Difference between revisions of "Martin Kramer"
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| − | Martin Kramer is an analyst working at the [[Washington Institute for Near East Policy]], since 2002. He is also a senior fellow at the at the [[Shalem Centre]] and its [[Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies]], since 2006 and | + | [[File:Kramer.jpg|thumb|200px|Martin Kramer, Credit: [http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/experts/view/kramer-martin/ Washington Institute for Near East Policy] ]] |
| + | Martin Kramer is an analyst working at the [[Washington Institute for Near East Policy]], since 2002. He is also a senior fellow at the at the [[Shalem Centre]] and its [[Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies]], since 2006 and in 2012 was President-designate of the nascent [[Shalem College]] a new college built on the site of a former Arab college in the Occupied Territories.. | ||
==Activities== | ==Activities== | ||
| − | Kramer describes himself as "an authority on contemporary Islam and Arab politics".<ref>[http://www.martinkramer.org/ Sandbox], MartinKramer.org, accessed June 18 2012</ref> | + | Kramer describes himself as "an authority on contemporary Islam and Arab politics".<ref>[http://www.martinkramer.org/ Sandbox], MartinKramer.org, accessed June 18 2012</ref> He contributes to [[Commentary]] amongst other publications. |
| − | + | Between 2001-2004 he was editor of [[Middle East Quarterly]]<ref>[http://www.martinkramer.org/sandbox/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/publiccv0109-2.pdf CV], MartinKramer.org, accessed 18 June 2012</ref> a quarterly journal publishing mostly largely right-wing analyses of terrorism, Islam and the Middle East. It is published by the [[Middle East Forum]], an American Zionist thinktank founded by [[Daniel Pipes]]. | |
| + | |||
| + | Kramer is a senior fellow [[Shalem Center]] a conservative research institute based in Jerusalem and also the Wexler-Fromer Fellow at the [[Washington Institute for Near East Policy]]. He has been affiliated with the [[Olin Institute for Strategic Studies]], [[Harvard University]], since 2007<ref> Martin Kramer on The Middle East, www.martinkramer.org, | ||
[http://harvard.academia.edu/documents/0009/9178/publiccv0109.pdf Personal CV], Accessed 01-March-2009</ref> where he founded and convened the course [[Middle East Strategy at Harvard]] (MESH). | [http://harvard.academia.edu/documents/0009/9178/publiccv0109.pdf Personal CV], Accessed 01-March-2009</ref> where he founded and convened the course [[Middle East Strategy at Harvard]] (MESH). | ||
He has also been an Administrator of The Washington Institute Book Prize, since 2008<ref> Martin Kramer on The Middle East, www.martinkramer.org, | He has also been an Administrator of The Washington Institute Book Prize, since 2008<ref> Martin Kramer on The Middle East, www.martinkramer.org, | ||
| − | [http://harvard.academia.edu/documents/0009/9178/publiccv0109.pdf Personal CV], Accessed 01-March-2009</ref>. Formerly he worked at the [[Moshe Dayan | + | [http://harvard.academia.edu/documents/0009/9178/publiccv0109.pdf Personal CV], Accessed 01-March-2009</ref>. Formerly he worked at the [[Moshe Dayan Center]] for 25 years eventually becoming director.<ref>Elliot Jager,[http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Article.aspx?id=157055 A Progressive First From a Conservative Think Tank,] Jerusalem Post, accessed June 14, 2012</ref> |
| + | |||
| + | ===Policing academia=== | ||
| + | Kramer lobbied Congress together with [[Stanley Kurtz]] and [[Campus Watch]] founder [[Daniel Pipes]] to closely monitor and intervene in Middle East and other area studies programs receiving 'Title VI' funding. They believed anti-American and anti-Israel attitudes were being fostered in such environments and supported the International Studies and Higher Education Act (HR3077) which would have established a government-appointed board to oversee international studies centers receiving federal money. The board would have recommended to Congress and the Secretary of Education ways to ensure centers "reflect diverse perspectives", which would have created "a clear incentive to hire individuals...who supported existing US policy and were not critical of Israel", according to Mearsheimer and Walt.<ref>Mearsheimer, J. and Walt, S., (2008), The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy. London, Penguin Books.</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[AIPAC]], the [[American Jewish Congress]] and the [[ADL]] supported the initiative but while it, and similar legislation in 2005, was approved by the House, Senate did not consider it formally on either occasion. However in 2007 a congressionally mandated National Research Council study of Title VI programs recommended the creation of a presidential appointee to oversee international studies and language programs. Mearsheimer and Walt say that Kramer and Kurt "claimed victory" but argue that "giving a single individual such extensive oversight...raises the worrisome possibility that a future presidential appointee might one day be in a position to implement the Pipes/Kramer/Kurtz program of ideological conformity."<ref>Mearsheimer, J. and Walt, S., (2008), The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy. London, Penguin Books.