This Week The Issue Of Syria Voice Of Support 2 speakers offer opposing views on WSU's links with Damascus U. DIANA LIEBERMAN Staff Writer/Copy Editor T issues of relevance to Israel and the Jewish communi- ty. Among its efforts is an online petition opposing the WSU-Syria agreement, which, as of Feb. 3, had amassed more than 270 signatures. After Cohen's presentation, WSU board member Richard Bernstein of Birmingham asked a few ques- tions about the U.S. policy toward Syria. Before the reply was complete, Dr. Reid asked that the discussion be continued in private, and Cohen left the lectern. he Wayne State University Board of Governors rarely hears details from President Irvin D. Reid about academic agreements with foreign governments. The Jan. 6 Memorandum of Understanding between WSU and Syria's Damascus University was no exception. "The president generally includes information about this type of agreement in his annual report to the board, unless there are special considerations," said Julie Miller, WSU board secretary. No board vote is required to fund such agreements, she said. So the six board members at the Jan. 29 general meeting heard comments about the WSU- Damascus agreement not from President Reid, President Richard Eugene Don but from two community activists who had Irvin D. Reid Bernstein Driker Cohen signed up in advance for the public.comment sec- tion of the meeting. The document they spoke of had been signed in Though no one representing the Jewish Damascus by Dr. Reid and Hani Mourtada, rector of Community Council of Metropolitan Detroit, the Damascus University. WSU board members were not Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit's advocacy informed about the agreement in advance. WSU arm, attended the meeting, Executive Director David Vice President and General Counsel Louis Lessem Gad-Harf said he plans to express his concerns about said the university president has the authority "to the agreement personally with President Reid, "who enter into contracts on behalf of the university." has absolutely been a friend of the Jewish community and Israel — institutionally and personally." "How can we be the most effective?" Gad-Harf In Opposition said. "We decided to send a strong message to Irvin The first speaker at the Jan. 29 meeting, Don personally, not publicly." Cohen of West Bloomfield, said Damascus Federation President Lawrence Jackier said University is "not a state-sponsored university. It's a Wednesday he, Gad-Harf and Federation CEO state-controlled university." Robert Aronson will meet with Dr. Reid on Feb. 10. And Syria, he said, is "an anti-American country, In Response an anti-Semitic country, an anti-Christian country." As the WSU board adjourned, member Paul 'According to the U.S. State Department, Syria Hillegonds of Plymouth said the presentations were WSU President Reid's Statement thought harbors 10 terrorist groups," Cohen said. "They are provoking, but he declined to comment on major supporters of Hezbollah; they occupy southern the agreement itself "We all need more informa- , 66 0 ne of the roles of the educator in a Lebanon; they allow Iranian arms and money to tion, he said. democracy is to use the strengths of the come through Syria to Hezbollah." Bernstein, attending his first open board meeting democracy to advance peace and Listed by the State Department as a state sponsor as a member of the WSU board of governors, understanding. of terrorism, the Syrian government is prohibited repeated his opposition to the agreement. "The role of higher education is to build from receiving U.S. assistance. "I still think the whole thing is totally inappropri- bridges across seemingly. impossible voids. "Having an agreement with such a country besmirch- ate," he said. "To enter into an agreement with a "I will not be so presumptuous as to tell mem- es the reputation of this university [Wayne State]," sovereign state that does not only condone terror- bers of the Jewish community about what Cohen said. ism, but supports terrorism with financial assistance, should upset them and what should not. He concluded his allotted five minutes by suggest- legitimizes that state." However, I hope that we receive the support of ing four alternatives for the board and President Reid: Most members of the WSU board of governors all communities in seeking peace and under- • End the agreement immediately, or at least put it first heard of the WSU-Damascus memorandum of standing and I hope that the sharing of our on hold until the board can hold a full discussion. understanding from Bernstein at an executive board higher education system, even with those who • Speak out against the Syrian government. meeting held earlier in January, after he learned of may be our adversaries, can lead us to help in • Include Syrian dissidents in any joint programs. the Jan. 6 document from a Jewish News reporter. reducing world conflict. • Hold an educational forum to explore the situa- At the executive board meeting, Bernstein said, he "We may disagree about the means by which tion in Syria. had moved that the agreement be dissolved, but we achieve the goals of our democracy but, in Cohen is the founder of OASIS (Optimizing gained support from only one other board member, the end, let us hope we can agree that the goals American Support for the Israeli State), an Israel board president Paul Massaron of Southfield. themselves are not in dispute." advocacy organization that also takes action on local SYRIA on page 29 ❑ 2/ 7 2003 22 Also on the agenda was Nasser Beydoun, executive director of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce, who spoke in support of the agreement. In addition to providing services and advocacy for member businesses, the AACC co-publishes a monthly glossy magazine, Community Bridges, directed toward the Detroit area's Arab American communities. "Wayne State University is the school where the largest Arab American student body in the nation is being groomed," Beydoun began. He said he had asked to speak "to thank WSU and President Reid for the Memorandum of Understanding between this university and Damascus University. This agreement will open the door to a frank, honest dialogue with one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the Middle East." According to the Damascus University Web site, the university began with the Damascus School of Medicin in 1903. In 1919, the Institute of Law was founded and, in 1923, the two colleges united as the Syrian University. The university received its current name in 1958. Tuition is free, and the number of students is described, according to various Web sites, as anywhere from 25,000-75,000 for the 1998-99 school year. Beydoun said the United States should be "in the forefront of reaching out to other countries." "The 21st century will be marked as an era where there was a clash of cultures, even religions," he said. "In a world where information prospers, ironically, ignorance also prospers. Does an enemy have to be created along cultural lines?" Unlike Communism, Beydoun said, Islam is not a monolithic enemy. Instead, it is a religion practiced by millions of peaceful people throughout the world. After his presentation, Beydoun said he did not mean to imply that opposition to the WSU- University of Damascus agreement was anti-Muslim.