One of the most influential scholars ever. http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1049793,00.html
He was one hell of a writer as well. Contributed a lot to the New York Review of Books. He will be missed.
Funny, thought your tombstone said exactly that. Very very classy there. It befits you better. p.s. before dfb547490 ruined this post, i was going to say that I was watching John Ritter on Three's Company the night before he died. then, yesterdayi was about to buy a book of Said...sad coincidences there. Sad indeed.
After the signing of the Oslo peace accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), Said also criticised Yasser Arafat because he believed the PLO leader had made a bad deal for the Palestinians. In a 1995 lecture, he said Arafat and the Palestinian Authority "have become willing collaborators with the (Israeli) military occupation, a sort of Vichy government for Palestinians." Yeah, good call there, dead guy. Never been impressed with Said. An apologist for terror if there ever was one.
R.I.P. Idiots above cast aside (roughly), this was a loss for the entire thinking body here in America, and globally; Said's charges remain uneasily dismissed, and many remain poignant and accurate.
RIP The Edward Said Archive (TESA) http://www.edwardsaid.org/ Born a Palestinian Christian, Said lived in West Jerusalem from 1935 until 1947, when his family fled to Egypt and later to Lebanon, prior to the establishment of the state of Israel.
Here are the bare bones of the truth: Mr. Said's father, Wadie, grew up in Jerusalem but evidently emigrated in 1911 to the U.S. During World War I, Wadie reportedly served with American forces in Europe before returning to the Middle East with a U.S. passport to start what would become a successful business career. For at least nine years prior to his son's birth in 1935, Wadie Said was residing permanently in Cairo, where he and his family remained until 1962. And Jerusalem? In that city lived Wadie Said's sister and her family. To these relatives, as to other destinations throughout the Middle East, the affluent Cairo-based Saids made periodic visits. In November 1935, during one of those visits, Edward Said was born. On his birth certificate, prepared by the Ministry of Health for the British Mandate, his parents specified their permanent address as Cairo, and, indicating that they maintained no residence in Palestine, left blank the space for a local address. http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=22&x_article=221
Ben, please. Debunking Justus Weiner's Falsifications http://www.edwardsaid.org/debunking.html Defamation, Revisionist Style By Edward Said http://www.counterpunch.org/said2.html
I ain't dead yet, son. You wouldn't want to go out and buy a Carlos Ruiz jersey, would you? Hell, I'll pay for it if you think it'd still work that way.
[/revised for clarity] Nice job, Ben. You've clarified for us all exactly why it's useless to listen to anything you say on the Mid East issue.
Here's a REAL loss to American culture: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts/AP-Obit-Plimpton.html?hp
Okay, why am I on Cascarino and Alex's side in this thread? Vaya con Dios, George. He's grooming Sidd Finch for Heaven's Spelling Bee sponsored by Intellivision as we speak.
Nice try, Sardinia, but you're the one who posted the lie "FLED to Cairo" Can you deny it's on his birth certificate? Therefore, isn't it misleading to say "fled" The only good news is that you support people that do not want a return to the 1967 borders so perhaps you can stop pretending now.
I'm disappointed to hear this. Until now, I'm sure you agreed with everything I've posted about Israel. Do you deny that Cairo was on his birth certificate? Does Said? No. Then it's misleading in the extreme to say "fled to Cairo". It's deliberately, dishonestly misleading on a George Bushian scale. --- "I'm an anti-Arab bigot" No, but thank you for proving my point. This isn't an Israeli-"Palestinian" conflict. It's an Israeli-Arab one. Can we at least be honest now?
Pathetic. Did you actually read the articles? The tactic of denying palestinian existence by confusing them amongst a generic "arabs" is old. And it is very stupid and dishonest. It all started with "'Land Without People for a People Without Land'. http://www.google.it/search?hl=it&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=nakba&lr= Belgians, go to France, what do you moan for? You're europeans, France is europe. Sicilians leave Sicily, go to Lombardy, what do you moan for? You're italians, Lombardy is italy.
Can I be blamed for Cairo being on his birth certificate? I object to his using the term "fled to Cairo" BTW, do you still like Hitchens? He's said a few more things about Said since then. 7 Arab armies invaded Israel because they had nothing better to do. You can't have it both ways. "Our Arab nation gathers here in Lebanon." -Yasir Arafat (2002) I support Israel and I'm, as DoctorJones said "anti-Arab," which is true only to the extent that I'm against their adding 20,000 sq. km to their vast possessions. Funny that he didn't say "anti-Palestinian" You're free to vote for separatist parties if you like.
Here's a thoughtful obit from Christopher Hitchens, who was friends with Said but was critical of his politics: http://slate.msn.com/id/2088944/ It certainly gives a better idea of his strengths and shortcomings than some of the idiotic posts above. You may dislike his politics, but to argue that he was a stooge or apologist for Arafat or more radical Palestinian groups does him an injustice. In his memoir and in his single-state answers to the Palestinian question, he clearly longs for a solution in which Palestians, Jews, Druze, Christian Arabs, and others recognize their common humanities and work to build secular states. Intellectually, Said was one of the most important scholars of the past 30 years. His work is among the starting points of the field of postcolonial studies, which has changed the way historians, literary scholars and critics, anthropologists, etc., understand the relationship between the West and non-West, Orient and Occident. If you think the current crises in the middle east are a "clash of civilizations," you need to read some Said, especially his critiques of Samuel Huntington and Bernard Lewis, just to challenge your own beliefs. Two quotes:
http://www.booktv.org/Booknotes/index.asp?segID=3723&schedID=212 I watched this earlier today-at least hear him in his own words speak to some of the points raised in this thread. It worth it IMO.
Said knew full well the ONLY possible outcome of this plan given the demographic realities. It's nothing more than a kindler, gentler way of saying Israel has no right to exist. At least Hamas is honest. In any case, I'm for Edward Said having his RIP thread where people admire his intellect and writings. I only entered when it got political.
sure, because "Born a Palestinian Christian, Said lived in West Jerusalem from 1935 until 1947, when his family fled to Egypt and later to Lebanon, prior to the establishment of the state of Israel." is a political statement. And your political insight was that we should trust some unknown proisraeli moronic extremist who knew better than Said his life... Die hard zionist negationism or how it is good to practice it against palestinians while getting mad and outraged if against you. You know, we're talking about the ppl (men, women, children) who actually lived there not the armies coming from Egypt, Syria or Jordan. The invasion was a very bad idea though it was not "because they had nothing better to do". Ah yes Lebanon, palestinian refugee camps, sabra and shatila, civil war, christian arabs, sunni arabs, shiite arabs. A perfect example of the supposed arab unity, really.