</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | According to Robert Fisk, Kramer at one point ran the [[Campus Watch]] website, which Fisk calls "McCarthyite" alongside [[Daniel Pipes]]<ref>Robert Fisk, [http://electronicintifada.net/content/how-shut-your-critics-single-word/4172 How to Shut Up your Critics With a Single Word], Electronic Intifada, accessed 19 June 2012</ref>. Currently he is listed as an adjunct scholar to the [[Middle East Forum]] which runs the project. Joseph Massad, one of the professors targeted by [[Campus Watch]] in 2002 said he was "disgusted by these policing operations by failed academics of the caliber of Kramer and Pipes who opted for a propaganda role on behalf of the racist colonial settlement that they support" and that "such poor research abilities on their part may explain why neither of them is employed at a respectable academic institution and work in the field of propaganda"<ref>[http://electronicintifada.net/content/campus-watch-interview-prof-joseph-massad/4120 Campus Watch: Interview with Prof. Joseph Massad,], Electronic Intifada, accessed 19 June 2012</ref>. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Massad has accused Kramer of "virulent anti- Arab racism" and said of his activities on campus: | ||
| + | |||
| + | ::"What Kramer, Pipes, and their ilk want to achieve is a subversion of the democratic process as well as of the academic process. Their intent is to subvert the academy by deriding its independence and by attempting to make it subject to the national security state and the thought police. As far as the democratic process is concerned, their goals are to suppress dissenting views by defaming them and calling for people to be dismissed from their jobs..."<ref>Joseph Massad, [http://electronicintifada.net/content/policing-academy/4524 Policing the academy,] Electronic Intifada, 19 June 2012</ref> | ||
===Attendance at Herzliya Conference=== | ===Attendance at Herzliya Conference=== | ||
| − | + | Kramer has spoken at every [[Herzliya Conference]] since 2007 on the following topics: | |
| + | *At the [[Seventh Herzliya Conference]] as part of a panel discussing the theme ''Knowing Thy Enemy: Decision-Making of Regional Adversaries'' on 22 January 2007<ref>[http://www.herzliyaconference.org/eng/?CategoryID=243&ArticleID=1918 The 7th Conference - 2007], herzliyaconference.org, accessed 18 June 2012.</ref> | ||
*At the [[Eighth Herzliya Conference]] he spoke with others on ''Arab-Israeli Negotiations - Forecasts for the Region'' on 21 January 2008<ref>[http://www.herzliyaconference.org/eng/?CategoryID=251&ArticleID=2156 2008 Herzliya Conference], herzliyaconference.org, accessed 18 June 2012.</ref> | *At the [[Eighth Herzliya Conference]] he spoke with others on ''Arab-Israeli Negotiations - Forecasts for the Region'' on 21 January 2008<ref>[http://www.herzliyaconference.org/eng/?CategoryID=251&ArticleID=2156 2008 Herzliya Conference], herzliyaconference.org, accessed 18 June 2012.</ref> | ||
| − | * At the [[Ninth Herzliya Conference]] he delivered a talk on ''Coping with Hamas: Lessons from Operation "Cast Lead"'' on 3 February 2009<ref>[http://www.herzliyaconference.org/_Uploads/2885HC_Themes.pdf Program], the 9th Herzliya Conference 2009, herzliyaconference.org, accessed 18 June 2012.</ref> | + | *At the [[Ninth Herzliya Conference]] he delivered a talk on ''Coping with Hamas: Lessons from Operation "Cast Lead"'' on 3 February 2009<ref>[http://www.herzliyaconference.org/_Uploads/2885HC_Themes.pdf Program], the 9th Herzliya Conference 2009, herzliyaconference.org, accessed 18 June 2012.</ref> |
| + | *At the [[Tenth Annual Herzliya Conference]] on ''Rising to the Challenge of Radical Indoctrination'' and at a roundtable discussion on ''Poisoning the Future: Fighting Hate Indoctrination and De-legitimization'', both on on 2 February 2010<ref>[http://www.herzliyaconference.org/Eng/ The 10th Annual Herzliya Conference], herzliyaconference.org, accessed 18 June 2012.</ref> Comments made at this conference pertaining to aid for Palestinians generated controversy<ref>[http://www.martinkramer.org/sandbox/2010/02/smear-intifada/ Smear Intifada], MartinKramer.org, accessed 18 June 2012</ref>. | ||
| + | *At the [[Eleventh Annual Herzliya Conference]] on ''Dilemmas in US Policy in the Middle East: Stability vs. Democracy?'' and as part of a roundtable on ''Radicalization and Counter - Radicalization in the Muslim World'' on 9 February 2011<ref>[http://www.herzliyaconference.org/_Uploads/dbsAttachedFiles/AgendaE(6).pdf Herzliya2011 Preliminary Programme], herzliyaconference.org, accessed 18 June 2012.</ref> | ||
| + | *At the [[Twelfth Herzliya Conference]] as part of a roundtable discussion on ''Short-Term Scenarios for the Middle East'' on 30 January 2012<ref>[http://www.herzliyaconference.org/eng/?CategoryID=465&ArticleID=2254 Agenda & Programme], 2012 Herzliya Conference, herzlitaconference.org, accessed 18 June 2012.</ref> | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
| − | Kramer earned his undergraduate and doctoral degrees in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University. During a twenty-five-year career at Tel Aviv University, he directed the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies; taught as a visiting professor at Brandeis University, the University of Chicago, Cornell University, and Georgetown University; and served twice as a fellow of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.<ref>[http://www.martinkramer.org/ Sandbox], MartinKramer.org, accessed June 18 2012</ref> | + | Kramer earned his undergraduate and doctoral degrees in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University. During a twenty-five-year career at Tel Aviv University, he directed the [[Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies]]; taught as a visiting professor at Brandeis University, the University of Chicago, Cornell University, and [[Georgetown University]]; and served twice as a fellow of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.<ref>[http://www.martinkramer.org/ Sandbox], MartinKramer.org, accessed June 18 2012</ref> |
