On 07/17/2011 04:35 PM, Nadav Har'El wrote:
On Sun, Jul 17, 2011, Guy Sheffer wrote about "Finally - A RMS talk in Tel-Aviv.
Including details":
Hey all,
I just spoke to the organizer, Sami Abu-Schada. Talk is in the
Hebrew-Arab theater in Yafo.
They sound like good folks. And they would be happy to have people come
(and don't want to get in to the politics).
...
PDF with the full info:
http://pdfcast.org/pdf/invitation-to-a-talk-by-richard-stallman-in-tel-aviv-israel-july-22nd
They sure *do* want to get into the politics :(
Did you see the emphasized text in the end of that invitation?
"the organizers of the event would like it to be known that they are
in full support of the rights of Palestenians. In particular, the
organizers support the call for boycott of complicit Israeli
institutions. Richard Stallman is following the boycott during this
trip out of respect to the Palestinians hosts who invited him to the
region"
Do people who "don't want to get in to the politics" normally include such
texts on invitations to talks about software?
As it stands, because this text is so boldly included in the *invitation*,
it looks like just *attending* this talk means you support this statement
by its hosts. And if I consider that "complicit Israeli institutions"
include, according to their definition, almost all Israeli institutions
(and not just those directly involved with the occupied territories), certainly
even insitution I ever worked at or studied at, I frankly don't see how I can
attend this talk.
It isn't necessary to read the invitation to the end. Right at the top,
you can ask yourself about the probabilities of the reasons that would
bring someone named Sawyer (the "submitter") to Yafo. The organization
is a dry-land flotilla. It was very foolish to arrange to meet in their
premises. In face, it was very foolish indeed to try to cater to Mr
Stallman's prejudices.
To be more general, it is unheard of for a prospective guest to set
political conditions for his hosts. Aside of any other aspects, the man
is a boor, and should have been ignored.
--
Stan Goodman
Qiryat Tiv'on
Israel
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