Dennis Ross is a scholar and diplomat of unmatched experience in the vagaries of βthe peace process.β His 2005 memoir The Missing Peace: Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace runs to 880 closely printed pages. He served in both the Bush (41) and Clinton administrations. He also served as special assistant to President Obama and worked on National Security Council in both the Reagan and Obama administrations. He currently serves as a distinguished fellow on the U.S.-Israel strategic relationship at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. His impressive Washington Institute profile is posted here.
On a personal note, I would like to add this. When I was working on the 2007 Weekly Standard article βHow Arafat got away with murder,β I caught Ambassador Ross by telephone in his office late on a Friday afternoon. He was on his way out the door and didnβt know me from Adam, yet he took my question and responded as quoted in the article. He seemed to me a straightforward and decent gentleman.
Ross was invited by the MIT Jewish Alumni Alliance to speak at MITβs βStanding Together Against Hateβ program launched in the aftermath of the the October 7 massacre. MIT president Sally Kornbluth trumpeted the program as an effort aimed at βcommunity building.β She put MIT chancellor Melissa Nobles in charge.
A Hamas apologist is scheduled to speak at MIT as part of the program on March 18. Jewish alumni reached out to Ross and confirmed his willingness to participate in the programβs speaker series. When attempts were made to move forward, however, program planners informed the alumni that Ross is not an appropriate speaker because they deem him βa politician.β The alumni group has posted its March 12 open letter to Kornbluth here.
The Washington Free Beaconβs Jessica Costescu now takes a deep dive into the story under the headline βMIT Refused To Host Dennis Ross. It Invited a Hamas Apologist Instead.β Subhead: βDalia Mogahed, who described Hamas terrorism as legal βresistance,β slated to speak as a part of MITβs βStanding Against Hateβ Initiative.β
Whatβs the trouble with Dennis Ross? Itβs not that he is a politician. He has never run for office:
Like Ross, Mogahed has served as a presidential adviser, albeit to fewer presidents and in more junior roles. She served as an adviser to former president Barack Obama in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
For Matthew Handel and Lori Ullman, two Jewish Alumni Alliance members, MITβs refusal to host Rossβand its excuse for excluding himβare insulting.
βItβs already patronizing for anyone to say weβre at MIT, so we think weβre smarter than you,β Handel, who co-founded the group, told the Free Beacon. βItβs beyond arrogant that they would say, βWe work at MIT, so as MIT alums, weβre smarter than you; MIT students, weβre smarter than you; Congress, weβre smarter than you.'β
Costescu gives the reader everything he might need to understand the story and the actual trouble with Ross, including this valuable note: βMIT did not return a request for comment.β
Joe Bidenβs State of the Union speech began almost a half hour behind schedule. The reason apparently was that his route to the Capitol was blocked by an illegal βkill the Jewsβ protest. So an official government proceeding was delayed by protesters who were violating the law. Doesnβt that sound familiar?
Blocking an official proceeding. I think we have recent precedent on this. https://t.co/fxOZ9vxc74
β Josh Holmes (@HolmesJosh) March 8, 2024
Donβt hold your breath waiting for the βkill the Jewsβ gang to be arrested and held for a year or two in solitary confinement.