| + | |||
| + | He moved to Israel in 1981.<ref>[http://www.martinkramer.org/sandbox/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/publiccv0109-2.pdf CV,] MartinKrmaer.org, accessed 18 June 2012</ref> | ||
==Views== | ==Views== | ||
| + | ===On North American academia=== | ||
| + | In his book ''Ivory Towers on Sand'', Kramer argued that Middle Eastern Studies centers in United States universities were dominated by left-wing, anti-American and anti-Israel professors who imposed their views on students. Elsewhere he has broadened this critique, saying: | ||
| + | ::"The problem, of course, is that American academe is obsessed with Palestine, to the exclusion of nearly everything else. Many professors are tenured homing pigeons. Set their minds aloft anywhere from the High Atlas to the Hindu Kush. They will wind up flying to Jerusalem and congregating on the esplanade of the Dome of the Rock. Every issue must somehow be processed and reduced to an aspect of the Arab-Israeli conflict. And the underlying theory is this: Israel is responsible for everything that goes badly in the Middle East, and if the linkage is not apparent, it is the scholar’s duty to claim otherwise — by bald assertions."<ref>Martin Kramer, [http://www.meforum.org/160/jihad-101 Jihad 101], Middle East Quarterly Spring 2002, pp. 87-95, accessed 19 June 2012</ref> | ||
| − | ===Comments about aid to Palestinians=== | + | ===Comments about cutting aid to Palestinians to curb birth rates=== |
| − | At the [[Tenth Annual Herzliya Conference]] in 2010 Kramer gave a short speech in which he linked population growth and especially a large proportion of young men in a society with radicalization and violent extremism, saying this could be countered through population control measures and would "happen faster if the West stops providing pro-natal subsidies for Palestinians with refugee status." <ref>[http://www.martinkramer.org/sandbox/2010/02/superfluous-young-men/ Superfluous Young Men,] MartinKramer.org, accessed June 14 2012</ref> Critics branded this "genocidal", since the definition of genocide in the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide includes measures “intended to prevent births within” a specific “national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”<ref>[http://electronicintifada.net/content/harvard-fellow-calls-genocidal-measure-curb-palestinian-births/8692 Harvard Fellow Calls For Genocidal Measures to Curb Palestinian Births,] Electronic Intifada, accessed June 14 2012</ref> | + | At the [[Tenth Annual Herzliya Conference]] in 2010 Kramer gave a short speech in which he linked population growth and especially a large proportion of young men in a society with radicalization and violent extremism, saying this could be countered through population control measures and would "happen faster if the West stops providing pro-natal subsidies for Palestinians with refugee status." <ref>[http://www.martinkramer.org/sandbox/2010/02/superfluous-young-men/ Superfluous Young Men,] MartinKramer.org, accessed June 14 2012</ref> Critics branded this "genocidal", since the definition of genocide in the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide includes measures “intended to prevent births within” a specific “national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”<ref>[http://electronicintifada.net/content/harvard-fellow-calls-genocidal-measure-curb-palestinian-births/8692 Harvard Fellow Calls For Genocidal Measures to Curb Palestinian Births,] Electronic Intifada, accessed June 14 2012</ref> |
| + | |||
| + | Although when contacted one of the directors of the Weatherhead Center at Harvard is said to have originally agreed that the sentiments were "appalling"<ref>[http://electronicintifada.net/content/harvard-center-condemns-then-defends-fellows-pro-genocide-statements/8697 Harvard Center Condemns Then Defends Fellow's Pro-Genocide Statements], Electronic Intifada, accessed 18 June 2012</ref>, shortly afterwards the directors publicly issued a collective statement which dismissed these accusations as "baseless".<ref>[http://www.martinkramer.org/sandbox/2010/02/wcfia-at-harvard-accusations-are-baseless/ WCFIA at Harvard: accusations are baseless,] MartinKramer.org, accessed June 14 2012</ref>A coalition of students expressed concern at the comments and the university's response.<ref>[http://electronicintifada.net/content/harvard-students-condemn-centers-defense-fellows-racist-statements/8724 Harvard Students Condemn Center's Defense of Fellow's Racist Statements], Electronic Intifada, accessed 18 June 2012</ref>Kramer published an blogpost calling Electronic Intifada - the source of some of the original complaints - a "death to Israel website".<ref>[http://www.martinkramer.org/sandbox/2010/02/smear-intifada/ Smear Intifada], Sandbox - MartinKramer.org, accessed 18 June 2012</ref> | ||
===On American support for Israel=== | ===On American support for Israel=== | ||
| − | Kramer has argued that not because of "Holocaust guilt or shared democratic values" but because aid to Israel "underpins the | + | Kramer has argued that the USA supports Israel not because of "Holocaust guilt or shared democratic values" but because aid to Israel "underpins the Pax Americana in the Eastern Mediterranean" and provides "a low-cost way of keeping order in part of the Middle East."<ref>Martin Kramer, "The American Interest", ''Azure'' 5767, no. 26 (Fall 2006): 24-5</ref> John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt argue that this interpretation "exaggerates the benefits of this relationship and understates the costs"<ref>Mearsheimer, J. and Walt, S., (2008), The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy. London, Penguin Books.</ref> |
