David Littman (historian)
Encyclopedia
David Gerald Littman is a British historian
and a human rights activist at the United Nations
in Geneva
, representing various NGOs.
, Dorset
, England (1951), and Trinity College, Dublin
, where he earned his BA
with honors and MA degrees in Modern History and Political Science, followed by post-graduate studies at the Institute of Archaeology
, University of London
. He married his Egyptian-born wife Gisèle (née Orebi) (later known by her nom de plume Bat Ye'or
), in September 1959. They moved to Lausanne
, Switzerland, the following year.
The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization was founded by his brother, Louis Littman.
to Israel, via Switzerland. At the time, Moroccan Jews were prohibited from leaving the country. Littman thought he was working for the Jewish Agency – years later it was revealed it was arranged with the assistance of the Mossad
. From March–July 1961, posing with his wife and baby daughter as Christians, the 27-year-old Littman ran the Casablanca
office of the Geneva-based international NGO for children Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants de l'Afrique du Nord (OSSEAN). His code name
was "Mural", and the code name for the mission was "Operation Mural
". After months of negotiation by Littman, the children left Morocco in five convoys under the guise of a supposed holiday in Switzerland (with Littman accompanying the last convoy), and from Switzerland went to Israel. In all, he assisted in evacuating 530 Jewish children to Israel. The children's families joined them several years later.
The story of Operation Mural was first made public in 1984, in an article in Maariv
. That in turn led to public recognition by President Chaim Herzog
at an official presidential reception, followed in 1986, on the 25th anniversary of the operation, by a gathering of the children at which Littman was honored with the Mimouna
award in recognition of his activities. A documentary film
on the operation, filmed by Yehuda Kaveh, screened in 2007.
On June 1, 2008, at a special private commemorative event at the presidential Jerusalem residence – with Littman, his wife, two children, three grandchildren and former key agents from the Mossad, who had worked with Littman – Israeli President Shimon Peres
, said:
A year later Littman was honored by the Israel Intelligence Heritage and Commemoration Center in a unique ceremony on July 1, 2009, with 200 persons, when the "Hero of Silence" Order was conferred on him, he being the 9th person to receive it since 1985. ("An order of highest esteem and appreciation, awarded to David Gerald Littman: A clandestine warrior, who risked his life and who served a sacred cause of the People and of the State of Israel").
A few months earlier a Casablanca French newspaper, Le Soir Echos, interviewed him through a Swiss colleague, with their own questions; and published the Operation Mural story integrally in four successive issues (March 23–26) with their own positive titles and sub-titles throughout, and no editing. It was the first time that Moroccans learned about the affair.
In 1970, the Littmans helped to found the Centre d'Information et de Documentation sur le Moyen Orient (CID) in Geneva, which published studies on Middle East subjects until the mid-1980s. He supervised its publications until 1974, and then served as an advisor.
(formerly the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
). From 1986–91 he was main representative of the World Union for Progressive Judaism
(WUPJ). In February 1992, he joined René Wadlow (main representative of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation
; (IFOR)), then with the World Federalist Movement
(WFM). He has been an accredited representative for the Association of World Citizens (AWC) and for the Association for World Education (AWE) since 1997, and an accredited representative and main spokesman for the WUPJ again since 2001. He has made oral and written statements (some jointly) at the UN Commission on Human Rights for the WUPJ, IFOR, WFM, International Committee for European Security and Cooperation (ICESC), Christian Solidarity International
(CSI), Simon Wiesenthal Center
, International Humanist and Ethical Union
(IHEU), AWC, AWC, and other NGOs.
Release of Russian Jews
In March 1987, Littman caused a walk-out by the entire Soviet delegation when he arranged for Natan Sharansky
to speak about refusenik
s at the Commission on behalf of WUPJ. That same year, he appeared before the UN Commission on Human Rights, charging the Soviet delegate with antisemitism in an ascerbic diatribe, and in 1988 he appeared before a meeting of the Commission which heard various "experts" discuss glastnost, raising the cases of several Jews in the USSR who were being refused the right to emigrate; he extended his request to Boris Yeltsin
in 1991. In August 1989, he appeared before the Commission representing WUPJ.
Hamas
Since January 1989, Littman has sought to make public at the Commission the fact that Hamas
in its ideology calls for the annihilation of Israel, and points to Islamic texts for support of its position.
Release of Syrian Jewish women
In October 1990, as the WUPJ's representative to the Commission, he petitioned for the release of single Jewish women from Syria; in March 1991 he urged the Commission to name a special representative to inquire into their situation; and in August 1991, he urged it to work for their release.
