Law Commons^™

Academic Extremism Threatens Democratic Values (Commentary), Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

Veritas vos liberabit, chanted the scholastics of yesteryear — "the truth will set you free." It's hard to see how that mantra could be echoed by latter-day counterparts in the academy. Consider the recent resolution by the American Studies Association that advocated an academic boycott of Israel. Its argument — that Israeli universities are complicit in state policies violating Palestinians' human rights — belies the truth: Israel has long been the most diverse, inclusive and tolerant of any Middle Eastern country.

Antisemitism In The Academic Voice: Confronting Bigotry Under The First Amendment, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

The romanticized vision of life in the Ivory Tower - a peaceful haven where learned professors ponder higher thoughts and where students roam orderly quadrangles in quest of truth and other pleasures - has long been relegated to yesteryear. While universities like to nurture the perception that they are protectors of reasoned discourse, and indeed often perceive themselves as sacrosanct places of culture in a chaotic world, the modern campus, of course, is not quite so wonderful.

This chapter examines the relationship between antisemitic and anti-Zionist speech and conduct, how they both play out on contemporary university campuses - and …

Israel And The Palestinian State: Reply To Quigley, Daniel Benoliel

University of Baltimore Journal of International Law

This article replies to Professor John Quigley's recent article on the rather dramatic controversy concerning Palestinian statehood. The present article provides a critical assessment of two pivotal Palestinian Unilateral Declarations of Independence (UDI) initiatives as of 1988 and 2011. It does so both generally and with regard to the territorial and border disputes underplayed by Professor Quigley's supportive Palestinian statehood argument altogether.

In the wake of the codenamed 'Arab Spring' tentative spread of democracy throughout the Middle East, regional law and order commands legal certainty. Thus, while being sympathetic to the secessionist selfdetermination of Palestine under public international law, this …

Making Fiction Of Facts In The Israeli Spy Case, Kenneth Lasson, Angelo Codevilla, Lawrence J. Korb, John Loftus

All Faculty Scholarship

The authors make the case that Jonathan Pollard, the man convicted of spying for Israel, is again being condemned by new allegations by Martin Peretz in a New Republic article, and by retired Navy Capt. M. E. Bowman. The authors of these new assertions may not know more of the particulars than others in high places who have already publicly supported commuting Pollard's sentence to time served.

No More 'Sha Still', Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

This op-ed laments the consequences of staying quiet in light of recent national and international events. It takes President Obama to task for blaming Israel for lack of progress in Middle East peace negotiations, as well as Congress for its ineptitude during the recent national debt ceiling negotiations.

Obama's Woes, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

This short op-ed piece discusses Barack Obama's presidency, particularly with regard to Jewish issues and with Israel and the Middle East. The writer offers his rationale why the President's support among Jewish voters is slipping.

Let My People Go!, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

This short article discusses the continued imprisonment of Jonathan Pollard for spying for Israel, as well as that of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, imprisoned by Hamas. Also discussed are the inequalities of the negotiations for their release, leaving Israel and the U.S. in a bad light.

In An Academic Voice: Antisemitism And Academy Bias, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

Current events and the recent literature strongly suggest that antisemitism and anti-Zionism are often conflated and can no longer be viewed as distinct phenomena. The following paper provides an overview of contemporary media and scholarship concerning antisemitic/anti-Zionist events and rhetoric on college campuses. This analysis leads to the conclusion that those who are naive about campus antisemitism should exercise greater vigilance and be more aggressive in confronting the problem.

Jews In Jail, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Pollard Languishes, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Bringing Baseball To Israel, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

This brief article discusses little leagues in Israel, as well as individuals interested in baseball in that nation, especially those from the Maryland and Baltimore area. Mentioned is assistance sent to the little leagues by the Baltimore Orioles baseball team, and some of the memories of those involved of baseball in the United States, but who now reside in Israel.

Passover And Jonathan Pollard, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Scholarly And Scientific Boycotts Of Israel: Abusing The Academic Enterprise, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

Veritas vos liberabit, chanted the scholastics of yesteryear. The truth will set you free, echo their latter-day counterparts in the academy.

Universities like themselves to be perceived as places of culture in a chaotic world, protectors of reasoned discourse, peaceful havens for learned professors roaming orderly quadrangles and pondering higher thoughts-a community of scholars seeking knowledge in sylvan tranquility.

The real world of higher education, of course, is not quite so wonderful.

