I have a different take on this issue. I think the JWA's new online encyclopedia is a great contribution to Jewish studies and its merits far overshadow any political considerations.
I did a search for the term "Palestine" and reviewed the first 40 or so entries. As far as I was able to see, all instances of the term were used in the historical context where the region was known -- for most of the last 2,000 years -- as Palestine. The use seemed to me to be historically appropriate and neutral. Aside from not wanting to diminish the contribution of a valuable resource, I don't know of a practical means of remedying this situation. If Henrietta Szold refers to the area simply as "Palestine" what's are the editors supposed to do? If there are cases where the area including the modern State of Israel is referred to as Palestine, as I encounter too often elsewhere, I would add my objections to David's but I haven't encountered such a case. However, I think that this launch is a cause for celebration. -- Lee --- Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: [email protected] SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
