Martha Nussbaum Replies

In: Dissent: a quarterly of politics and culture, Band 54, Heft 4, S. 87-89

Abstract

I am very grateful to Mohammed Abed for the commitment to civil dialogue that he has shown throughout our exchange, which began last year at the American Philosophical Association. Let me begin by addressing his constructive proposal; I shall then turn to his counterarguments. Abed's proposal has two parts: first, that American and European academics might refuse to take part in academic activities inside Israel; second, and most centrally, that they should work together on creating dialogue by sponsoring events in Palestinian universities that "put Israeli, European, and American academics face-to-face with each other and with the appalling conditions in which Palestinians—academics included—are forced to live." I find the latter proposal a wonderful idea, and I hope to join Abed in organizing such a conference, on issues of social and global justice. Obviously, however, the goal of increasing understanding will be reached only if Israeli academics are (as he proposes) included; so it would appear that Abed does not favor the ostracism of individual academics that the British boycott proposes.