Kramer has also said that he knows of no "unbiased terrorism expert" who believes "American support for Israel is the source of popular resentment, propelling recruits to al Qaeda."<ref>Martin Kramer, "The American Interest", ''Azure'' 5767, no. 26 (Fall 2006): 24-5</ref> | Kramer has also said that he knows of no "unbiased terrorism expert" who believes "American support for Israel is the source of popular resentment, propelling recruits to al Qaeda."<ref>Martin Kramer, "The American Interest", ''Azure'' 5767, no. 26 (Fall 2006): 24-5</ref> | ||
===On alleged Israeli support for the invasion of Iraq=== | ===On alleged Israeli support for the invasion of Iraq=== | ||
| − | Kramer has written that it is "simply a falsehood" to link Israel and the lobby with the invasion of Iraq, claiming that "in the year preceding the Iraq war, Israel time and again disagreed with the United States, arguing that Iran posed the greater threat."<ref>Martin Kramer, "The American Interest", ''Azure'' 5767, no. 26 (Fall 2006): 24-5</ref> | + | Kramer has written that it is "simply a falsehood" to link Israel and the lobby with the invasion of Iraq, claiming that "in the year preceding the Iraq war, Israel time and again disagreed with the United States, arguing that Iran posed the greater threat."<ref>Martin Kramer, "The American Interest", ''Azure'' 5767, no. 26 (Fall 2006): 24-5</ref> Mearsheimer and Walt disagree, arguing that "top Israeli officials were doing everything in their power to make sure that the United States went after Saddam" and were "convinced that Bush would deal with Iran after" though "they might have preferred that America focus on Iran before Iraq".<ref>Mearsheimer, J. and Walt, S., (2008), The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy. London, Penguin Books.</ref> |
===On the Israel lobby=== | ===On the Israel lobby=== | ||
| Line 39: | Line 64: | ||
*[[Middle East Review of International Affairs]] (based at [[IDC]]), editorial board | *[[Middle East Review of International Affairs]] (based at [[IDC]]), editorial board | ||
*[[International Advisory Board for Academic Freedom]], conference participant <ref>[[Media:IAB_Conference_Agenda.pdf|Text of Conference Invite Email]]</ref> | *[[International Advisory Board for Academic Freedom]], conference participant <ref>[[Media:IAB_Conference_Agenda.pdf|Text of Conference Invite Email]]</ref> | ||
| + | *[[Middle East Quarterly]], former editor | ||
==Publications== | ==Publications== | ||
| − | * Islam Assembled: The Advent of the Muslim Congresses. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986 | + | ===Books=== |
| − | *Arab Awakening and Islamic Revival: The Politics of Ideas in the Middle East | + | *''[http://www.geocities.com/martinkramerorg/IslamAssembled/IslamAssembled.htm Islam Assembled: The Advent of the Muslim Congresses]''. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986. |
| − | * Ivory Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America. Washington: The | + | *''[http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Arab_Awakening_and_Islamic_Revival.html?id=0jjM74ZYS5kC&redir_esc=y Arab Awakening and Islamic Revival: The Politics of Ideas in the Middle East]''New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1996. 297 pp. |
| − | *Protest and Revolution in Shi’i Islam. Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuhad, 1985; | + | *[http://scholar.harvard.edu/martinkramer/files/IvoryTowers.pdf Ivory Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America]. Washington: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2001. 137 pp. |
| − | + | *Kramer, Martin. ‘’The War on Error: Israel, Islam, and the Middle East’’. New Brunswick, NJ and London: Transaction Publishers, 2016. | |
| − | * Middle Eastern Lives: The Practice of Biography and Self-Narrative. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1991. 168 pp. | + | |
| − | * The Islamism Debate (Dayan Center Papers, no. 120). Tel Aviv: The [[Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies]], 1997. | + | ===Edited Books=== |
| − | * The Jewish Discovery of Islam: Studies in Honor of Bernard Lewis. Tel Aviv: The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, 1999. | + | *''Protest and Revolution in Shi’i Islam''. Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuhad, 1985; 156 pp. |
| + | *''[http://www.geocities.com/martinkramerorg/Alawis.htm Shi‘ism, Resistance, and Revolution]''. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press; London: Mansell Publishing Limited, 1987. 324 pp. | ||
| + | *''[http://www.martinkramer.org/sandbox/reader/archives/middle-eastern-lives/ Middle Eastern Lives: The Practice of Biography and Self-Narrative]''. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1991. 168 pp. | ||
| + | *''The Islamism Debate'' (Dayan Center Papers, no. 120). Tel Aviv: The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, 1997. 178 pp.5. | ||
| + | *''The Jewish Discovery of Islam: Studies in Honor of Bernard Lewis''. Tel Aviv: The [[Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies]], 1999. 311 pp. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Monographs=== | ||