Instead of a feast for unfettered intellectual curiosity, much of the modern academy is dominated by curricular deconstructionists who disdain western civilization, people who call themselves multiculturalists but, …

Sounds Of Silence, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Handling The Truth, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A War Of Words (In The Hype Of The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, The Line Between Reality And Propaganda Can Easily Confuse Even The Most Objective Foreign Correspondent), Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

Most journalists look at their work and see professional pride, not personal prejudice. Even many of those who do the biased bidding of their employers could be characterized as decent, fair-minded, hard-working. In the Middle East today, however, where the conflict is still largely a war of words, reporters may often miss the forest for the trees. While such a result could be caused by the inherent limitations of their craft - constant deadlines, sometimes severe space restrictions, the pressure to produce dramatic stories - when their inherent political bias are combined with ignorance of broad historical perspectives, the result …

It's Time To Be Fair To Jonathan Pollard, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Ub Viewpoint – The Silence Of The Muslims, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

This article, written in the wake of the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, questions the failure of Muslims strongly to condemn acts of violence and murder committed by Islamic extremists, and argues that such silence encourages neutral parties to wonder if moderate Muslims may indeed sympathize with "the killers of 'infidels'" - which in turn can lead to fear, bias, and group defamation.

International Red Cross Must Include Israel, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

Israel's corresponding relief agency, the Mogen David Adom, has provided emergency services to countries all over the world since 1939, and it meets or surpasses every other standard for IFRC membership. Yet Israel remains the only nation left out of the 178- country federation. Why?

An IFRC spokesman says that it is "governments, not the federation, that give emblems the protective force of international law," and that "governments" are preparing to adopt an additional emblem, with no religious or national connotations, to stand alongside the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, one that Israel could adopt as its own.

The …

Israel's Voice Muffled Amid Hail Of Stones: Distortion: Confronted With A Campaign Of Violence And Propaganda, Israel Goes Unheard In The Court Of World Opinion, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

"I am in the U.S. until February. A few weeks ago, I went to our embassy in Washington and offered to speak on Israel's behalf, to present the true story of what's going on, to counter the very effective job being done by the Palestinians of making it appear as if they are Davids fighting Goliath, and we are not getting the truth out. But the people at the embassy just shrugged."

He knows that in 1948 some 630,000 Arab refugees were encouraged to leave Israel by their leaders, who promised to purge the land of Jews. Instead, they became …

Jerusalem Policy Makes No Sense, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

Born recently in Jerusalem, this tiny apolitical person has just arrived in Baltimore from Israel with his proud parents, a journey that required him to have an American passport. All went smoothly at the U.S. consulate in East Jerusalem until I asked the woman processing the forms why there was no country listed after "Jerusalem" on the passport application.

In 1948, President Harry Truman, ignoring strong objections from the State Department, enabled the United States of America to become one of the first countries to recognize Israel. Jerusalem has always been Israel's capital. All U.S. embassies are situated in the …

The Demonization Of Jonathan Pollard, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

This article discusses the case of Jonathan Pollard, and the issues surrounding his conviction of spying for Israel while acting as a U.S. naval intelligence analyst. Cited are the writer's view of the inequities of his conviction, and possible political motivations for his sentence.

Pollard Treated Unfairly, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Justice And Jonathan Pollard, Angelo Codevilla, Irwin Cotler, Alan Dershowitz, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Why Clinton Should Pardon Pollard – Now, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Pollard Case Is One For The Legal Books, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

Jonathan Pollard, the former Navy intelligence analyst who was convicted of passing classified information to Israel, has been behind bars for more than 12 years now. His life sentence - by far the harshest ever meted out for a similar offense - continues to make "equal justice under law" seem like little more than a palsied proverb.

Pollard's actions were clearly misguided and rightly punishable, but should he languish for life in prison while others obviously more perfidious have been set free? Americans who expect fairness in their judicial system should be sorely disillusioned at how grossly disproportionate Pollard's treatment …

Ax-Grinding Politics Leads To Unequal Justice, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Pollard And Priorities, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Long Overdue, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Jonathan Pollard: A More Genuine Notion Of Justice, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

Perhaps the president, visibly moved by the film, would sympathize with the moral impulse that drove [Jonathan Pollard] to give vital defense information to Israel. Perhaps he'd likewise equate Nazi Germany with demonic Iraq. Perhaps Mr. [Clinton], currently compiling his own list of presidential pardons, would see to it that the horrendous life sentence handed Pollard in 1985 be commuted to time served.

Particularly galling, though, are the potshots from two former Justice Department prosecutors - the politically ambitious Joseph DiGenova and his former assistant David Geneson - who effectively bargained Pollard out of a trial by promising not to …