جيمس ولفنسون يلغي زيارته إلى الـ"AUB" بعد توقيع عريضة ضد قرار تكريمه
Read this story in Englishألغى الرئيس السابق للبنك الدولي جيمس ولفنسون الجمعة زيارته الى الجامعة الاميركية في بيروت حيث كان مقررا أن يلقي خطابا في حفل التخرج في 25 حزيران، وذلك بعد اتهامات أطلقها أساتذة في الجامعة له بدعم إسرائيل.
وجاء في بيان صادر عن الجامعة الاميركية نشر على موقعها الالكتروني "يؤسف الجامعة الاميركية في بيروت ان تعلن ان جيمس ولفنسون قرر عدم حضور حفل (25) حزيران خوفا من أن يؤدي وجوده الى تعكير أجواء حفل التخرج".
ويأتي هذا القرار بعدما وقع أكثر من 90 استاذا في الجامعة عريضة بعنوان "ليس باسمنا: اساتذة وموظفون وطلاب في الجامعة الاميركية ضد قرار الجامعة تكريم جيمس ولفنسون"
ودعا الموقعون الجامعة الى التراجع عن قرارها بمنحه دكتوراه فخرية. وكان مقررا ايضا ان يلقي ولفنسون خطابا في حفل التخرج في الخامس والعشرين من حزيران ، وان يستلم شهادة الدكتوراه الفخرية من الجامعة.
واضاف البيان ان رئيس الجامعة الاميركية بيتر دورمان سيلقي الخطاب بدل ولفنسون.
وجاء في العريضة باللغة الانكليزية "ان تكريم ولفنسون (...) ينتقص من إرث الجامعة في النضال في سبيل العدالة الاجتماعية، وفي علاقتها مع بيروت وفلسطين".
واتهم الموقعون على العريضة المدير العام السابق للبنك الدولي بأنه "مستثمر في شركة اسرائيلية تعمل في مجال تطوير البنى التحتية والنقل في المستوطنات اليهودية غير الشرعية المشيدة في الضفة الغربية المحتلة".
ولم يتسن الاتصال بولفنسون، وهو استرالي اميركي شغل منصب رئيس البنك الدولي بين العامين 1995 و2005، ويدير حاليا مؤسسته الخاصة.
Shouldn't we start boycotting those who support the Syrian regime more than those who support Israel?
Most of those who support Israel are civilized and come from peaceful and democratic countries
most of those who support Assad are either extremists or come from countries that rank on the lowest scales of humanity.
Bigotry of Ahmadinajad and his occupation army called Hizbollah reaching Lebanese shores, a country built on freedom, democracy and tolerance. The Basij have taken Lebanese culture hostage and have made Hizbollahstan a prison for the mind a soul, a black hole to intellectual enlightenment and a copycat of North Korea with its worship of arms and leaders. For this level of bigotry to happen at a major university is an indication to what degree Hizbollah has managed to create two Lebanons with nothing in common except their useful idiots poisoning Lebanese democracy from Rabiee and Muktara. Maybe we will only taste freedom when the two worst tyrants in our region are deposed.
Wow I couldn't help but laugh outloud at the statements here
" Lebanese shores, a country built on freedom, democracy and tolerence" really ? wow i'm thrilled i've never heard such true patriotic words for some while, well here's a reality check for you, the only time this part of the region came anywhere close to "a productive coexistence" for those who are educated ofcourse, note i dont say "democracy" cause i think thats an overused hypcritical word throughout the world, anyway the only time was when the french were here ruling us putting some order production maing our building look beutiful.
as for this Ex-world bank president, i can write a novel here, not to mention the fact that he was the president of the most corrupt most powerful and most degenerating system in the modern world, and if thats what you are calling "education" and an influencial figure for our students, then i'm thrilled! oh and by the way name me one leb figure who was recently welcomed in tel aviv recently
Those who support Israel have the most blood on their hands like the Zionist controlled USA who is currently killing people in 3 countries.
Youssef Haddad...Oh yes, those blood thirsty racist imperialists who support the ethnic cleansing Apartheid Zionist settler state are civilized, while those who support the natives are "savages". Who are we? You are an American zionist enemy thug!
with all due respect ya mouwaten arabi,it's time to grow up and go out of the cage,the arab blood spelled by arab regimes is far more than the "adou el sahyOUNI"
the first serious blow to an arab regime came from bilad el arz when we put the occupation syrian army OUT.AND PLSE DON'T repeat the old song of "adou el sahyouni",israel and arab regimes are allies:go picniking in golan hights for 45 years.
BILAD EL ARZ PREVAILED OVER ARAB REGIMES.
Ya shabeb, all this back and forth does not get us anywhere. We are always defining ourselves by saying we are against or for this or that country, regime, idiology...etc. Israel, Iran, Syria...etc. Ya akhi, may be in another forum. But here, the truth of the matter is that we have failed to seize the opportunity to bring people like Wolfensohn and teach them about our ideas to explain to them what we think about human (all human) rights about religious freedom, about an institution (AUB) that has been here for over a century. Instead, we boycott them. In other words, if this guy is the "evil" person as we claim him to be, then he will be more after this. If he was not, we made a terrible mistake. Bring him in and tell him about us. he can stay the way he is or change. Either way, we missed the opportunity. We become our own enemy.
What a mockery! The Palestinians welcomed him, and we're boycotting him on behalf of the Palestinians.
What an idiotic people we are!