[R-G] Henwood interviews William Robinson

[Anthony Fenton]

http://doughenwood.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/robinson-follow-up/

A follow-up to yesterday’s post about the war on William Robinson.  
Robinson said on my radio show yesterday that the ADL’s Abe Foxman  
came to Santa Barbara to organize a meeting of sympathetic profs to  
encourage the university to go after Robinson. This is clearly an  
attempt by a very well-financed organization (the ADL’s budget is some  
$50 million a year) to restrict political speech and academic freedom.

Some of the comments here and on Facebook suggest that somehow  
Robinson “crossed a line” by likening Israeli behavior in Gaza to the  
Nazis. On the show, Robinson said that he drew a comparison between  
the siege of Warsaw and the siege of Gaza—sealing off both areas  
created a desperate situation of disease and famine. This is  
undeniably true, though it might make some people uncomfortable to  
hear this.

I shouldn’t have to say this, because it does involve a ritual of  
deference to imperial power, but such is hegemony. I’ve always been  
very careful to draw a distinction between anti-Zionism and anti- 
Semitism. I’ve been very critical of some of the awful stuff that goes  
out over WBAI’s airwaves, and did a long interview with my friend Joel  
Schalit on the anti-Semitism behind many left critiques of Israel). I  
have some cred in this area. Robinson’s critique has nothing to do  
with anti-Semitism, and everything to do with a critique of brutality.

I’ll be posting the show to my radio archive later today.

[Listen to the interview]:

http://shout.lbo-talk.org:8000/content/lbo/RadioArchive/2009/09_04_23.pls