IndiaPost.com - Gandhi grandson forced to quit own institute

India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Scholar, intellectual and peace activist Arun Gandhi — the fifth grandson of Mahatma Gandhi — has landed in an unseemly controversy for his purported anti-Semitic views expressed in a recent article he wrote for the Washington Post online. The article generated so much heat over the past few weeks among Jews across the US that Gandhi has been forced to quit as president of the M.K. Gandhi Institute of Non-violence, which he himself founded in the US, 17 years ago.

On January 7, in an article entitled "Jewish Identity Can’t Depend on Violence," in the Washington Post online "On Faith" section, Gandhi wrote that the "Jewish identity in the past has been locked into the holocaust experience", which he considered "a very good example of how a community can overplay a historic experience to the point that it begins to repulse friends." He further wrote, "The holocaust was the result of the warped mind of an individual who was able to influence his followers into doing something dreadful. But, it seems to me the Jews today not only want the Germans to feel guilty but the whole world must regret what happened to the Jews.

The world did feel sorry for the episode but when an individual or a nation refuses to forgive and move on the regret turns into anger. The Jewish identity in the future appears bleak." Gandhi concluded: "We have created a culture of violence (Israel and the Jews are the biggest players) and that Culture of Violence is eventually going to destroy humanity." The blogosphere is agog with as many voices against Gandhi as there are those supporting him. One anonymous supporter says on a blogspot: "These days, if you say ANYTHING that is not pro-Israel, that automatically makes you anti-Semitic.

The Jews really have the market cornered on self-pity based on a historical event." Meanwhile, upon receiving Gandhi’s resignation, President Joel Seligman of the University of Rochester, where the institute is located, said: "The Board of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence has received Arun Gandhi’s offer of resignation as president of our organization. We take this very seriously and have begun appropriate deliberations. In accord with the Institute’s mission – to educate for nonviolence and to inspire and support efforts that promote harmony in our communities – we believe that a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Gandhi is essential.

We are scheduling a board meeting with him upon his return from India next week. Our intention is to review the facts and history, and to resolve this matter with all due speed." Following a barrage of angry posts from readers, the Washington Post Online published a regret note on Jan 18: As "On Faith" readers know, a post by Arun Gandhi on January 7 has produced an enormous response from readers who found Gandhi’s initial remarks anti-Semitic and his subsequent apology insufficient. When we undertook this project over a year ago, we wrote that our goal was to shed light on a subject—religion—that too often generates heat. The Gandhi post failed to comply with that mission, and we can only ask our readers to extend "On Faith" a measure of forbearance and tolerance as the site endeavors to conduct a civil and illuminating conversation.

We regret the initial posting, and we apologize for the episode. Among the prominent Jewish voices that rose against Gandhi was that of Judea Pearl, father of Daniel Pearl, the journalist who was killed at the hands of jihadists. Criticizing Gandhi, Pearl wrote: "My son Daniel died mighty proud of his Jewish identity. He, like the millions of decent and peace-seeking Israelis, and Americans who proudly carry on their Jewish heritage, did not see his identity as "dependent on violence" as the title of Gandhi’s article implies."

"Too many people were killed, abused or dispossessed in the past century by words of irresponsible authors, often disguised as scholars or humanitarians, who pointed fingers at, and blamed one segment of society for the ills and maladies in the world. Arun Gandhi did just that..." Subsequent to the outrage, in an apology for "his poorly worded post", Gandhi said, "I am writing to correct some regrettable mis-impressions I have given in my comments on my blog this week. While I stand behind my criticisms of the use of violence by recent Israeli governments — and I have criticized the governments of the US, India and China in much the same way — I want to correct statements that I made with insufficient care, and that have inflicted unnecessary hurt and caused anger." "I do not believe and should not have implied that the policies of the Israeli government are reflective of the views of all Jewish people. Indeed, many are as concerned as I am by the use of violence for state purposes, by Israel and many other governments."

"I do believe that when a people hold on to historic grievances too firmly it can lead to bitterness and the loss of support from those who would be friends. But as I have noted in previous writings, the suffering of the Jewish people, particularly in the Holocaust, was historic in its proportions. While we must strive for a future of peace that rejects violence, it is also important not to forget the past, lest we fail to learn from it. Having learned from it, we can then find the path to peace and rejection of violence through forgiveness." Many have views Gandhi’s apology as grossly inadequate, Seligman among them. "I was surprised and deeply disappointed," the UR President wrote. "… his apology inadequately explains his stated views, which seem fundamentally inconsistent with the core values of the University of Rochester.

In particular I vehemently disagree with his singling out of Israel and the Jewish people as to blame for the "Culture of Violence" that he believes is eventually going to destroy humanity. This kind of stereotyping is inconsistent with our core values and would be inappropriate when applied to any race, any religion, any nationality, or either gender.

Among the University of Rochester’s values are a commitment to promoting diversity and being a welcoming and inclusive community. We respect the religious and cultural heritages of all people, and indeed our Interfaith Chapel is an institutional expression of our commitment to support religious diversity, to encourage free and open dialogue among diverse religions in a civil manner." The M.K. Gandhi Institute of Non-violence was originally established by Gandhi in Memphis, Tennessee where it was hosted by the Christian Brothers University, a Catholic academic institution. In 2007, the institute moved to the University of Rochester River campus, in Rochester, New York.