Dr. FREDDIE ROKEM: Distinguished Visiting Professor in Ottawa, March 24-29,2013

[Joel Benabu]

Dear colleagues,

I wish to thank Professor Alexandrowicz for sharing his impressions of  
the Israeli/Palestinian conflict via email. However, boycotting a  
visiting academic who happens to be Israeli is not only impolite, but  
a circuitous way of expressing reservations about Israel's domestic  
policies.

Like Professor Egervari, I respect the individual's right to an  
opinion, but I seriously question the ethics of endorsing a blanket  
boycott against Israel which threatens to stifle not only academic  
exchange but political dialogue too.

Sympathetic though I am to the official position Canadian professors  
often take in championing the rights of the dispossessed, I would  
strongly urge those who share Professor Alexandrowicz's sentiments to  
consider forms of advocacy that do not discriminate against  
individuals based on their nationality.

I look forward to learning about theatre from Professor Rokem.


Regards,
Joel Benabu
Visiting Professor
Department of Theatre
The University of Ottawa.