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Earl Aagaard’s opinions about everything that interests him. Og also enjoys gardening, travel, reading, woodbutchery, and lots of other stuff.

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MORAL COURAGE SOMETIMES INVOLVES REFUSING EVEN TO ASSOCIATE WITH EVIL…..

...and isn’t it wonderful when it shows up?

This is the newest Courage Award….a mathematician (from Canada, yet) cancels his gig at a sister institution because RYERSON UNIVERSITY hosted a branch of ISRAEL APARTHEID WEEK (or IAW), one of more than 25 (in 2008) around Canada. The week is intended to help people understand that the locus of evil in the Middle East is its only multiparty democracy….the country where Jews and Arabs serve side-by-side in a freely-elected legislature.

During the week,

Lectures, films, and actions will make the point that these latest massacres further confirm the true nature of Israeli Apartheid. IAW 2009 will continue to build and strengthen the growing Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement at a global level.

Sounds to me as if Waterloo College might be a good school to attent—provided there is at least one professor of Dr. Vrscay’s quality and discernment…..

Dear Sebastian:

Sebastian, I regret to inform you that I shall not be able to give the colloquium talk to your Department which was scheduled for Thursday, March 19. In fact, “shall not be able” does not describe the situation properly. Let’s say that I am cancelling my talk, in response to “Israel Apartheid Week” which is being held at Ryerson, U of T and York this week. Particularly disturbing to me was the poster showing a missile shot from an Israeli helicopter and heading toward a Gazan boy holding a teddy bear. And this was only a still image from an even more disgusting video posted by the “Toronto Social Forum”.

Please understand - this is NOT a statement of any kind against the Department of Mathematics, which had nothing to do with this “Week”. And it’s not a “boycott” of Ryerson. It’s simply a personal decision based upon my disagreement with the “Week” and concern about its consequences, include hate-mongering and anti-Semitism. What would have been the reaction this week if someone posted a cartoon showing a missiles launched from Gaza headed toward an Israeli child with a teddy bear? Or an atlas of the Middle East, with a bubble coming from most countries with the message, “We do not believe in the existence of Israel!”?

Believe me, I was looking forward to meeting and conversing with people in your Department. You might think that the seemingly-distant political actions of a militant few should not be allowed to affect our academic activities, especially in a department as “removed” as Mathematics. But I think that enough is enough as far as politically-correct acts such as Israel-bashing are concerned. It is convenient for academics in their comfy offices and jobs to avoid the unease created by such situations by simply turning their eyes away and dismissing everything with an escape clause to the effect, “It’s not such a big deal.” I’m afraid, however, that by not thinking it was a big deal, it has become a very big deal — the proverbial elephant in the room that everyone wants to avoid. And it doesn’t stop with Israel.

In any case, it’s not my intention to castigate your Department or Ryerson as a whole. My “statement” is simply that the activities of a few can, and should, affect the lives of others. I regret all inconvenience that my cancellation will cause. Please feel free - in fact, I encourage you - to circulate this e-mail to members of your department so that they know that there is absolutely nothing personal here.

Sincerely yours
Ed Vrscay

–
Edward R. Vrscay
Department of Applied Mathematics
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)