Yesterday I was browsing through Culture and Resistance, the collection of interviews with the late Edward Said. Said, of course, is well known for his advocacy of the Palestinian cause. I came across the following:
“Interviewer: Your books were banned in Arafat’s realm. Is that still the case?
ES: It’s difficult to know actually. You can buy them. They’re available surreptitiously, and they circulate, because in an age of e-mail, photocopying, and faxes, nothing can really be banned…
Interviewer: What about in Israel”
ES: They’re available.
Interviewer: And other Arab countries?
ES: It depends. I haven’t done a survey….I know…that in some of the bigger Gulf countries, like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Culture and Imperialism is forbidden in Arabic. So it’s a spotty picture. I think the same is true in Morocco and Tunisia. I don’t know about Algeria. I don’t think they’re doing much importing of books right now.”
Why is it like pulling teeth to get him to admit that Israel has freer speech? But the clincher comes much later, when he is asked “what can be done to reverse what you call the unhealthy quality of public discourse in the Arab world.” (p.59). What is his first response? Mobilize supporters of the Palestinians in the U.S. What is his second response? “delegitimize the Israeli military occupation.” Then he says we should combat the Zionist lobby in the U.S. Does he mention censorship at all? No. Does he answer the question at all? No.
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