Archive by Author: TTN Blog

Our TTN colleague, CUNY prof and Nation columnist Eric Alterman, draws a connection between a recent statement by Pres. Trump and years of neoconservative attacks on American Jewish liberalism.  Here are selections from Alterman’s “Trump’s Comments on the ‘Disloyalty’ of Jews Have a Sordid History” (subtitled, “Neocons believed that a bit of evangelical anti-Semitism in exchange […]

At the beginning of August, the executive committee of The Third Narrative’s affiliated Alliance for Academic Freedom (AAF) sent an open letter to the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) against a resolution proposing the boycott of Israeli academic institutions.  On the weekend of August 10-11, allies and members of the AAF were instrumental […]

In an extensive email discussion, participants in The Third Narrative (TTN) have indicated some difference of opinion regarding this episode as it has evolved.  There’s a clear consensus that Israel erred politically in reversing its prior stated decision to allow Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar to enter Israel; Ameinu, TTN’s sponsor, was consonant with […]

On July 27, three veteran NY Times reporters wrote “an explainer” on the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement against Israel, entitled “Is B.D.S. Anti-Semitic? A Closer Look at the Boycott Israel Campaign.”  Some of us at TTN felt that this article was soft-pedaling how the movement’s leadership was opposed not just to Israeli settlements and […]

On June 18th, the Jewish Community Council of Greater New York (JCRC) addressed an open letter of complaint to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for calling detention centers for unauthorized border crossers, “concentration camps.”  In her defense, she referred to a recent book about non-Holocaust uses of the term, and also tweeted that she was not talking about […]

Two colleagues at The Third Narrative, Steven Lubet and Cary Nelson, are front and center in fresh campus skirmishes over the defamation of Israel. Lubet, a professor of law at Northwestern University, opines at the “Academe Blog” on “Why It Is Wrong to Harangue a Captive Audience at Graduation.” As he tells it, this is […]

Pitzer College is one of the seven independent components of the Claremont, California consortium of colleges near Los Angeles.  Last November, TTN’s Alliance for Academic Freedom issued a statement opposing a faculty BDS resolution at that time (“Eroding Academic Freedom“).  The issue has come up again with a faculty vote to end the college’s study-abroad […]