[URBANTH-L]Moderator's Note

[Angela Jancius]

Greetings Everyone,

I reflected on whether to approve the article written by Yosefa Loshitzky
(i.e. "Israel's blonde bombshells and real bombs in Gaza"), as the language
was harsh.  However, Loshitzky is a cultural studies scholar and the piece
offered the opportunity to be a catalyst for a broader discussion of the
military events in Gaza and their relevance to anthropology. There is a
dearth of information, and international media are not allowed into the
region.  Perhaps this sets an even greater moral precedent for
anthropologists to document and analyze the recent military attacks,
and the context behind them? Lurie eloquently summarizes the dangers
of sanitizing our discourse (i.e. Ha'aretz' "language laundromat").  The
conflict in Gaza is relevant to this listserv. Gaza is not only one of the
most densely populated urban areas in the world (as Robert Lawless
notes), but also the home to several generations of refugees (and, after
all, The Society for Urban, National and Transnational Anthropology
incorporates CORI, the American Anthropological Association's
Committee on Refugees and Immigrants).

That being said, this is an emotionally-heated topic, so I'd like to propose
that we keep our discussion focused concretely on the subject matter itself,
and not allow it to become personalized.  Barry Wellmen has requested that
he be allowed to opt-out of the debate, and that he not be emailed (either
on or off-list) with requests to discuss his position.

Angela Jancius
Urbanth-L Moderator


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