The article by Barbara Spector in the Sept. 28, 1992, issue of The Scientist [page 1] reported on actions taken by the National Academy of Sciences with regard to one of its foreign associates, the eminent Russian mathematician Igor R. Shafarevich. In brief, Shafarevich had written a book, Russophobia, which many readers interpreted as a thinly veiled anti-Semitic diatribe. NAS president Frank Press, speaking on behalf of NAS, had protested Shafarevich's words of hatred and had written a letter to him in which he suggested that Shafarevich resign from NAS. In the Dec. 7, 1992, issue of The Scientist [Barbara Spector, page 4], there was a follow-up article, reporting on reactions to the NAS action within the scientific community, and including a response from Shafarevich to the September 28 article [page 11].
The American Mathematical Society is the principal United States organization of research mathematicians. Its members use Shafarevich's books ...
