I love Israel. I think it is the most free and most dynamic country in the Middle East. I also see nothing sinister in non-Jews such as Arabs and Muslims frequently having conflicting interests with the Jewish state and therefore opposing it. I expect every group to pursue its interests, even when they clash with my interests. This essay contains many good points that are familiar to my readers:
“Scholarship is not validated by how it makes us feel, however, but by the extent to which it stands up to reason and evidence. To prioritize feelings over arguments — and to police arguments to safeguard feelings — constitutes a dire threat to academic and intellectual freedom, not least because of the mobilization of outside political forces to intervene in on-campus discussions.”