| + | *''Political Islam''. Georgetown University [[Center for Strategic and International Studies]] (CSIS), Washington Paper no. 73, Beverly Hills and London: Sage, 1980. 88 pp. | ||
| + | *''Hezbollah's Vision of the West''. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Policy Paper no. 16, Washington, 1989. 77 pp. | ||
| + | *''Fadlallah: The Compass of Hizbullah''. The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Dayan Center Paper no. 122, Tel Aviv, 1998. 118 pp. | ||
| + | *''[https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PolicyFocus113.pdf Rules of Engagement: How Government Can Leverage Academe]''. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Policy Focus no. 103, Washington, 2011. 38 pp. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===1980s=== | ||
| + | *Kramer, Martin. “Arabs Against Themselves (book review).” Commentary 74, no. 1 (1982): 86-88. | ||
| + | *Kramer, Martin. “Review of Daniel Pipes, In the Path of God: Islam and Political Power.” ''The American Spectator'', 1984, 38-40. | ||
| + | *Kramer, Martin, and Israel Stockman-Shomron. “Islam and Politics.” In Israel, the Middle East, and the Great Powers, 98-110. Jerusalem: Shikmona, 1984. | ||
| + | *''Protest and Revolution in Shi’i Islam''. Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuhad, 1985. | ||
| + | *Kramer, Martin. “Review of William L. Cleveland, Islam Against the West: Shakib Arslan and the Campaign for Islamic Nationalism.” Middle Eastern Studies 23, no. 4 (1987): 529-533. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===1990s=== | ||
| + | *Kramer, Martin. “The Moral Logic of Hizballah.” In Origins of Terrorism: Psychologies, Ideologies, Theologies, States of Mind, edited by Walter Reich, 131-57. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 1990. | ||
| + | * Kramer, Martin. “Mu’tamar.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam, 7:764-765. 2nd ed. Leiden: Brill, 1993. | ||
| + | *Kramer, Martin. '[http://martinkramer.org/sandbox/reader/archives/oracle-of-hizbullah-sayyid-muhammad-husayn-fadlallah/ The Oracle of Hizbullah: Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah]' In ''Spokesmen for the Despised: Fundamentalist Leaders in the Middle East'', edited by Scott Appleby, 83-181. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press, 1997. | ||
| + | * ''[http://scholar.harvard.edu/martinkramer/publications/islamism-debate The Islamism Debate]'' (Dayan Center Papers, no. 120). Tel Aviv: The [[Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies]], 1997. | ||
| + | * ''[http://www.martinkramer.org/sandbox/reader/archives/the-jewish-discovery-of-islam/ The Jewish Discovery of Islam: Studies in Honor of Bernard Lewis]''. Tel Aviv: The [[Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies]], 1999. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===2000s=== | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Kramer, Martin, and The Saban Center. “[https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/martinkramer/files/inclusion_exclusion_islamists.pdf Inclusion or Exclusion? Islamism in Politics].” An Agenda for Action: The 2002 Doha Conference on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 2003. | ||
| + | *Kramer, Martin. “[https://scholar.harvard.edu/martinkramer/publications/coming-terms-fundamentalists-or-islamists-%C2%A0-%C2%A0 Coming to Terms: Fundamentalists or Islamists?]” ''Middle East Quarterly'' 10, no. 2 (2003): 65-77. | ||
| + | *Kramer, Martin. “[https://scholar.harvard.edu/martinkramer/publications/policy-and-academy-illicit-relationship Policy and the Academy: An Illicit Relationship?]” ''Middle East Quarterly'' 10, no. 1 (2003): 65-73. | ||
| + | *Kramer, Martin. “[https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/martinkramer/files/islam_and_islamism.pdf Islam and Islamism: Western Attitudes Since 9/11].” In ''Democracy, Islam and the Middle East'', edited by Amnon Cohen, 63-70. Jerusalem: The Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, The [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]], 2005. | ||
| + | *Kramer, Martin. “The Israeli-Islamist War.” Occasional Papers Series, Middle East Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2006, Fall 2006, 8-10. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===2010s=== | ||
| + | *Kramer, Martin. 'The Return of Bernard Lewis.' ''Mosaic Magazine'', 2016, June 1. | ||
==Resources== | ==Resources== | ||
*Martin Kramer's website [http://www.martinkramer.org Sandbox] - martinkramer.org | *Martin Kramer's website [http://www.martinkramer.org Sandbox] - martinkramer.org | ||
| + | *[http://www.martinkramer.org/sandbox/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/publiccv0109-2.pdf Martin Kramer's CV] with links to texts | ||
| + | *[http://scholar.harvard.edu/martinkramer/files/IvoryTowers.pdf Ivory Towers on Sand:The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America] free download | ||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
| − | [[Category:United States|Kramer, Martin]][[Category:Israel Lobby]] | + | [[Category:United States|Kramer, Martin]][[Category:Israel Lobby]][[Category:Israeli Think Tanker|Ya'alon, Moshe]] |
Latest revision as of 09:59, 10 March 2020
Martin Kramer, Credit: Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Martin Kramer is an analyst working at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, since 2002. He is also a senior fellow at the at the Shalem Centre and its Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies, since 2006 and in 2012 was President-designate of the nascent Shalem College a new college built on the site of a former Arab college in the Occupied Territories..