Lebanese Jewish hostages
In August 1991, he appeared before the Commission on behalf of the WUPJ, stating that voices were being raised on all sides for the release of Lebanese Jews held as hostages in Lebanon. In December 1991, he wrote a letter on behalf of the WUPJ appealing to UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar
, asking him to discover the fate of the 11 Lebanese Jews who had been kidnapped in the mid-1980s.
Israel AIDS libel
In March 1997, Littman responded to a Palestinian Authority charge that Israel had infected Palestinians with AIDS
by reminding the Commission, in a speech to it, that this was not the first time such libels were leveled at Israel, inasmuch as in 1983 then-PLO-chairman Yasser Arafat
accused Israel of "poisoning Palestinian schoolgirls" in a letter addressed to the UN Secretary General, a charge later shown to be false by a team of independent medical experts, according to the Jerusalem Post. The following month, despite Littman's request that Miroslav Somol (President of the Commission, and Czech Ambassador to the UN in Geneva) take action against what Littman called the "mendacious and racist allegations", after meeting with a delegation of Arab ambassadors Somol withdrew his promise to circulate as an official Commission document his letter condemning a Palestinian representative's accusation that Israel spread AIDS among Palestinian babies.
Perceived Anti-Israel remarks and anti-semitism at the UN
When Israel withdrew from the Durban
World Conference Against Racism
in 2001, joining the U.S. in protesting perceived anti-Israel and anti-Semitic remarks, The Hindu
reported that in an appeal on behalf of the WUPJ Rabbi Francois Garai and "historian Mr. David Littman, who represent the [WUPJ] at the U.N.'s European headquarters in Geneva, said the Durban conference was being used to prepare a 'holy war
' against Israel and could wreck the world body." The appeal said:
Christoph Blocher
In December 2003, when Christoph Blocher
, who was known in the first instance for his inflammatory anti-immigrant rhetoric, won a seat in the Swiss Federal Council
, Littman defended him from charges of anti-Semitism, saying "I personally do not accept the accusation that he is anti-Semitic and await with interest the new policies he will propose for Switzerland."
"Creeping Islamism" at the UN
In July 2005, after the London 7/7 bombings, he tried to convince the UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights to condemn killings in the name of religion, but was interrupted so many times by delegates from Muslim countries he could not finish his request.
In February 2006, Paul Beliën
reported that Littman whom he calls "an expert on the 'creeping Islamism at the UN'", had been testifying before the UN as a representative for the AWE to the UN in Geneva, "but was censored when he quoted moderate Muslims condemning Jihadist bombings. According to the 56 member states of the Organization of the Islamic Countries, even the use of "the prefix ‘Islamic' before ‘terrorism' is sacrilege.”"
Shariah, violence against women, and anti-semitism
The New York Daily News referred to Littman as a "rare but tenacious [voice] who confront[s] Islamic human rights abuses at the UN at every turn," and cited his complaining to the Council that Iranian law "still allows the marriage of girls at only 9 years old, and justifies the stoning
of women for alleged adultery."
When Littman sought to make a three-minute statement before the Council’s eighth session in June 2008 (on behalf of the AWE) with regard to various forms of violence against women
(including female genital mutilation) and shariah, he was blocked after 22 seconds from finishing his statement. Representatives from Egypt, Pakistan, and Iran (speaking on behalf of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference) forced a halt to the proceedings, saying that "Islam will not be crucified in this Council", and arguing that any discussion of Islamic law
was an "insult" to the religion. A tense exchange—with 16 points of order—led to a 45-minute recess, after which Council president Doru Romulus Costea
of Romania said: "The Council is not prepared to discuss religious questions and we don’t have to do so. Declarations must avoid judgments or evaluation about religion." He told Littman to avoid any reference to the word shariah, and any evaluation of a religious matter. By not mentioning those words, Littman was allowed to conclude his statement after an hour and a half. At the Council's ninth session, when he spoke about the antisemitic writings of the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar University
in Egypt, the Egyptian delegate objected:
to stop without completing his statement, Littman stepped down, saying, "This is impossible, sir." In March 2009 he was again cut short, this time for being "off topic" when calling for a universal condemnation of defamations of Judaism during a discussion of freedom of expression and hate speech
.
in October 2002 on "Ideology of Jihad, Dhimmitude
and Human Rights". He presented a version of a talk he had given at the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, first providing a copy to the student organizers. One Jewish student requested that he not deliver his lecture; Littman refused and faced a negative reaction from Muslim students, in particular when he mentioned disapprovingly that Muhammad
's favorite wife, Aisha
, was a small child when she was married off to the Prophet. A story subsequently appeared in the campus newspaper in which a Georgetown Israel Alliance spokesman said: "The speakers gave us certain ideas about what they would speak about so that they could get in the door, and once they were in, they gave a completely different idea of what we had wanted. It was two-faced and manipulative." Littman said that unless the student organizers retracted their accusations that he and his wife deceived them, he would consider a libel suit. He and his wife said this demonstrated how the Jews and Christians of Georgetown had embraced a dhimmi mentality, by abasing themselves before the sensibilities of Muslims, whose co-religionists persecute and oppress Jews and Christians abroad, and that political correctness
had demanded that Islam be represented as inherently peaceful and tolerant, and no explorations of its history and doctrines that would lead to a contrary view were deemed acceptable.
