An e-mail letter, ostensibly sent in the name of Prof. Drake of the American University in Washington D.C., turned out to be a hoax. On 11th September 2002, an e-mail letter was disseminated to hundreds of students and faculty members at that university in which, among other things, Israeli policies towards the Palestinians were called a “systematic Holocaust”, Israelis were called “Nazis” and Israeli soldiers were accused of “raping Arab women and killing their children in the name of Judaism”. Professor Drake denied any connection with the letter and denounced its contents as well as the fact that someone had abused her name and reputation in disseminating such negative propaganda. Although the perpetrators of this hoax are still unidentified, it is clear that the e-mail was originally sent from California. The American University authorities published an official statement saying that they do not view Professor Drake as the author of the letter.
