November 22, 2007
Saudi king’s gift should fulfill ‘contract with humanity’
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The entire Arab world translates about 330 books annually, one-fifth of the number that Greece translates. The number of patents registered each year in all Arab countries is about one-twenty-fifth that of tiny Israel.Put bluntly, Mother Earth's investment has been squandered away and at an unprecedented scale.
So, while we hope that King Abdullah's project will inspire tolerance and technological advances in the Arab world and while world leaders hail his enlightened generosity in establishing the university, the real question is this: Will it bring mankind a meaningful return on its gigantic investment?
Judea Pearl is a professor at UCLA and president of the Daniel Pearl Foundation, named after his son. He is a co-editor of "I am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl" (Jewish Lights, 2004).
Judea Pearl delivered the commencement address to the Class of 2007 of the University of Toronto on June 21
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