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Two reputable medical journals recently allowed crude anti-Israel propaganda to masquerade on their pages as legitimate academic discourse:
The only actual similarity between the two is the death count ― approximately 3,000. Summerfield labels all Palestinian casualties 'unarmed civilians' ― denying the fact that (1) the clear majority of Palestinians who have died since September 2000 were terrorists and armed combatants (according to the Institute for Counter-Terrorism), and (2) no Palestinian civilian has been deliberately killed 'with impunity' ― in stark contrast to 9/11. Summerfield goes on claim that since some Palestinian minors have died from wounds to the upper body and head:
Beyond falsely branding Israel as guilty of 'war crimes,' deliberate child-killing, illegal colonization and apartheid, the article makes absolutely no mention of how Palestinian terror and political corruption have contributed to the unfortunate state of the Palestinian heath system. If you agree this article is inappropriate for a
respected medical journal, send comments to
British Medical Journal editor Kamran Abbasi: click
here
The year 2003 marked the 55th anniversary of the Nakba
(cataclysm) of the Palestinian people. In 1948, according to
the United Nations Conciliation Commission, 760,000
Palestinians were evicted from their cities and villages,
hundreds of which were razed to the ground. What remains of
the Palestinian people's land is now split between the West
Bank of the river Jordan and Qita Ghazzah (Gaza Strip), and
remains occupied by Israeli military forces and settlers. In
2003, the second uprising, or Al-Aqsa Intifada against this
occupation entered its third year. Panagiotis Tsapogas,
Medical Co-ordinator of the Greek section of Mdecins Sans
Frontires (Doctors Without Borders) in Gaza, 2002-2003,
reports on the difficulties faced by Palestinian people with
diabetes in Gaza, and makes a call for the provision of
improved diabetes care in the region. NGO-Monitor,
which promotes accountability of non-governmental
organizations active in the Mideast conflict, responded: This short abstract consists of a blatantly political
attack that has little or nothing to do with diabetes.
The one-sided and highly distorted version of history that
is presented is based on the Palestinian version of events
and vocabulary, and immorally ignores the brutality of
Palestinian terrorism. It is also entirely inconsistent with
the goals proclaimed by Diabetes Voice, the International
Diabetes Federation, and Medecins Sans Frontires.
The International Diabetes Federation (known, ironically,
as the IDF) published an official
apology for the abstract quoted above, and the editor-in
chief of the journal resigned over the matter. The abstract
was re-written for the publication's archived,
website version of the article. * * *
Academe, the journal of the American Association of University Professors, included an update on Palestinian universities in its Sept.-Oct. 2004 issue (see it here - scroll down to the grey box). While lamenting the 'infamous 'segregation wall'' and roadblocks that limit access to Palestinian schools, author Mary Gray cites Ramallah's BirZeit University as an example. Gray gives no explanation whatsoever why Israel implemented these strictures ― to deny terrorists free access to Israel. Moreover, Gray ignores the fact that BirZeit is one of the very centers of Palestinian incitement to terror ― Hamas won a recent student body election there by featuring exploding models of Israeli buses and claims of prowess based on its success in killing more Israelis than the other parties. If you agree that this review of the state of
Palestinian higher education lacked appropriate balance, send
comments to Academe: academe@aaup.org Published: Sunday, October 24, 2004
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1) The 
2) The June 2004
edition of 
Not
only medical journals have contributed to this disturbing
trend of inserting anti-Israel rhetoric into ostensibly
neutral academic literature.
Hear related audio on this topic
When peace will arrive
For all of the years that fighting and terrorism have taken place in the Middle East, it is clear that the only time Peace will arrive is when both sides decide that they've "had enough" of the fighting, bloodshed, and other horrors that have gone along the situation.
When children are being transported to schools, while at the same time wondering if their bus will arrive safely, or fall victim to another terrorist attack, THAT is bad.
When adults are sorely concerned that their children may not have the opportunity to grow to adulthood, THAT is bad.
When human life becomes worthless, as seems to happen in some locales, THAT is also bad.
All parties will have to come to the conference table, and be willing to make peace. Sometimes, it will mean simply deciding that there will be no killing...TODAY! And then do the same thing the next day...and the day after...and so forth. That's one way to at least start the process of obtaining peace.
It is quite possible that all sides may have to give up something, somewhere along the way. FINE. DO IT! Living in peace and harmony is worth the price.
Until they agree to that, there will never be peace in the Middle East, and the "cradle of civilization" may well turn out to be it's grave, too.
(2) Beverly Kurtin, Ph.D. 10/27/2004
The price of truth
Heaven forbid that people like Mary Gray should ever see the truth; it would destroy them. These self-righteous "academics" who puff themselves up without the slightest concern for the truth reveal their true identities: Anti-Semites of the first degree.
Ms. Gray might flinch at that appellation, but there it is in her own smug pronouncements that Israel has a "segregation barrier" failing to bother about asking, as a true academic must, why the fence had to be built in the first place and what it is truly about.
She glibly denounces the destruction of olive groves without mentioning, again, why they had to be uprooted. Does she not have any sense of how important trees are to Israel and to the Jewish soul? Why would Israelis destroy a tree? Surely not to protect themselves from Arabs who find no shame in shooting unarmed civilians from the cover of those trees.
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I've lived in academia and have learned first hand that most academics are open to all points of view. I have a deep respect for true academics. We need them; they contribute more to society than any of us can imagine. However, the Mary Grays who masquerade as academics deserve not our contempt, they deserve our ridicule. "Academics" like her, if exposed to truth, shrivel up and die as roaches die in the presence of poison.
Is this really a polemic attack on her? Nope. It is as accurate a description of her as is her description of the Arab-Israeli situation.
(3) Catherine 10/25/2004
South African comment on Apartheid vs Middle East
I am South African. I think I understand Apartheid more readilly than a European/American.... no parallel can be drawn between Apartheid and the Middle East conflict and I would like to suggest that The reference to Aprtheid be used responsibly, i.e. by those who fully understand what it entailed. This movement was a deliberate race based issue targeting the natives of this land - whose land was SNATCHED from them (not bought at a price), during the struggle for liberation unlike Israel the ANC did not strap bombs on their Youth and target civilian. Current Land Reform projects aim to redistribute land at no cost to the original owners (descendants thereof) ... unlike Israel purchasing land. Furthermore ... we have Mandela who offered peace and prosperity and paved the way for a rainbow nation, Israel is under constant threat from a fraction who have publically declared there objective to destory Israel.