How Many Arabs Does It Take To Fill A Chair Of Israel Studies? (Updated)

Answer: 2

Martin Kramer writes:

Columbia president Lee Bollinger, back in 2005, tried to calm the raging waters by announcing the establishment of a chair of Israel studies. Four trustees quickly anted up $3 million. The university then appointed a search committee that included Palestinian agitprofs Rashid Khalidi and Lila Abu-Lughod.

Read the whole thing.

[Hat tip: Solomonia]

UPDATE: The name of the new professor is Yinon Cohen, and he is a reflection of the biased committee that selected him.

Officials at a Columbia University department established in 2005 to balance an anti-Israel tilt in Middle Eastern scholarship at the university have appointed as its director a professor who signed a letter labeling Israeli policy "the occupation and oppression of another people."

...In May 2002, Mr. Cohen, then a professor at Tel Aviv University, endorsed a statement that supported Israelis who refused to serve in military operations in Gaza and the West Bank during a violent uprising by Palestinian Arabs.

He sounds like a perfect fit at Columbia University.

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