Activities
Kramer describes himself as "an authority on contemporary Islam and Arab politics".[1] He contributes to Commentary amongst other publications.
Between 2001-2004 he was editor of Middle East Quarterly[2] a quarterly journal publishing mostly largely right-wing analyses of terrorism, Islam and the Middle East. It is published by the Middle East Forum, an American Zionist thinktank founded by Daniel Pipes.
Kramer is a senior fellow Shalem Center a conservative research institute based in Jerusalem and also the Wexler-Fromer Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He has been affiliated with the Olin Institute for Strategic Studies, Harvard University, since 2007[3] where he founded and convened the course Middle East Strategy at Harvard (MESH).
He has also been an Administrator of The Washington Institute Book Prize, since 2008[4]. Formerly he worked at the Moshe Dayan Center for 25 years eventually becoming director.[5]
Policing academia
Kramer lobbied Congress together with Stanley Kurtz and Campus Watch founder Daniel Pipes to closely monitor and intervene in Middle East and other area studies programs receiving 'Title VI' funding. They believed anti-American and anti-Israel attitudes were being fostered in such environments and supported the International Studies and Higher Education Act (HR3077) which would have established a government-appointed board to oversee international studies centers receiving federal money. The board would have recommended to Congress and the Secretary of Education ways to ensure centers "reflect diverse perspectives", which would have created "a clear incentive to hire individuals...who supported existing US policy and were not critical of Israel", according to Mearsheimer and Walt.[6]
AIPAC, the American Jewish Congress and the ADL supported the initiative but while it, and similar legislation in 2005, was approved by the House, Senate did not consider it formally on either occasion. However in 2007 a congressionally mandated National Research Council study of Title VI programs recommended the creation of a presidential appointee to oversee international studies and language programs. Mearsheimer and Walt say that Kramer and Kurt "claimed victory" but argue that "giving a single individual such extensive oversight...raises the worrisome possibility that a future presidential appointee might one day be in a position to implement the Pipes/Kramer/Kurtz program of ideological conformity."[7]
According to Robert Fisk, Kramer at one point ran the Campus Watch website, which Fisk calls "McCarthyite" alongside Daniel Pipes[8]. Currently he is listed as an adjunct scholar to the Middle East Forum which runs the project. Joseph Massad, one of the professors targeted by Campus Watch in 2002 said he was "disgusted by these policing operations by failed academics of the caliber of Kramer and Pipes who opted for a propaganda role on behalf of the racist colonial settlement that they support" and that "such poor research abilities on their part may explain why neither of them is employed at a respectable academic institution and work in the field of propaganda"[9].
Massad has accused Kramer of "virulent anti- Arab racism" and said of his activities on campus:
- "What Kramer, Pipes, and their ilk want to achieve is a subversion of the democratic process as well as of the academic process. Their intent is to subvert the academy by deriding its independence and by attempting to make it subject to the national security state and the thought police. As far as the democratic process is concerned, their goals are to suppress dissenting views by defaming them and calling for people to be dismissed from their jobs..."[10]
Attendance at Herzliya Conference
Kramer has spoken at every Herzliya Conference since 2007 on the following topics:
- At the Seventh Herzliya Conference as part of a panel discussing the theme Knowing Thy Enemy: Decision-Making of Regional Adversaries on 22 January 2007[11]
- At the Eighth Herzliya Conference he spoke with others on Arab-Israeli Negotiations - Forecasts for the Region on 21 January 2008[12]
- At the Ninth Herzliya Conference he delivered a talk on Coping with Hamas: Lessons from Operation "Cast Lead" on 3 February 2009[13]
- At the Tenth Annual Herzliya Conference on Rising to the Challenge of Radical Indoctrination and at a roundtable discussion on Poisoning the Future: Fighting Hate Indoctrination and De-legitimization, both on on 2 February 2010[14] Comments made at this conference pertaining to aid for Palestinians generated controversy[15].
