the quality of American institutions but also specifically about the institution that hosted this particular figure, known for his volatile rhetoric and polemical comments.
On Oct. 31, the Boston College Coalition for Israel and the political science department jointly sponsored a lecture entitled, "A Journalist's View of the Israeli-Hezbollah Conflict," featuring Michael Yoschay, former head of film and news productions for the Israeli Defense Force. "What bturned into a full-blown shouting match," wrote Michael Madormo, Heights reporter.
Professor Ruth Langer, associate professor of Jewish studies and organizer of the Coalition for Israel, said, "The entire response to him was framed. The insult that people perceived was one comment out of context."
Langer said that Yoschay had been to an earlier talk organized by the Global Justice Project (GJP), and had retailored his own as a response. The situation became confrontational after Yoschay made what was perceived as a racially-charged joke that provoked a strong response from an audience member. Madormo reported that the student then stood up and said, "I'm Palestinian - who the f- do you think you are?"
After the lecture, literature that the Coalition had left outside the lecture hall was found destroyed, and black balloons seemingly intended to represent cluster bombs were scattered in the hallway.
2008 Woodie Awards
