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Nov. 24, 2006
Be patient: Mideast expert
Lecture on the conflict honors community activist Stein.
PAT JOHNSON
If you want to see changes in the Middle East, have patience. That
was one of the messages from Prof. Paul Liptz, an Israeli academic
who spoke here Monday in the first annual Howard Stein Memorial
Lecture.
Islam has not undergone some of the transformative processes that
have defined Judaism over the past centuries and the immediacy of
religious dictates remains a core characteristic of Muslim societies,
said Liptz, a social historian who lectures in the department of
Middle Eastern and African history at Tel-Aviv University and in
European and Israel studies at the Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem.
In addition to patience, the professor said, people who seek to
understand what is happening in the region must study history and
contemporary events deeply. He cited the annual Arab Human Development
Report and MEMRI – the Middle East Media Research Institute
(www.memri.org)
– as two important sources of information on the complexities
of the Middle East.
More than 500 people attended Liptz's lecture on the subject The
Changing Middle East: A Clash of Cultures. The event came a year
almost to the day after Stein, who passed away two months ago, facilitated
a landmark meeting between the Jordanian and Israeli ambassadors
in the same Vancouver synagogue, Temple Sholom, where the memorial
lecture occurred.
Liptz, who cautioned the audience that he avoids getting involved
in politics when he is visiting other countries, nevertheless commented
on his reaction to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's support for Israel.
"I must admit, it was heartwarming to hear the comments made
about Israel by the Canadian prime minister," he said. He said
Israel's feeling of vulnerability does not encourage its leaders
to take risks in the name of peace, but support from world leaders
helps open the door to compromise.
"When we know we have friends in the world, that is when we
can take risks," said Liptz.
Speaking at a time when Iran is weeks away from nuclear capability,
Liptz said Israel has a role to play in warning the world of the
threat posed by Iran.
"Israel's challenge is to point out that Iran is a threat to
a great number of people in the world," he said.
The situation evokes the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, when, he
said, the United States attempted diplomacy but was prepared to
use force.
Liptz cautioned observers against seeing factional groups as monolithic,
saying the Islamic world is diverse, as typified by the distinct
differences between, for example, Iran and Turkey.
"There is not Islam," he said. "There are Islams."
In addition to the division between Shi'ites and Sunnis, there are
divisions within these groups too.
"Within the Sunni group, there are moderates and radicals,"
he said. "Within the Shi'ite group, there are moderates and
radicals."
The good news, he said, is that only about 10 per cent of Muslims
subscribe to fundamentalist ideology. The bad news, he continued,
is that, in a population of about 1.5 billion, that small proportion
represents a massive 150 million fundamentalists.
Even so, there are some things upon which even disparate religious
groups can find common ground. Opposition to the recent attempt
to hold a gay pride march in Jerusalem is an example, he said wryly.
Jewish, Christian and Muslim groups came together in opposition
to the event.
"I'd like those people to get together, but on other occasions
as well," said Liptz.
And, just in case observers concluded that Israel is above the divisions
existent in its region, Liptz pointed to one of the startling figures
that presents a challenge to the democratic state. Just 15 per cent
of Israeli citizens originate from countries where democracy is
an entrenched value. Most Israelis have their first opportunity
to vote in free elections only after making aliyah, he said.
"This is a major challenge for the state of Israel," he
said.
The lecture was what organizers hope will be an annual event in
honor of Dr. Howard Stein, a leading British Columbia researcher
and practitioner who set up the department of rheumatology at St.
Paul's Hospital and was its head for 20 years. Stein was an active
Zionist and a leader in the Jewish community. He was a founding
member and guiding light of the B.C. Campus Action Coalition, a
group of university and college faculty and staff combatting anti-Zionism
and anti-Semitism on campus. He was also an important figure in
the Jewish Political Action Committee, which encouraged Jews to
get involved in Canadian politics. In one of his last acts, Stein
wrote a brief to politicians on issues facing Canada.
He was eulogized by his friend and colleague Bernie Simpson, who
noted Stein's passing had resulted in a moment of silence in the
Canadian House of Commons and letters of condolence from the Kingdom
of Jordan and the government of Israel.
Pat Johnson is the editor of MVOX Multicultural Media,
www.mvox.ca.
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