- At the Eleventh Annual Herzliya Conference on Dilemmas in US Policy in the Middle East: Stability vs. Democracy? and as part of a roundtable on Radicalization and Counter - Radicalization in the Muslim World on 9 February 2011[16]
- At the Twelfth Herzliya Conference as part of a roundtable discussion on Short-Term Scenarios for the Middle East on 30 January 2012[17]
History
Kramer earned his undergraduate and doctoral degrees in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University. During a twenty-five-year career at Tel Aviv University, he directed the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies; taught as a visiting professor at Brandeis University, the University of Chicago, Cornell University, and Georgetown University; and served twice as a fellow of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.[18]
He moved to Israel in 1981.[19]
Views
On North American academia
In his book Ivory Towers on Sand, Kramer argued that Middle Eastern Studies centers in United States universities were dominated by left-wing, anti-American and anti-Israel professors who imposed their views on students. Elsewhere he has broadened this critique, saying:
- "The problem, of course, is that American academe is obsessed with Palestine, to the exclusion of nearly everything else. Many professors are tenured homing pigeons. Set their minds aloft anywhere from the High Atlas to the Hindu Kush. They will wind up flying to Jerusalem and congregating on the esplanade of the Dome of the Rock. Every issue must somehow be processed and reduced to an aspect of the Arab-Israeli conflict. And the underlying theory is this: Israel is responsible for everything that goes badly in the Middle East, and if the linkage is not apparent, it is the scholar’s duty to claim otherwise — by bald assertions."[20]
Comments about cutting aid to Palestinians to curb birth rates
At the Tenth Annual Herzliya Conference in 2010 Kramer gave a short speech in which he linked population growth and especially a large proportion of young men in a society with radicalization and violent extremism, saying this could be countered through population control measures and would "happen faster if the West stops providing pro-natal subsidies for Palestinians with refugee status." [21] Critics branded this "genocidal", since the definition of genocide in the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide includes measures “intended to prevent births within” a specific “national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”[22]
Although when contacted one of the directors of the Weatherhead Center at Harvard is said to have originally agreed that the sentiments were "appalling"[23], shortly afterwards the directors publicly issued a collective statement which dismissed these accusations as "baseless".[24]A coalition of students expressed concern at the comments and the university's response.[25]Kramer published an blogpost calling Electronic Intifada - the source of some of the original complaints - a "death to Israel website".[26]
On American support for Israel
Kramer has argued that the USA supports Israel not because of "Holocaust guilt or shared democratic values" but because aid to Israel "underpins the Pax Americana in the Eastern Mediterranean" and provides "a low-cost way of keeping order in part of the Middle East."[27] John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt argue that this interpretation "exaggerates the benefits of this relationship and understates the costs"[28]
Kramer has also said that he knows of no "unbiased terrorism expert" who believes "American support for Israel is the source of popular resentment, propelling recruits to al Qaeda."[29]
On alleged Israeli support for the invasion of Iraq
Kramer has written that it is "simply a falsehood" to link Israel and the lobby with the invasion of Iraq, claiming that "in the year preceding the Iraq war, Israel time and again disagreed with the United States, arguing that Iran posed the greater threat."[30] Mearsheimer and Walt disagree, arguing that "top Israeli officials were doing everything in their power to make sure that the United States went after Saddam" and were "convinced that Bush would deal with Iran after" though "they might have preferred that America focus on Iran before Iraq".[31]
On the Israel lobby
Kramer has downplayed the influence of the pro-Israel lobby, suggesting that "if the institutions of the lobby were to disappear tomorrow, it is quite likely that American and other Western support [for Israel] would continue unabated."[32] However Mearsheimer and Walt claim that "Kramer's own career suggests that he does not believe his own argument, as he has devoted considerable time and effort to defending U.S. support for Israel and attacking those who question it."[33]
Affiliations
- Democracy and Security International Conference, Attendee [34]
- Middle East Review of International Affairs (based at IDC), editorial board
- International Advisory Board for Academic Freedom, conference participant [35]
- Middle East Quarterly, former editor
Publications
Books
- Islam Assembled: The Advent of the Muslim Congresses. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986.
- Arab Awakening and Islamic Revival: The Politics of Ideas in the Middle EastNew Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1996. 297 pp.
- Ivory Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America. Washington: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2001. 137 pp.
- Kramer, Martin. ‘’The War on Error: Israel, Islam, and the Middle East’’. New Brunswick, NJ and London: Transaction Publishers, 2016.
Edited Books
- Protest and Revolution in Shi’i Islam. Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuhad, 1985; 156 pp.
- Shi‘ism, Resistance, and Revolution. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press; London: Mansell Publishing Limited, 1987. 324 pp.
- Middle Eastern Lives: The Practice of Biography and Self-Narrative. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1991. 168 pp.
- The Islamism Debate (Dayan Center Papers, no. 120). Tel Aviv: The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, 1997. 178 pp.5.
- The Jewish Discovery of Islam: Studies in Honor of Bernard Lewis. Tel Aviv: The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, 1999. 311 pp.
Monographs
- Political Islam. Georgetown University Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington Paper no. 73, Beverly Hills and London: Sage, 1980. 88 pp.
- Hezbollah's Vision of the West. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Policy Paper no. 16, Washington, 1989. 77 pp.
- Fadlallah: The Compass of Hizbullah. The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Dayan Center Paper no. 122, Tel Aviv, 1998. 118 pp.
- Rules of Engagement: How Government Can Leverage Academe. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Policy Focus no. 103, Washington, 2011. 38 pp.
1980s
- Kramer, Martin. “Arabs Against Themselves (book review).” Commentary 74, no. 1 (1982): 86-88.
- Kramer, Martin. “Review of Daniel Pipes, In the Path of God: Islam and Political Power.” The American Spectator, 1984, 38-40.
- Kramer, Martin, and Israel Stockman-Shomron. “Islam and Politics.” In Israel, the Middle East, and the Great Powers, 98-110. Jerusalem: Shikmona, 1984.
- Protest and Revolution in Shi’i Islam. Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuhad, 1985.
- Kramer, Martin. “Review of William L. Cleveland, Islam Against the West: Shakib Arslan and the Campaign for Islamic Nationalism.” Middle Eastern Studies 23, no. 4 (1987): 529-533.
1990s
- Kramer, Martin. “The Moral Logic of Hizballah.” In Origins of Terrorism: Psychologies, Ideologies, Theologies, States of Mind, edited by Walter Reich, 131-57. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 1990.
- Kramer, Martin. “Mu’tamar.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam, 7:764-765. 2nd ed. Leiden: Brill, 1993.
