Professor Gets Into It With Palestinian Protesters In Very Tense Stand-off At UT-Austin
A video of an intense altercation between a liberal arts professor at UT-Austin and pro-Palestinian student protestors is going viral this week, after the protestors released it online.
According to the description, 12 members of the Palestine Solidarity Committee disrupted a public event hosted by UT’s Institute for Israeli Studies, titled “The Origin of a Species: The Birth of the Israeli Defense Forces’ Military Culture.” Their disruption was met with physical intimidation from one UT professor who will probably face disciplinary action for his intimidation tactics.
The University’s College of Liberal Arts responded with this statement, via KHOU:
The University of Texas at Austin strives to be a campus where people with different viewpoints can debate issues —including the Israeli – Palestinian conflict — openly and respectfully.
Our Institute for Israel Studies has always strived to do that and, on Friday, invited an esteemed scholar to deliver remarks and engage in critical debate.
The university has existing protocols for protesters to voice their points of view and be heard effectively. We are trying to determine if they were followed in this case.
Responding to a call from the event, University Police spoke with all the parties involved on Friday. My office will do the same. We are gathering more information and looking for ways to improve the constructive dialogue on campus.
If you’re asking me, I would say every party is in the wrong here. There was no need to interrupt this event in an attempt to rile up people who obviously disagree with you. And if you’re the professor, you have to be smart enough to not give in to the protesters by getting all heated and confrontational — something these protesters absolutely wanted to see so they could release this video and have it garner national attention.
I think we, as good citizens and stewards of different universities across this great nation, should raise money for a tab where everyone is invited to drink beer and talk about their political issues in the comfort of a nice bar. No need for hostility. Just grab a few drinks and discuss the pros and cons of whatever issue is concerning them the most at this moment. To be honest, I think this solution would work universally with most issues across college campuses — but that is just one man’s opinion.
We will update this story if UT-Austin takes any further action..
[via KHOU]
Image via YouTube
“I think we, as good citizens and stewards of different universities across this great nation, should raise money for a tab where everyone is invited to drink beer and talk about their political issues in the comfort of a nice bar.:
Does anyone else thing it’s a really bad idea to take the Palestine/Israel conflict and inject liquor?
10 years ago at 10:04 amI’m ashamed of our generation. I hate how much we are attributing to the pussification of the American people.
10 years ago at 10:12 amI was half heartedly hoping he would sock her
10 years ago at 10:18 amMaybe these fucks shouldn’t have interrupted a closed forum to try and give their own political agenda in the first place and this wouldn’t have happened. Get the fuck out of here and go back to Palestine.
10 years ago at 10:32 amit was a public event dip shit.
10 years ago at 1:07 pmOkay so if I go to a “public event” like a speech by the president can I expect that I will be given my two minutes to “introduce” him? Eat a dick.
10 years ago at 2:03 pm“If you’re not with us, you’re against us.”
10 years ago at 10:33 amGoat fuckers
10 years ago at 11:05 amYes, we should drink beer with the Muslim Palestinians. Should cook up some bacon-wrapped pork chops too. I’m sure they’ll feel very welcome at that meeting.
10 years ago at 11:13 amI’m a big supporter of free speech, but I’m not sure how the pro-palestine group thought this was going to end in a peaceful way. They walked into a very small classroom and shouted directly at others from a close distance- just who is intimidating whom in that case? I went to UT and there plenty of outdoor demonstrations that get a lot more attention… this one just seems confrontational.
10 years ago at 11:41 amBring on the laps, but I’m really sick of these anti-Israel fucks. up until 1948, nobody wanted the tiny piece of land. Then all of a sudden, when the Jew’s got it, nearly every single Middle Eastern country wants to blow them the fuck up. The Middle East is predominantly Muslim, and now, all of a sudden that the Jewish people got this land, “nope, we have to have it.” It’s the only country in the world where the majority of the population is Jewish, and now Muslims want it. They have 27 countries where the Islamic religion is the main religion, but no, they want this small ass piece of land just because fuck’em.
10 years ago at 11:52 amIt isn’t about religion
10 years ago at 12:24 pmI guess you don’t seem to understand something, but for thousands of years the Jewish people have been kicked out of pretty much where ever they were trying to settle. Finally, they found a place thanks to the British, but all the Muslim-dominant countries are trying to kick them out. Do you think we would be having this problem if Israel was 70% Islamic? No, I doubt it.
10 years ago at 1:36 pmYou’re trying to lecture someone with a Jewish father and a Palestinian Christian mother. I’ve been to Israel/Palestine twice now and have actually talked to people there. My major is internation studies with a focus on Palestinian-Israeli affairs. So respectfully fuck off
10 years ago at 6:06 pmIt doesn’t matter what you are and who you’ve talked to. Both parties are going to biased towards their views. At this point, it is a religious deal. Have you talked to any political officials? What about the Hamas terrorists using their own citizens as shields? I strongly suggest you change your major since you’re a fucking moron and have no idea what you’re talking about.
10 years ago at 6:21 pmYou and your kind are what is wrong with humankind. You conflate every possible thing and turn it into a dangerous us vs them mentality. You are just as bad as any terrorist organization because while they see every westerner as evil, you see every middle easterner as evil. Moreover, you have an ego so overinflated that you would say you have more background and a better understanding of the situation than someone who has studied it extensively and has family that has been directly affected by the situation. The egotism and ethnocentrism from both sides is dangerous, and they are two of the greatest obstacles when it comes to negotiating peace.
10 years ago at 6:46 pmYou are equating me to a terrorist organization because of my opinion. I’m not going to try and argue with you, since your a babbling idiot who has no clue what he is talking about.
10 years ago at 11:24 pmPalestine’s not a thing. Just a heads up.
10 years ago at 11:54 am