No takers on my debate challenge to Vassar pro-boycott faculty, but I’m still going
The Case for Israel and Academic Freedom still will be made.
You may recall My debate challenge to Vassar pro-boycott faculty who signed an Open Letter defending the American Studies Association academic boycott of Israel:
Any or all of the 39 Vassar faculty members are welcome to debate me. All I insist on is equal time cumulatively. If none of the 39 Vassar faculty agree to debate, I will give a lecture on why the academic boycott of Israel should be opposed.
The organizers of the debate, the recently renamed Vassar Conservative Libertarian Union (VCLU), informed me a short while ago that none of the 39 Vassar faculty who signed the Open Letter had accepted my debate challenge by the deadline of last night.
Accordingly, I will go to Vassar and give a lecture on The Case for Israel and Academic Freedom, focusing on rebutting the support for the academic boycott of Israel expressed in the Vassar faculty Open Letter.
Here is the revised event poster provided to me by VCLU:
UPDATE: Anti-Israel Vassar student group focuses on race of crowd at my speech.
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
If space allows, I would set up 39 empty chairs to debate a la Clint Eastwood.
And get a good picture of that.
A flock of chickens…with tenure…are still just a source of chicken-spit.
That they won’t debate you doesn’t mean they won’t disrupt you. Be prepared. Good luck.
It means they will.
I don’t know, personally I’ve been sorely disappointed on the protestor front.
I LOVE me some protestors. 🙂 But they won’t show up. #sadface
I’d be at this non-debate myself, were I not going to be an a transcontinental flight.
–Andrew, @LawSelfDefense
As against the intercontinental train .
That might have something to do with the fact that they know you are armed about 95% of the time, lol.
Yes, but historically this issue attracts a more virulent group than 2nd Amendment issues. They’ll be there, I guarantee it.
Cowards all. Got through school being toadies. Now they’re the craven tenured and are brainwashing kids. Liberal arts racket.
Bravo to Prof Jacobson for carrying on. Again, wish I could be in Poughkeepsie to cheer.
(An aside. Of all the 37 Vassar BDS faculty supporters, 2 are “scientists.” 1 teaches “earth science,” 1 teaches “computer science.” There are 2 that teach political “science.” Funny all of the perverse ideology except for the sacrifice of young minds and family treasure among the students.)
You know, Bruno. I think you make an extremely important point: it’s only because we’ve put out the red carpet to any and all viewpoints — in the spirit of honest debate — that has permitted these enemies of civilization to overwhelm the system of self-governance. It is because they are not interested in honest debate but in conquest that we have lost so much ground. Time for some serious Sun-Tzu. Oh, but where can it be had when the institutions have already turned?
New Dos Equis ad:
“I don’t always drink beer alone,
But when I do, I prefer to do it in the company of my 39 Vassar debate opponents.”
His debate opponents have been known to cower in their corner, shouting, “No mas! No mas!” …. before he arrives.
To be fair to Duran, he didn’t cower. He just threw up his hands as if to say, “I just can’t touch this guy,” and gave up.
Totally agree. Duran showed up and gave it a try before quitting.
The Vassar 39 are afraid to even show up.
For that lack of conviction after signing that letter … not a single one taking up Professor J’s offer … and these people call themselves academics … for all that they should be mocked mercilessly.
39 supposed academics cowering from a debate against one man after signing an open letter. That’s one definition of pathetic.
That needed to be memorialized in print
Bless you, Mary Sue. That’s exactly how it appeared in my head. 🙂
I may be dumb compared to most of ya’ll . But i ain’t dumb enough to bet against the Professor . Now it’s off to Gilligan’s Island.
We need to clone this man!
I checked the distance & it is 280 miles round trip. That calls for a donation!
Checking Exchange rates & Ithaca gas prices I have personally sponsored the first 7.2854 gallons
Someone needs to sponsor the getaway..
.
Looking forward to the video.
These folks won’t risk their stated beliefs in fair debate. They will likely do some sniping during or after you speak.
(Psssst, yo Tom… give Luca Brasi a call, eh?)
They won’t debate you, Wm, but they will be there shouting you down so you can’t be heard. If I were you, I would have them there in word by finding BDS stuff they had said, reminding the audience of it by repeating it, and arguing against it. It will drive them batty.
Give ’em hell, Wm!
Would be wonderful if you could just show your lecture on a large screen when the shouting starts. They can’t drown out the written word. Make sure the screen is high enough so they can’t destroy it easily. It would be doubly nice if you could video these protesters as they become unglued and show them in all their glory on a second screen in real time.
SNORT!! So not surprised that the BDS crowd chickened out.
I concur that some sort of disruption is quite likely. Perhaps not from the faculty members – those 39 will be nowhere to be seen, lest they be shamed onto the state – but the leftist students seem to feel a mystical kinship with the Age of Aquarius when they shout down someone.
So have some tart one-liners at the ready.
If they don’t go thuggish, be prepared for crowd members fed questions and hypotheticals by the Vassar 39 meant to stump and elicit no-win, lose/lose answers from you.
This Bud’s for you, Professor. I’ll have another mug of mockery.
http://memegenerator.net/instance/49221275
The Vassar 39 Don’t Always Drink and Drive …
But When They Do …
http://memegenerator.net/instance/49225261
I’m an alum.
Do you know if the event is being co-sponsored? The Jewish Studies department just co-sponsored this week’s event with Ali Abunimah and Max Blumenthal. I’m not kidding. Are they co-sponsoring your event? What about the Vassar Jewish Union?
I’m a little worried about the atmosphere you’re going to face. This is nothing against you, and I appreciate your doing it, but I would have rather had someone who is either a mainstream Israeli or someone who is on the liberal side of the political spectrum, do this, rather than someone identified as a conservative and involved in the right-wing blogosphere. There are really almost no conservatives at Vassar, even if there is now a conservative organization. It’s one of the most liberal campuses in the country, and that’s saying a lot. It is problematic enough that Israel has slowly become identified as a Republican issue, and I’m afraid your appearance will reinforce that mistaken idea in the minds of Vassar’s students. You must emphasize the bipartisan nature of Israel’s support in the United States, and I would suggest that you argue from that point of view.
I think you should bring two cameras, one for you, and one to cover the crowd. It’s important, if you face a hostile crowd, that their reactions be well-documented. Pro-Israel students are generally respectful when pro-Palestinian speakers come to speak. Pro-Palestinian students are generally not respectful to pro-Israel speakers, and they seem to take pride in that.
Vassar’s website continues to promote your appearance as a debate.
http://info.vassar.edu/calendar/2014/05/05/27153-76334.html