. Others were published by the CID, which disseminated its publications by mailing them to prominent people and institutions. He also published historical writings with Les Editions de l'Avenir, which distributed its publications in a similar manner. Since 1971, Littman has published articles on historical and human rights
issues in academic journal
s, including in Jean-Paul Sartre
's Les Temps Modernes
, in the press, and in three books. He also published a chapter in The Century of Moses Montefiore (1985), published by the Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, under the auspices of the Oxford University Press
.
Littman contributed multiple chapters to The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims
(2005), edited by Robert Spencer, Prometheus Books
2005, ISBN 1-59102-249-5. Reviewing it, Asia Times
identified Littman as one of the few people willing to address directly and openly (lest they be called anti-Muslim) the question of what is ailing Islam in the 21st century in terms of: "Is it all simply a matter of interpretation (i.e., abuse for personal or political gain), or does the sustained prevalence of such patterns reveal something inherent about the faith?"
He has translated many articles by Bat Ye’or into English and co-translated three of her major books, the last published in 2005.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and a human rights activist at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, representing various NGOs.
Biography
David Littman was born on July 4, 1933, in London, England. He was educated at Canford SchoolCanford School
Canford School is a coeducational independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the village of Canford Magna, near to the market town of Wimborne Minster in Dorset, in South West England. The school was founded in 1923. There are approximately 600 pupils at Canford, organised into houses...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England (1951), and Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, where he earned his BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
with honors and MA degrees in Modern History and Political Science, followed by post-graduate studies at the Institute of Archaeology
Institute of Archaeology
The UCL Institute of Archaeology is an academic department of the Social & Historical Sciences Faculty of University College London , England. It is one of the largest departments of archaeology in the world, with over 80 members of academic staff and 500 students...
, University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. He married his Egyptian-born wife Gisèle (née Orebi) (later known by her nom de plume Bat Ye'or
Bat Ye'or
Bat Ye'or is a pseudonym of Gisèle Littman, née Orebi, an Egyptian-born British writer and political commentator who writes about the history of non-Muslims in the Middle East, and in particular the history of Christian and Jewish dhimmis living under Islamic governments.She is the author of eight...
), in September 1959. They moved to Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, Switzerland, the following year.
The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization was founded by his brother, Louis Littman.
Operation Mural
Littman volunteered for a clandestine humanitarian mission to evacuate Jewish children from MoroccoMorocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
to Israel, via Switzerland. At the time, Moroccan Jews were prohibited from leaving the country. Littman thought he was working for the Jewish Agency – years later it was revealed it was arranged with the assistance of the Mossad
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
. From March–July 1961, posing with his wife and baby daughter as Christians, the 27-year-old Littman ran the Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
office of the Geneva-based international NGO for children Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants de l'Afrique du Nord (OSSEAN). His code name
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
was "Mural", and the code name for the mission was "Operation Mural
Operation Mural
Operation Mural was a clandestine effort headed by Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, to facilitate the emigration of Jewish Moroccan children to Israel.- Background :...
". After months of negotiation by Littman, the children left Morocco in five convoys under the guise of a supposed holiday in Switzerland (with Littman accompanying the last convoy), and from Switzerland went to Israel. In all, he assisted in evacuating 530 Jewish children to Israel. The children's families joined them several years later.
The story of Operation Mural was first made public in 1984, in an article in Maariv
Maariv
Maariv is a Hebrew language daily newspaper published in Israel. It is second in sales after Yedioth Ahronoth and third in readership after Yedioth Ahronoth and Israel HaYom. In a TGI survey comparing the last half of 2009 with the same period in 2008, Maariv saw its market share fall slightly...
. That in turn led to public recognition by President Chaim Herzog
Chaim Herzog
Chaim Herzog served as the sixth President of Israel , following a distinguished career in both the British Army and the Israel Defense Forces .-Early life:...
at an official presidential reception, followed in 1986, on the 25th anniversary of the operation, by a gathering of the children at which Littman was honored with the Mimouna
Mimouna
Mimouna is a colorful traditional North African Jewish celebration held the day after Passover. It marks the start of spring and the return to eating chametz, i.e., leavened bread and bread by-products, which are forbidden throughout the week of Passover....
award in recognition of his activities. A documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
on the operation, filmed by Yehuda Kaveh, screened in 2007.