- Kramer, Martin. 'The Oracle of Hizbullah: Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah' In Spokesmen for the Despised: Fundamentalist Leaders in the Middle East, edited by Scott Appleby, 83-181. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press, 1997.
- The Islamism Debate (Dayan Center Papers, no. 120). Tel Aviv: The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, 1997.
- The Jewish Discovery of Islam: Studies in Honor of Bernard Lewis. Tel Aviv: The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, 1999.
2000s
- Kramer, Martin, and The Saban Center. “Inclusion or Exclusion? Islamism in Politics.” An Agenda for Action: The 2002 Doha Conference on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 2003.
- Kramer, Martin. “Coming to Terms: Fundamentalists or Islamists?” Middle East Quarterly 10, no. 2 (2003): 65-77.
- Kramer, Martin. “Policy and the Academy: An Illicit Relationship?” Middle East Quarterly 10, no. 1 (2003): 65-73.
- Kramer, Martin. “Islam and Islamism: Western Attitudes Since 9/11.” In Democracy, Islam and the Middle East, edited by Amnon Cohen, 63-70. Jerusalem: The Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2005.
- Kramer, Martin. “The Israeli-Islamist War.” Occasional Papers Series, Middle East Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2006, Fall 2006, 8-10.
2010s
- Kramer, Martin. 'The Return of Bernard Lewis.' Mosaic Magazine, 2016, June 1.
Resources
- Martin Kramer's website Sandbox - martinkramer.org
- Martin Kramer's CV with links to texts
- Ivory Towers on Sand:The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America free download
Notes
- ↑ Sandbox, MartinKramer.org, accessed June 18 2012
- ↑ CV, MartinKramer.org, accessed 18 June 2012
- ↑ Martin Kramer on The Middle East, www.martinkramer.org, Personal CV, Accessed 01-March-2009
- ↑ Martin Kramer on The Middle East, www.martinkramer.org, Personal CV, Accessed 01-March-2009
- ↑ Elliot Jager,A Progressive First From a Conservative Think Tank, Jerusalem Post, accessed June 14, 2012
- ↑ Mearsheimer, J. and Walt, S., (2008), The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy. London, Penguin Books.
- ↑ Mearsheimer, J. and Walt, S., (2008), The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy. London, Penguin Books.
- ↑ Robert Fisk, How to Shut Up your Critics With a Single Word, Electronic Intifada, accessed 19 June 2012
- ↑ Campus Watch: Interview with Prof. Joseph Massad,, Electronic Intifada, accessed 19 June 2012
- ↑ Joseph Massad, Policing the academy, Electronic Intifada, 19 June 2012
- ↑ The 7th Conference - 2007, herzliyaconference.org, accessed 18 June 2012.
- ↑ 2008 Herzliya Conference, herzliyaconference.org, accessed 18 June 2012.
- ↑ Program, the 9th Herzliya Conference 2009, herzliyaconference.org, accessed 18 June 2012.
- ↑ The 10th Annual Herzliya Conference, herzliyaconference.org, accessed 18 June 2012.
- ↑ Smear Intifada, MartinKramer.org, accessed 18 June 2012
- ↑ Herzliya2011 Preliminary Programme, herzliyaconference.org, accessed 18 June 2012.
- ↑ Agenda & Programme, 2012 Herzliya Conference, herzlitaconference.org, accessed 18 June 2012.
- ↑ Sandbox, MartinKramer.org, accessed June 18 2012
- ↑ CV, MartinKrmaer.org, accessed 18 June 2012
- ↑ Martin Kramer, Jihad 101, Middle East Quarterly Spring 2002, pp. 87-95, accessed 19 June 2012
- ↑ Superfluous Young Men, MartinKramer.org, accessed June 14 2012
- ↑ Harvard Fellow Calls For Genocidal Measures to Curb Palestinian Births, Electronic Intifada, accessed June 14 2012
- ↑ Harvard Center Condemns Then Defends Fellow's Pro-Genocide Statements, Electronic Intifada, accessed 18 June 2012
- ↑ WCFIA at Harvard: accusations are baseless, MartinKramer.org, accessed June 14 2012
- ↑ Harvard Students Condemn Center's Defense of Fellow's Racist Statements, Electronic Intifada, accessed 18 June 2012
- ↑ Smear Intifada, Sandbox - MartinKramer.org, accessed 18 June 2012
- ↑ Martin Kramer, "The American Interest", Azure 5767, no. 26 (Fall 2006): 24-5
- ↑ Mearsheimer, J. and Walt, S., (2008), The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy. London, Penguin Books.
- ↑ Martin Kramer, "The American Interest", Azure 5767, no. 26 (Fall 2006): 24-5
- ↑ Martin Kramer, "The American Interest", Azure 5767, no. 26 (Fall 2006): 24-5
- ↑ Mearsheimer, J. and Walt, S., (2008), The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy. London, Penguin Books.
- ↑ Martin Kramer, "The American Interest", Azure 5767, no. 26 (Fall 2006): 24-5
- ↑ Mearsheimer, J. and Walt, S., (2008), The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy. London, Penguin Books.
- ↑ Democracy and Security Conference, List of Participants, Accessed 25-February-2009
- ↑ Text of Conference Invite Email
