Sunday, July 21, 2013

The UC Berkeley library

So I was at the Berkeley library yesterday.  As I entered the Moffitt library, I looked at the display of newspapers from around the world outside.  I saw that of all the Middle East newspapers, there is only one cover sample from...Israel.  I was furious.  Here are some 6 million Israeli Jewish settlers who are seen, always in the US, are far more significant in every way and at every level, than the more than 400 million of the Middle East.  Just think about it.  When I came to the US, I could not even believe that many colleges in the US would even offer courses on Israel when there were no courses on India or Iran.  So it is not really the number: it is the quality of the population.  When you encounter something like that, always remember what Lord Balfour told journalists in his Hotel room after the release of the Balfour Declaration: that "numerical self-determination was excluded". 

PS Yes, I went to the librarian to protest but was told that the person in charge was not available.