Word: springers
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...means of presenting alternative viewpoints, Springer brought Taysir Aruri to campus to speak earlier this year. Aruri, a Palestinain lecturer of physics at Bir Zeit University on the West Bank, was deported without a public hearing. The Progressive Jewish Alliance also participated in a petition drive to protest the closing of Palestinian universities in the occupied territories. And Springer helped bring to Harvard a representative from Yesh G'vul, a group of Israeli soldiers who refuse to serve in the occupied territories...
That same insider status has some-times made Springer vulnerable to criticism from within the Jewish community. Last year, he wrote a letter to The Crimson, claiming that he would not automatically vote no on Question Five, a local referendum that--if passed by the citizens of Cambridge--would call on Congress to support the establishment of a Palestinian state and end military aid to the occupation...
...Springer signed the letter--and included his title as chair of Zionist Alliance. Many Hillel members objected to the use of his Hillel affiliation in support of a position which they support opposed, and some wanted him to resign from the position...
...want to hurl you across the room," another student told Springer, during the debate over the controversy. Springer had just made an announcement asking that members hold up signs outside polling sites, urging voters to vote yes. His announcement followed that of a Hillel member asking students to hold signs for the opposing side. Springer recalls, "I wanted people to be reminded that being Jewish didn't necessarily mean espousing a particular political position or blindly supporting Israel...
...reaction of the infuriated student to Springer's announcement was exacerbated by the fact that Springer had led religious services that night. Springer muses, "I had just finished leading services--this showed that I was a 'good Jew'--and then I came out with a position which he saw as being against Israel...