Diversity of opinion and tolerance in academia were dealt a blow this week when former World Bank President James Wolfenshon, due to deliver the keynote speech at the American University of Beirut's (AUB) commencement ceremony, was forced to withdraw. Wolfenshon's decision came after a petition by the faculty and students, and a Lebanese smear campaign against him.

After news of his visit were announced, Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, known to be close to Hezbollah and Syria, launched a campaign against him. It ran a picture of Wolfenshon with the headline "A Zionist in the American University?!" Reports alleged that he had links to an Israeli think tank, the International Advisory Council of the Israeli Democracy Institute, as well as Israeli businesses. Ninety-five faculty members signed a petition calling on the university's administration to retract its decision to host him and grant him an honorary doctorate, which is customary for every commencement speaker.

AUB President Peter Dorman published a letter defending Wolfenshon, listing his various contributions and investments towards the betterment of the Middle East and his commitment to the Palestinians. He mentioned his role as Special Envoy for the Middle East for the Quartet, coordinating Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and protesting the boycott of Gaza under Hamas control. Dorman also included Wolfenshon's donations towards projects dedicated to the region's youth. "The Arab world needs more friends like him," he concluded in his statement. But the opposing group would have none of it.

After Dorman publicized the letter regretting Wolfenshon's withdrawal, a Ramallah-based Palestinian organization called the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, called on Dorman to retract his apologies. It said Dorman's defense was "patronizing" and his records irrelevant considering his ties with Israeli institutions.

This is not the first time that intellectuals and artists face smear campaigns and boycotts in Lebanon. Artists and writers with alleged ties to Israel have often been forced to cancel their performances in Lebanon, even if they had never shown actual support for Israel. This boycott is especially alarming in an academic environment, where diversity of opinion is encouraged and where people from all backgrounds and ideologies engage in enriching debates. By keeping him out, the boycotters may have lost an activist, a donor, and a believer in their cause.