Dear way-westers: 
I've copied below a back-and-forth series of e-mails I exchanged with the
two people at Holy Cross most involved in the decision to cancel Michael
Prior's lecture there just before his Naperville appearance.

Dear President McFarland and Professor O'Brien:

I attended a lecture by Father Michael Prior during his recent U.S. tour and
became acquainted with the circumstances under which his invitation to speak
at Holy Cross was withdrawn.

Having heard the lecture, I am saddened that Father Prior did not receive a
hearing at your university. You claim to be interested in widening the
discourse on the history and politics of the Holy Land, yet have failed in
the simple, essential task of allowing diverse viewpoints to be heard.

Clearly, you were under pressure from those who would like Father Prior's
voice to be silenced. How much better it would have been if you had stood up
to the intimidation, rather than buckling under pressure and cancelling
Father Prior's lecture.

Father Prior's presentation is itself a fearless, thoughtful rebuttal to the
overwhelming indoctrination in which we view the situation Holy Land.  How
sad that you have become an accessory to the climate of suppression.

Martha Reese

Dear Ms. Reese,
We invite speakers who help bring undrstanding and mutual respect
on important issues.  We have had many speakers on the Palestinian
situation, including those who have been quite sympathetic to the
Palestinians.  Prof. O'Brien, who originally extended the invitation
to Fr. Michael Prior, decided on further consideration that having him
would not be helpful.  We do not have an obligation to have him here
just because he wants to speak.
 
Michael McFarland, SJ

Dear President McFarland:

Thank you very much for your reply to my message concerning the cancellation
of Father O'Brien's lecture at Holy Cross. I am hoping you will favor me
with another reply, as I am most interested in hearing you expand on your
conclusion that "having him (O'Brien) would not be helpful." It would help
me understand your decision-making process to know what you mean by "not
helpful." Having invited him in the first place, I am curious to know what
factors led to your subsequent determination that his viewpoint is "not
helpful."

Thanks much for your time and consideration,
Martha Reese

Dear Ms. Reese,
You could get a fuller explanation from Prof. O'Brien.
He invited Fr. Prior on the recommendation of someone else.
On further consideration and research, he decided it would
not lead to the kind of respectful and enlightening dialogue
that would serve our purposes.
 
There seem to be very different readings of Fr. Prior, his
attitudes and what he represents.  There are good
and respected people on both sides.  I guess that represents
the extreme polarization on the Palestinian situations.  Certainly
my experience of him and many of supporters does not leave a
good impression of them.
 
Michael McFarland, SJ

Dear President McFarland:

Once again, thanks for your consideration in replying to my e-mail. I want
to write you once more, this time to apologize for any rudeness you may have
experienced from those disappointed by the cancellation of Father Prior's
lecture. Although rudeness is, perhaps, indefensible, I assure you that--had
you and Professor O'Brien carried through with the plan for Father Prior's
lecture--you would have been the recipient of a raft of rude, hostile
protests from those objecting to the content of his message.

Unfortunately, those of us most aware of the situation in the Palestinian
territories (from first-hand experience or direct internet news) can be
overcome by a weary cynicism. Beyond the dramatic headline news of
Palestinian suicide bombings and Israeli "retaliatory" re-occupation of
Palestinian villages and cities, we are aware of the inexorable annexation
of Palestinian land and the suffocation of Palestinian society. Many of us
believe that occupation breeds terror, not the reverse.

>From this perspective, we are deeply concerned that individual claims of
"neutrality" are not, functionally, neutral at all, but serve the interests
of Israeli encroachment, occupation, land confiscation, settlement. When we,
as individuals, fail to speak out in protest, it only serves the status quo.
And the status quo for Palestinians is much more dire than Americans are in
a position to know from our media. Each passing month, each year, further
compromises Palestinian dignity, territory, sovereignty, livelihood, hope.

And so I apologize for any rhetorical excesses you may have experienced from
those of us who are desperate to penetrate the American consciousness with a
fundamental reexamination of the Israel-Palestine tragedy.

Sincerely,
Martha Reese 

Dear Martha Reese
 
Thanks for your message to Fr McFarland. I will not attach my standard reply
presuming you have seen it. You will be pleased to know that we have had
regular presentations, both in person and in our publications, by people who
have visited the west bank and experienced the suffering there. Just last
week the Chaplains office hosted a Palestinian Christian nonviolent
activist, and some of our graduates who have visited the area are regular
visitors. Second semester this year our First Year Prorgam will sponsor a
public lecture by Boston Globe reporter Anthony Shahid, who was shot by
Israeli forces while reporting from Bethelehem earlier this year. They will
be reading his book Legacy of the Prophet on Islamicist politics. At the
same time we have at least one program scheduled for January (and expect
more) that will explore current Israeli policy and politics and the meaning
of Israel for our American Jewish neighbors, friends and colleagues. Be
assured of our deep concern about the suffering in that troubled region of
the world.
 
Sincerely,
 
David O'Brien