On June 1, 2008, at a special private commemorative event at the presidential Jerusalem residence – with Littman, his wife, two children, three grandchildren and former key agents from the Mossad, who had worked with Littman – Israeli President Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres
GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...
, said:
"Well, it is a belated ceremony, but it doesn’t lose its value, because what you did stands on its own legs and is not affected by time. I think that the saving of 530 children is, I imagine, the most moving experience a man can have. You say in Hebrew: 'The one who saves one life, is like the one that saved the life of the whole world.' But when you save 530 children, it’s really unforgettable. I want to express, on behalf of our people, our nation, our recognition of your courage, your wisdom, of your determination under extremely difficult conditions".
A year later Littman was honored by the Israel Intelligence Heritage and Commemoration Center in a unique ceremony on July 1, 2009, with 200 persons, when the "Hero of Silence" Order was conferred on him, he being the 9th person to receive it since 1985. ("An order of highest esteem and appreciation, awarded to David Gerald Littman: A clandestine warrior, who risked his life and who served a sacred cause of the People and of the State of Israel").
A few months earlier a Casablanca French newspaper, Le Soir Echos, interviewed him through a Swiss colleague, with their own questions; and published the Operation Mural story integrally in four successive issues (March 23–26) with their own positive titles and sub-titles throughout, and no editing. It was the first time that Moroccans learned about the affair.
In 1970, the Littmans helped to found the Centre d'Information et de Documentation sur le Moyen Orient (CID) in Geneva, which published studies on Middle East subjects until the mid-1980s. He supervised its publications until 1974, and then served as an advisor.
Human rights activism
Littman has been presenting on human rights issues at the United Nations in Geneva on behalf of various NGOs since 1986. He appears before the United Nations Human Rights CouncilUnited Nations Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly...
(formerly the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
United Nations Commission on Human Rights
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006...
). From 1986–91 he was main representative of the World Union for Progressive Judaism
World Union for Progressive Judaism
The World Union for Progressive Judaism describes itself as the "international umbrella organization for the Reform, Liberal, Progressive and Reconstructionist movements." This overall Jewish religious movement is based in about 40 countries with more than 1,000 affiliated synagogues...
(WUPJ). In February 1992, he joined René Wadlow (main representative of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation
International Fellowship of Reconciliation
The International Fellowship of Reconciliation is an international faith-based nonviolent movement created shortly after the First World War, in 1919, to draw together national Fellowships of Reconciliation that had been founded during the war....
; (IFOR)), then with the World Federalist Movement
World Federalist Movement
The World Federalist Movement is a global citizens movement with member and associate organizations around the world. The WFM International Secretariat is based in New York City across from the United Nations headquarters...
(WFM). He has been an accredited representative for the Association of World Citizens (AWC) and for the Association for World Education (AWE) since 1997, and an accredited representative and main spokesman for the WUPJ again since 2001. He has made oral and written statements (some jointly) at the UN Commission on Human Rights for the WUPJ, IFOR, WFM, International Committee for European Security and Cooperation (ICESC), Christian Solidarity International
Christian Solidarity International
Christian Solidarity International is a Christian human rights NGO that is "committed to defending religious liberty, helping victims of religious repression, victimized children, and victims of disaster."...
(CSI), Simon Wiesenthal Center
Simon Wiesenthal Center
The Simon Wiesenthal Center , with headquarters in Los Angeles, California, was established in 1977 and named for Simon Wiesenthal, the Nazi hunter. According to its mission statement, it is "an international Jewish human rights organization dedicated to repairing the world one step at a time...
, International Humanist and Ethical Union
International Humanist and Ethical Union
The International Humanist and Ethical Union is an umbrella organisation embracing humanist, atheist, rationalist, secular, skeptic, freethought and Ethical Culture organisations worldwide. Founded in Amsterdam in 1952, the IHEU is a democratic union of more than 100 member organizations in 40...
(IHEU), AWC, AWC, and other NGOs.
Release of Russian Jews
In March 1987, Littman caused a walk-out by the entire Soviet delegation when he arranged for Natan Sharansky
Natan Sharansky
Natan Sharansky was born in Stalino, Soviet Union on 20 January 1948 to a Jewish family. He graduated with a degree in applied mathematics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. As a child, he was a chess prodigy. He performed in simultaneous and blindfold displays, usually against...
to speak about refusenik
Refusenik
Refusenik originally referred to citizens of the former Soviet Union who were refused permission to emigrate.Refusenik or refusnik may also refer to:*An Israeli conscientious objector, see Refusal to serve in the Israeli military...
s at the Commission on behalf of WUPJ. That same year, he appeared before the UN Commission on Human Rights, charging the Soviet delegate with antisemitism in an ascerbic diatribe, and in 1988 he appeared before a meeting of the Commission which heard various "experts" discuss glastnost, raising the cases of several Jews in the USSR who were being refused the right to emigrate; he extended his request to Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
in 1991. In August 1989, he appeared before the Commission representing WUPJ.
