Stonethrowing incident   I have moved the following section here It is not that I deny it happened nor that it is relevant but I believe it is ludicrous for to devote this much space to the incident in such a short article I will try to research the matter and rewrite it in  the space but personally I think it would be more useful to expand the section on his academic work ie Orientalism which is much more interesting and important     In July  Said travelled to Lebanon where along with other Arabs he began hurling large rocks into Israel towards a group of Israeli soldiers  Agence France Press released a photograph showing him during this attack When asked about this event Said told reporters that this was a symbolic gesture of joy and aimed at an empty place Eyewitnesses claim that Said was lying The London Daily Post reported that Said was observed hurling stones in a group at Israel soldiers in an Israeli watchtower  Said was criticised for this action by the moderate Arab Press A report in the Beirut Daily Star stated that they were disappointed that a scholar who has labored  to dispel stereotypes about Arabs being violent reversed couse and let himself be swayed by a crowd into picking up a stone and lofting it across the international border The student newspaper where he teaches the Columbia Daily Spectator commented that Saids hypocritical violent action was alien to this or any other institution of higher learning   Several months later in an interview with an Israeli newspaper Haaretz English Edition August   Said reversed his story and denied his previous description He now claims in fact what happened was that my son and some of the other young men were trying to see who could throw stones furthest And since my son is a rather big fellow  he is an American who plays baseball  he threw furthest My daughter said to me Daddy can you throw a stone as far as Wadia and that of course stirred the usual kind of oedipal competition So I picked up a stone and threw it This latest revision is commonly held to be facetious