Ex-World Bank Chief Cancels AUB Visit after Faculty Members Petition
Former World Bank chief James Wolfensohn on Friday canceled a scheduled keynote address at the American University of Beirut, amid accusations by the AUB faculty that he supported Israel.
"AUB regrets to announce that Sir James Wolfensohn, out of concern that his presence at the June commencement ceremony would distract from the celebratory nature of the event, has decided that he will not attend," read a statement released by the university.
The decision came after more than 90 faculty members signed a petition, entitled "Not in our name: AUB faculty, staff and students object to honoring James Wolfensohn."
This pressured the university to revoke its decision to grant an honorary doctorate to Wolfensohn, who was also scheduled to give the keynote address at the university's commencement on June 25.
AUB president Peter Dorman will now give the address instead.
The petition argued that "honoring Mr Wolfensohn ... symbolically undermines AUB’s legacy in the struggle for social justice and its historical connection to Beirut, to Palestine and beyond."
It also detailed Wolfensohn’s alleged links to Israeli companies and accused him of being "an investor in an Israeli company developing transport infrastructure for illegal Jewish-only settlements built in the occupied West Bank" and a "standing member of the international advisory of the Israeli Democracy Institute."
Wolfensohn, an Australian-born naturalized U.S. citizen, could not be reached for comment.
The international investment banker and financial adviser served as president of the World Bank from 1995 to 2005 and is currently chairman of his own firm, Wolfensohn and Company.
In past years, several artists and writers have had to cancel scheduled performances in Lebanon amid controversy over their alleged ties to Israel, which ended a 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000.
Lebanon remains technically at war with Israel and has vowed to be the last Arab country to sign a peace agreement with the Jewish state.
almost 13 years
Bigotry of Ahmadinajad and his occupation army called Hizbollah reaching Lebanese shores, a country built on freedom, democracy and tolerance. The Basij have taken Lebanese culture hostage and have made Hizbollahstan a prison for the mind a soul, a black hole to intellectual enlightenment and a copycat of North Korea with its worship of arms and leaders. For this level of bigotry to happen at a major university is an indication to what degree Hizbollah has managed to create two Lebanons with nothing in common except their useful idiots poisoning Lebanese democracy from Rabiee and Muktara. Maybe we will only taste freedom when the two worst tyrants in our region are deposed.
almost 13 years
Wow I couldn't help but laugh outloud at the statements here
" Lebanese shores, a country built on freedom, democracy and tolerence" really ? wow i'm thrilled i've never heard such true patriotic words for some while, well here's a reality check for you, the only time this part of the region came anywhere close to "a productive coexistence" for those who are educated ofcourse, note i dont say "democracy" cause i think thats an overused hypcritical word throughout the world, anyway the only time was when the french were here ruling us putting some order production maing our building look beutiful.
as for this Ex-world bank president, i can write a novel here, not to mention the fact that he was the president of the most corrupt most powerful and most degenerating system in the modern world, and if thats what you are calling "education" and an influencial figure for our students, then i'm thrilled! oh and by the way name me one leb figure who was recently welcomed in tel aviv recently
almost 13 years
Those who support Israel have the most blood on their hands like the Zionist controlled USA who is currently killing people in 3 countries.
almost 13 years
Youssef Haddad...Oh yes, those blood thirsty racist imperialists who support the ethnic cleansing Apartheid Zionist settler state are civilized, while those who support the natives are "savages". Who are we? You are an American zionist enemy thug!
almost 13 years
with all due respect ya mouwaten arabi,it's time to grow up and go out of the cage,the arab blood spelled by arab regimes is far more than the "adou el sahyOUNI"
the first serious blow to an arab regime came from bilad el arz when we put the occupation syrian army OUT.AND PLSE DON'T repeat the old song of "adou el sahyouni",israel and arab regimes are allies:go picniking in golan hights for 45 years.
BILAD EL ARZ PREVAILED OVER ARAB REGIMES.
almost 13 years
Ya shabeb, all this back and forth does not get us anywhere. We are always defining ourselves by saying we are against or for this or that country, regime, idiology...etc. Israel, Iran, Syria...etc. Ya akhi, may be in another forum. But here, the truth of the matter is that we have failed to seize the opportunity to bring people like Wolfensohn and teach them about our ideas to explain to them what we think about human (all human) rights about religious freedom, about an institution (AUB) that has been here for over a century. Instead, we boycott them. In other words, if this guy is the "evil" person as we claim him to be, then he will be more after this. If he was not, we made a terrible mistake. Bring him in and tell him about us. he can stay the way he is or change. Either way, we missed the opportunity. We become our own enemy.
almost 13 years
What a mockery! The Palestinians welcomed him, and we're boycotting him on behalf of the Palestinians.
What an idiotic people we are!
Shouldn't we start boycotting those who support the Syrian regime more than those who support Israel?
Most of those who support Israel are civilized and come from peaceful and democratic countries
most of those who support Assad are either extremists or come from countries that rank on the lowest scales of humanity.