Hamas
Since January 1989, Littman has sought to make public at the Commission the fact that Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
in its ideology calls for the annihilation of Israel, and points to Islamic texts for support of its position.
Release of Syrian Jewish women
In October 1990, as the WUPJ's representative to the Commission, he petitioned for the release of single Jewish women from Syria; in March 1991 he urged the Commission to name a special representative to inquire into their situation; and in August 1991, he urged it to work for their release.
Lebanese Jewish hostages
In August 1991, he appeared before the Commission on behalf of the WUPJ, stating that voices were being raised on all sides for the release of Lebanese Jews held as hostages in Lebanon. In December 1991, he wrote a letter on behalf of the WUPJ appealing to UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar y de la Guerra is a Peruvian diplomat who served as the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1, 1982 to December 31, 1991. He studied in Colegio San Agustín of Lima, and then at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. In 1995, he ran unsuccessfully...
, asking him to discover the fate of the 11 Lebanese Jews who had been kidnapped in the mid-1980s.
Israel AIDS libel
In March 1997, Littman responded to a Palestinian Authority charge that Israel had infected Palestinians with AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
by reminding the Commission, in a speech to it, that this was not the first time such libels were leveled at Israel, inasmuch as in 1983 then-PLO-chairman Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
accused Israel of "poisoning Palestinian schoolgirls" in a letter addressed to the UN Secretary General, a charge later shown to be false by a team of independent medical experts, according to the Jerusalem Post. The following month, despite Littman's request that Miroslav Somol (President of the Commission, and Czech Ambassador to the UN in Geneva) take action against what Littman called the "mendacious and racist allegations", after meeting with a delegation of Arab ambassadors Somol withdrew his promise to circulate as an official Commission document his letter condemning a Palestinian representative's accusation that Israel spread AIDS among Palestinian babies.
Perceived Anti-Israel remarks and anti-semitism at the UN
When Israel withdrew from the Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
World Conference Against Racism
World Conference against Racism
The World Conference against Racism are international events organised by the UNESCO to struggle against racism ideologies and behaviours. Four conferences have been held so far, in 1978, 1983, 2001 and 2009...
in 2001, joining the U.S. in protesting perceived anti-Israel and anti-Semitic remarks, The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
reported that in an appeal on behalf of the WUPJ Rabbi Francois Garai and "historian Mr. David Littman, who represent the [WUPJ] at the U.N.'s European headquarters in Geneva, said the Durban conference was being used to prepare a 'holy war
Religious war
A religious war; Latin: bellum sacrum; is a war caused by, or justified by, religious differences. It can involve one state with an established religion against another state with a different religion or a different sect within the same religion, or a religiously motivated group attempting to...
' against Israel and could wreck the world body." The appeal said:
"The U.N. is now undergoing its most shameful metamorphosis since its creation in 1945. Will you allow a U.N. conference intended to combat racism and discrimination to be brazenly hijacked by dictatorial regimes and mass demagogic NGO groups, thereby preparing a 'final solutionFinal SolutionThe Final Solution was Nazi Germany's plan and execution of the systematic genocide of European Jews during World War II, resulting in the most deadly phase of the Holocaust...
', 'jihadJihadJihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
', against Israel"?
Christoph Blocher
In December 2003, when Christoph Blocher
Christoph Blocher
Christoph Blocher is a Swiss politician, industrialist, and former member of the Swiss Federal Council heading the Federal Department of Justice and Police . Currently he is serving as Vice President of the Swiss People's Party...
, who was known in the first instance for his inflammatory anti-immigrant rhetoric, won a seat in the Swiss Federal Council
Swiss Federal Council
The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....
, Littman defended him from charges of anti-Semitism, saying "I personally do not accept the accusation that he is anti-Semitic and await with interest the new policies he will propose for Switzerland."
"Creeping Islamism" at the UN
In July 2005, after the London 7/7 bombings, he tried to convince the UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights to condemn killings in the name of religion, but was interrupted so many times by delegates from Muslim countries he could not finish his request.
In February 2006, Paul Beliën
Paul Belien
Paul Belien, born 1959, is a Flemish journalist and founder of the conservative-libertarian blog The Brussels Journal.Belien is both known as both a pro-American and a prolific writer and author...
reported that Littman whom he calls "an expert on the 'creeping Islamism at the UN'", had been testifying before the UN as a representative for the AWE to the UN in Geneva, "but was censored when he quoted moderate Muslims condemning Jihadist bombings. According to the 56 member states of the Organization of the Islamic Countries, even the use of "the prefix ‘Islamic' before ‘terrorism' is sacrilege.”"
Shariah, violence against women, and anti-semitism
The New York Daily News referred to Littman as a "rare but tenacious [voice] who confront[s] Islamic human rights abuses at the UN at every turn," and cited his complaining to the Council that Iranian law "still allows the marriage of girls at only 9 years old, and justifies the stoning
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
of women for alleged adultery."
When Littman sought to make a three-minute statement before the Council’s eighth session in June 2008 (on behalf of the AWE) with regard to various forms of violence against women
Violence against women
Violence against women is a technical term used to collectively refer to violent acts that are primarily or exclusively committed against women...
(including female genital mutilation) and shariah, he was blocked after 22 seconds from finishing his statement. Representatives from Egypt, Pakistan, and Iran (speaking on behalf of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference) forced a halt to the proceedings, saying that "Islam will not be crucified in this Council", and arguing that any discussion of Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
was an "insult" to the religion. A tense exchange—with 16 points of order—led to a 45-minute recess, after which Council president Doru Romulus Costea
Doru Romulus Costea
Doru Romulus Costea is best known as President of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Costea served as President from 19 June 2007 to 18 June 2008. His main task was to initiate the Universal Periodic Review of the human rights records of the then 192 member states of the United Nations.-...
of Romania said: "The Council is not prepared to discuss religious questions and we don’t have to do so. Declarations must avoid judgments or evaluation about religion." He told Littman to avoid any reference to the word shariah, and any evaluation of a religious matter. By not mentioning those words, Littman was allowed to conclude his statement after an hour and a half. At the Council's ninth session, when he spoke about the antisemitic writings of the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University is an educational institute in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 970~972 as a madrasa, it is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Islamic learning in the world. It is the oldest degree-granting university in Egypt. In 1961 non-religious subjects were added to its curriculum.It is...
in Egypt, the Egyptian delegate objected:
"Here in the Council, we’re here to promote religious freedom. We can discuss religious freedom, but we cannot discuss religion. We cannot discuss the basic tenets of religion. I argue that except for the distinguished representative of the Holy SeeOrdered by new Council President Martin Ihoeghian UhomoibhiHoly SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, nobody in this Council is qualified to discuss theology. . . . Really, we should find something more interesting to do in life—like find a hobby, or grow a moustache or something."
Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi
Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi is a Nigerian diplomat. He is best known as the former President of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Uhomoibhi's term as President was from 19 June 2008 to 18 June 2009. - Personal Details :...
to stop without completing his statement, Littman stepped down, saying, "This is impossible, sir." In March 2009 he was again cut short, this time for being "off topic" when calling for a universal condemnation of defamations of Judaism during a discussion of freedom of expression and hate speech
Hate speech
Hate speech is, outside the law, any communication that disparages a person or a group on the basis of some characteristic such as race, color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, or other characteristic....
.
Lecture controversy
Controversy surrounded lectures given by Littman and his wife at Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
in October 2002 on "Ideology of Jihad, Dhimmitude
Dhimmitude
Dhimmitude is a neologism first found in French denoting an attitude of concession, surrender and appeasement towards Islamic demands. It is derived by adding the productive suffix -tude to the Arabic language adjective dhimmi, which literally means protected and refers to a non-Muslim subject of a...
and Human Rights". He presented a version of a talk he had given at the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, first providing a copy to the student organizers. One Jewish student requested that he not deliver his lecture; Littman refused and faced a negative reaction from Muslim students, in particular when he mentioned disapprovingly that Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
's favorite wife, Aisha
Aisha
Aisha bint Abu Bakr also transcribed as was Muhammad's favorite wife...
, was a small child when she was married off to the Prophet. A story subsequently appeared in the campus newspaper in which a Georgetown Israel Alliance spokesman said: "The speakers gave us certain ideas about what they would speak about so that they could get in the door, and once they were in, they gave a completely different idea of what we had wanted. It was two-faced and manipulative." Littman said that unless the student organizers retracted their accusations that he and his wife deceived them, he would consider a libel suit. He and his wife said this demonstrated how the Jews and Christians of Georgetown had embraced a dhimmi mentality, by abasing themselves before the sensibilities of Muslims, whose co-religionists persecute and oppress Jews and Christians abroad, and that political correctness
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
had demanded that Islam be represented as inherently peaceful and tolerant, and no explorations of its history and doctrines that would lead to a contrary view were deemed acceptable.
Writings
Early in his career, Littman's writings were published in the Wiener Library Bulletin, a periodical of the Wiener LibraryWiener Library
The Wiener Library is the world's oldest institution devoted to the study of the Holocaust, its causes and legacies. Founded in 1933 as an information bureau that informed Jewish communities and governments worldwide about the persecution of the Jews under the Nazis, it was transformed into a...
. Others were published by the CID, which disseminated its publications by mailing them to prominent people and institutions. He also published historical writings with Les Editions de l'Avenir, which distributed its publications in a similar manner. Since 1971, Littman has published articles on historical and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
issues in academic journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
s, including in Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
's Les Temps Modernes
Les Temps modernes
The first issue of Les Temps modernes , the most important cultural review of the period after World War II, appeared in October 1945. It was known as the review of Jean-Paul Sartre. It was named for a film by Charlie Chaplin...
, in the press, and in three books. He also published a chapter in The Century of Moses Montefiore (1985), published by the Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, under the auspices of the Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
.
Littman contributed multiple chapters to The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims
The Myth of Islamic Tolerance
The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims is a collection of 63 essays edited by Robert Spencer. It deals with the history of non-Muslim populations during and after the conquest of their lands by Muslims...
(2005), edited by Robert Spencer, Prometheus Books
Prometheus Books
Prometheus Books is a publishing company founded in August 1969 by Paul Kurtz, who also founded the Council for Secular Humanism and co-founded the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He is currently the chairman of all three organizations. Prometheus Books publishes a range of books, including many...
2005, ISBN 1-59102-249-5. Reviewing it, Asia Times
Asia Times
Asia Times was a newspaper launched in Thailand by Thai tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul in 1995. The newspaper hired talent from around the world to produce a regional English-language newspaper....
identified Littman as one of the few people willing to address directly and openly (lest they be called anti-Muslim) the question of what is ailing Islam in the 21st century in terms of: "Is it all simply a matter of interpretation (i.e., abuse for personal or political gain), or does the sustained prevalence of such patterns reveal something inherent about the faith?"
He has translated many articles by Bat Ye’or into English and co-translated three of her major books, the last published in 2005.
Published work
- Jews and Arabs: myths and realities, David Littman, 1973
- Arab theologians on Jews and Israel: extracts from the proceedings of the fourth conference of the Academy of Islamic Research, D. F. Green (nom de plume of Littman and Yehoshafat Harkabi), Majmaʻ al-Buḥūth al-Islāmīyah, Éditions de l'avenir, 3 eds. in English, 2 eds. in French, 1ed. in German (over 70,000 copies of all editions), 1974
- "Jews under Muslim Rule in the late Nineteenth Century," Wiener LibraryWiener LibraryThe Wiener Library is the world's oldest institution devoted to the study of the Holocaust, its causes and legacies. Founded in 1933 as an information bureau that informed Jewish communities and governments worldwide about the persecution of the Jews under the Nazis, it was transformed into a...
Bulletin 28, n.s. 35/36 (1975) - "Jews under Muslim Rule, II: Morocco 1903–1912", Wiener Library Bulletin 29, n.s. 37/38 (1976)
- "Protected Peoples under Islam" by David Littman and Bat Ye'or, CID, Geneva, 1976
- "Quelques Aspects de la Condition de Dhimmi: Juifs d'Afrique du Nord avant la Colonisation," in Yod, Revue des Etudes Hébraiques et juives modernes et contemporaines, (Publications Orientalistes de France), 2: 1, October 1976 (+ Geneva, Avenir, May 10, 1997)
- Peuples protégés en terre d'Islam, by David Littman, Centre d'Information et de Documentation sur le Moyen-Orient, 1977
- "Jews under Muslim Rule: The Case of Persia," Wiener Library Bulletin, 32, n.s. 49/50 (1979)
- "Les Juifs en Perse avant les Pahlevi," Les Temps Modernes, 395, pp. 1,910–35, Juin 1979
- The Century of Moses Montefiore, (ed. Sonia and V.D. Lipman), "Mission to Morocco (1863–1864)", pp. 171–229, by David Littman, in Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 1985 - L'histoire du relief de Jérusalem (1864–1985), by David Littman, Centre d'information et de documentation sur le Moyen-Orient, 1986
- Statements made by the representatives of the World Union for Progressive Judaism David Littman and Martin Gilbert forty-third session; UN Commission on Human Rights, Geneva, [February 2 – March 13] 1987, Union mondiale pour le judaïsme libéral, Martin Gilbert, David Littman, WUPJ, UN. Commission des droits de l'homme, 1987
- "Human Rights and Human Wrongs," N° 1 – 11, 344 pages (verbatim oral and written statements: 1986–91 made by all accredited representatives of the WUPJ to the UNCHR and UN Sub-Commission, Geneva: 84 texts, of which 68 (oral) and 9 (written) by David Littman, WUPJ, Geneva, 1986–91
- "Utopia: A 'United States of Abraham'," Part 5, Chapter 48 (pp. 453–68) (Lecture: Society for Semitic Studies, Lund UniversityLund UniversityLund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
, Sweden, November 23, 1994). Part 5, Chapter 48 (pp. 453–68), in The Myth of Islamic Tolerance - "The U.N. Finds Slavery in the Sudan", Middle East QuarterlyMiddle East QuarterlyMiddle East Quarterly is a peer reviewed quarterly journal, a publication of the American conservative think tank Middle East Forum founded by Daniel Pipes in 1994. It is devoted to subjects relating to the Middle East and Islam and analyzes the region "explicitly from the viewpoint of American...
(Philadelphia), September 1996 - "Quelques Aspects de la Condition de Dhimmi: Juifs d'Afrique du Nord avant la Colonisation," in Yod, Revue des Etudes Hébraiques et juives modernes et contemporaines (Publications Orientalistes de France), 2: 1, October 1976 (Geneva, Avenir, May 10, 1997)
- "Dangerous Censorship of a U.N. Special Rapporteur," Rene Wadlow and David Littman, Justice (Tel Aviv) No. 14, September 1997
- "UN Special Rapporteur Censured on Islamist and Arab Antisemitism," by Rene Wadlow and David Littman, Midstream, vol. 44, pp. 8–12, February–March 1998
- "Universal Human Rights and 'Human Rights in Islam,'" MidstreamMidstreamThe petroleum industry is usually divided into three major components: upstream, midstream and downstream. Midstream operations are usually included in the downstream category....
(New York) February/March 1999, pp. 2–7 - "Islamism Grows Stronger at the United Nations," Middle East QuarterlyMiddle East QuarterlyMiddle East Quarterly is a peer reviewed quarterly journal, a publication of the American conservative think tank Middle East Forum founded by Daniel Pipes in 1994. It is devoted to subjects relating to the Middle East and Islam and analyzes the region "explicitly from the viewpoint of American...
, September 1999, vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 59–64 - "Syria's Blood Libel Revival at the UN: 1991–2000," Midstream, February/March 2000
- "Jihad and Jihadist Bombers; What’s in a name?", David G. Littman, National ReviewNational ReviewNational Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
, September 9, 2002 - "The Genocidal Hamas Charter; Yasser Arafat & co.", David G. Littman, National ReviewNational ReviewNational Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
, September 26, 2002 - "The Truth About the Mideast; Fourteen fundamental facts about Israel and Palestine", by David G. Littman, National ReviewNational ReviewNational Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
, October 7, 2002 - "The Forgotten Refugees; An exchange of populations", David G. Littman, National ReviewNational ReviewNational Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
, December 3, 2002 - "Human Rights and Human Wrongs; Sharia can’t be an exception to international human-rights norms", by David G. Littman, National ReviewNational ReviewNational Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
, January 19, 2003 - "Islamists' Perpetual Jihad," David G. Littman, FrontPageMagazine, August 15, 2003
- "Yasser's Terrorist Jesus," by David G. Littman, FrontPageMagazine, November 15, 2004
- The Myth of Islamic ToleranceThe Myth of Islamic ToleranceThe Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims is a collection of 63 essays edited by Robert Spencer. It deals with the history of non-Muslim populations during and after the conquest of their lands by Muslims...
: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims, edited by Robert Spencer, "Human Rights and Human Wrongs at the United Nations," Part 5 (pp. 305–472), David G. Littman, Prometheus BooksPrometheus BooksPrometheus Books is a publishing company founded in August 1969 by Paul Kurtz, who also founded the Council for Secular Humanism and co-founded the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He is currently the chairman of all three organizations. Prometheus Books publishes a range of books, including many...
, ISBN 1-59102-249-5, contributor of multiple chapters, 2005 - Copts in Egypt: A Christian Minority under Siege; papers presented at the First International Coptic Symposium, Zürich, September 23–25, 2004, Martyn Thomas, Adly A. Youssef, "Need of a State for all Citizens," by David Littman, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, ISBN 3857100400, 9783857100406, 2006
- "Human Rights: Universal or Islamic?", David G. Littman, American Thinker, August 25, 2006
- Encyclopedia of the Jewish diaspora: origins, experiences, and culture, Volume 1, M. Avrum Ehrlich, p. 382, "Modern Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries," David G. Littman, ABC-CLIO, ISBN 1851098739, 9781851098736, 2008
- "L'Exil au Maghreb, La condition juive dans l’Islam, 1148-1912", Paul B. Fenton et David G. Littman, November 17, 2010, Presses de l'Université Paris-Sorbonne, ISBN 978-2-84050-725-3