Prof. Sari Hanafi caused a big stink at the American University of Beirut because he collaborated with Israeli counterparts on a book.
Never mind that the book, "The Power of Inclusive Exclusion: Anatomy of Israeli Rule in the Occupied Palestinian Territories," seeks to undermine Israeli legitimacy. And never mind that his co-authors from Tel Aviv University, Adi Ophir and Michal Givoni, signed this petition calling for international intervention against Israel during the Gaza war.
We're also seeing that some of the people spearheading efforts to boycott Israeli academia are willing to bend the rules when collaboration is useful. The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), for example, issued a muddled statement about "The Power of Inclusive Exclusion," then released a clarification saying that they don't endorse boycotting the book
The book's introduction calls into question its own agenda and level of scholarship. The LA Times rightly quoted this telling snippet:
In Hanafi’s book, the editors insist that their scholarship is “essential for forming effective resistance to the occupation and for coming to terms with the real prospects of bringing it to an end."
If that is what their scholarship is all about, let the Arabs and their ivory tower apologists continue boycotting Israel.
