So, Now They'll Be Teaching About "Palestine" in Columbia

Reported:

"Columbia launched the first-ever Center for Palestine Studies in the United States on Thursday night, and organizers said that, despite limited funds, they are pushing forward. The center, which will run out of the University’s Middle East Institute in Knox Hall, was created by a group of faculty with the goal of promoting and advancing Palestine studies in a wide range of subjects, from politics to the arts.

...The center was also created in honor of former professor Edward Said, who taught at Columbia for 40 years before his death in 2003 and is widely known for his book “Orientalism.”

...The goals of the center, which has been in discussion since late 2009, focus on the promotion of scholarship in Palestinian history, culture, arts, and literary studies. “One of the missions of the center is to inform people about the Palestinians in an academic setting,” said Bashir Abu-Manneh, an English professor at Barnard...details of its funding are not yet clear — a fact that caused concern among attendees at Thursday’s event...Rashid Khalidi, co-director of the center, said in a speech at the launch that the center has little funding thus far and is soliciting donations...Khalidi said that they are just starting to implement programs. “Our activities, that are almost all in the planning stage, include lectures, conferences, art screenings, and developing archives.”
For some students, the center is an opportunity to emphasize Palestinian studies in the classroom...

Okay, I'll be concise in my reaction.

Is this to be a "no-Jews" center?

Is "Palestine" a state-to-be or a geographic territory?

If the second, who teaches about the Jews that came there, that lived there, that had stayed there for centuries, how they were treated by the majority Arab population and the various regimes - Roman, Persian, Byzantine, Arab, Crusdaer, Mameluks, Ottoman, British and Jordan?

Will there religious, cultural, agricultural, scientific, etc. accomplishments over the centuries be mentioned? The first printing press in the Middle East? Kabbalah?

And as for Columbia's Jews:

“I think that this is a significant moment for Columbia University, if only because the lack of knowledge about Palestinians and Palestine is pervasive,” Yinon Cohen, a professor in the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, wrote in an email. “It is, I believe, precisely a center like this that can begin changing this reality.”

“It is so groundbreaking for the University as a whole,” said Aviva Buechler, BC ’11 and president of Columbia/Barnard Hillel. “With their mission of studying the history, culture, and politics of Palestine, I think it will really be a great experience for students to take part in.”

Oiy.

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