Am.
Opinion
OTHER VIEWS
Jewish Studies' Imprint
Kalamazoo
W
hen I told my parents that I
wanted to study for a Ph.D.
in Jewish history, my mother
smiled and politely inquired, "What are
you going to do with that?" My father
looked at me silently, with a shocked
expression that seemed to ask, "Are you
ever going to move out of my house?"
Eighteen months ago, I arrived on the
vibrant Kalamazoo College campus to
begin building a Jewish studies program.
Since then, I have encountered different
versions of my mother's question numer-
ous times, by Jews and non-Jews alike;
most commonly, why should a small liber-
al arts college offer Jewish studies courses,
and why should anyone other than the
most devout want to take them?
First, Jewish studies enables students
of all backgrounds to understand the
world more fully. Kalamazoo College
prides itself on its international focus and
commitment to broadening its students'
intellectual and cultural horizons. Most of
my students are non-Jews with little prior
knowledge of Jewish subjects, but who
crave the opportunity to learn about the
ways Jews live and respond to
their different historical, cul-
tural, and religious settings.
Jewish studies classes also
compel students to confront
important ethical issues, such
as majority/minority rela-
tions, identity formation and
the relationship between the
religious and the secular. They
also learn to read texts closely
while thinking beyond the
page and to consider the broad
impact of the written word. In
all of these ways, Jewish stud-
ies encourage students to become more
thoughtful scholars and more morally
aware human beings.
The Jewish studies program has also
sparked greater interest in and awareness
of Jews on the campus. In addition to my
courses, other faculty are now teaching
or considering courses related to Jewish
subjects, ranging from German Jewish
literature to French literature based on the
Hebrew Bible to the Jewish philosophers
Walter Benjamin and Herman Cohen. I
have lectured on Jews in my colleagues'
classes, and discussions over lunch or cof-
fee have resulted in whole units
on Jews being introduced into
courses where they were not
previously found.
By supporting Jewish stud-
ies, the college has commit-
ted itself to welcoming and
nurturing a more prominent
Jewish presence on cam-
pus. Kalamazoo College has
an active Jewish Student
Organization (JSO) for which
I serve as faculty adviser.
Working with the Office of
Multicultural Affairs, the col-
lege chaplain and other campus organi-
zations, these students (who are simply
fantastic) have adopted a more assertive
profile, raising awareness about how to
make Kalamazoo College a more comfort-
able place for Jewish students. Issues par-
ticulai to Jewish life — such as stocking
Passover-friendly foods in the cafeteria,
or making academic provisions for High
Holiday observance — are now addressed
in meaningful and successful ways.
For the past two years, the JSO students
have organized a campuswide Passover
seder that has attracted students, faculty
and administrators alike; this past fall, they
built a sukkah in the center of campus.
They have also planned several public
lectures on Israeli affairs and have co-spon-
sored programs on the genocide in Darfur.
Through classes and extra-curricular
activities, many Jewish students from inter-
faith or marginally affiliated households
have begun to explore their Jewish heritage
in the classroom, and perhaps to identify
themselves as Jews for the first time.
Although it's in its infancy, the Jewish
studies program at Kalamazoo College
has already had a significant impact both
inside and outside the classroom. And so,
this is what I do with my degree: through
Jewish studies, I teach young people about
a group they may not know very well;
about the world in which they live; and
hopefully more about themselves in the
process. Even my mother would be satis-
fied with that! II
Jeffrey Haus is director of Jewish studies and
assistant professor of religion and history at
Kalamazoo College. He earned a doctorate at
Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., and
a bachelor's degree from the University of
Michigan in Ann Arbor
The Missing Link
Washington
A
s the situation in Iraq remains
dire, various detractors of
Israel have once again rolled
out an old and long-discredited fantasy.
The Israeli-Palestinian dispute is the core
regional issue, they say. End it, and all
other Middle Eastern problems — includ-
ing Iraq — will resolve themselves.
Known as "linkage this theory fails
the test of simple logic and is thoroughly
refuted by history.
It should be evident to the most casual
Middle East observer that even if the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict were to be
satisfactorily resolved, Sunnis and Shia
would continue to fight each other in
Iraq and in other countries throughout
the Middle East. This conflict is a schism
within Islam that stretches back to the
seventh century. It has absolutely nothing
to do with Israel.
The Israeli-Palestinian problem isn't the
reason why Syria is meddling in Iraq and
seeking to re-assert control over Lebanon.
It doesn't explain why Iran is attempting
to develop nuclear arms and pursuing its
28
February 8 • 2007
age-old ambition of dominating
Taking these self-evident
the Persian Gulf region. And it
truths into account, a more
has little to do with Al Qaida's
sophisticated version of the
quest to topple Muslim govern-
linkage theory posits that the
ments deemed insufficiently
Israeli-Palestinian dispute
committed to the principles
. _
inflames the "Arab street"
of Islamic fundamentalism.
against both Israel and the
:
Neither does Israel have any
United States, making it
i
effect on the region-wide prob-
impossible for moderate Arab
Howard Kohr
lems identified in the authori-
governments to cooperate
Special
tatively documented reports
with the United States on
Commentary
issued by the U.N. Development
Iraq.
Program: corruption, illiteracy,
There are two flaws with
economic stagnation and a lack
this argument. First, these
of political freedom.
Arab governments are in fact providing
Only the most outrageous of the world's vital aid to the U.S. war effort in Iraq in
conspiracy theories could hold Israel
the form of access to naval and air bases,
responsible for imposing these problems
over-flights and other logistical support.
on its neighbors. The emergence of a
And second, those who agitate against
Palestinian state would yield no material
cooperation with the United States are
benefit to the one in five Arabs who lives
the elements of the "Arab street" least
on less than $2 per day. It wouldn't dimin- interested in an equitable solution to the
ish the temptation for unelected autocrats
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As they have
to steal from their people. And it would
repeatedly and explicitly made clear,
not affect the region's staggering illiteracy
nothing short of Israel's destruction
rates or provide education to the 10 mil-
would satisfy them.
lion Arab children who receive no school-
This is to say nothing of the fact that
ing at all.
the specter of violence on the "Arab
ri
street" has proven to be one of history's
reddest herrings. Even at times of
great crisis in Israel's relations with the
Palestinians, no major riots erupted in
Arab capitals; all the Arab governments
remained secure and none were forced
to make drastic changes in their foreign
policies. This has remained the case
despite two major Palestinian campaigns
of violence, the latter of which has been
aired throughout the Middle East via
satellite television networks such as Al
Jazeera.
Israeli-Palestinian peace is a deeply
cherished objective. The Israeli gov-
ernment is committed to a two-state
solution, and the Israeli public is over-
whelmingly supportive of peace with the
Palestinians.
It is, however, an unfounded illu-
sion that peace between Israel and the
Palestinians would in any way help bring
peace in Iraq or somehow magically
resolve the host of other problems afflict-
ing the Middle East. 111,1
Howard Kohr is executive director of the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee.