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Israel’s state may not be what it seems
To the Editor:
Linking support for Palestinian human rights with divestment from Israel is devious and false. Supporting human rights does not equate with divestiture from Israel.
No person in their right mind wants to deprive any Palestinian of their human or civil rights.
However, when terrorists are threatening you daily with death and destruction, you have to respond. Whether the professors are naive, biased, or prejudiced is not clear.
Israel deprives some Palestinians of rights because Israel is trying in an emergency situation to stop the many Palestinian organizations and individuals from carrying out their goal of murdering Israeli civilians and destroying the Jewish state of Israel. There is also some collective punishment that goes on, partly for the security reason that it is difficult to determine a terrorist from an innocent civilian because Palestinian terrorists try to blend in with the rest of Palestinian society, and partly because Israel becomes frustrated when the Palestinians who engage in murder and terrorism are cheered on by most of the rest of the Palestinians.
If Palestinians stopped trying to kill Israelis, then their human rights would improve.
The opposite is not true. When Israeli improved Palestinian rights and freedoms during the Oslo process, including giving Palestinians autonomy and self-rule in many West Bank and Gaza cities, Palestinians used their freedom to import weapons and increase terrorism. The response from the Palestinian leadership ranged from ineffectual actions against low-level militants to active engagement in terrorism against Israel.
At about the same time that the Students for Justice in Palestine announced their anti-Israeli petition, 42 of 50 state governors signed a petition supporting Israel at this time when it is trying to survive in the face of Arab terrorism.
The expectedly hypocritical response came from the Muslim Public Affairs Council: "It undermines America's responsibility to be a broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, because it's blindly supporting one side in the conflict." I guess it's only okay to blindly support one side when you are pro-Palestinian.
-Josh May
Berkeley To the Editor:
Linking support for Palestinian human rights with divestment from Israel is devious and false. Supporting human rights does not equate with divestiture from Israel.
No person in their right mind wants to deprive any Palestinian of their human or civil rights.
However, when terrorists are threatening you daily with death and destruction, you have to respond. Whether the professors are naive, biased, or prejudiced is not clear.
Israel deprives some Palestinians of rights because Israel is trying in an emergency situation to stop the many Palestinian organizations and individuals from carrying out their goal of murdering Israeli civilians and destroying the Jewish state of Israel. There is also some collective punishment that goes on, partly for the security reason that it is difficult to determine a terrorist from an innocent civilian because Palestinian terrorists try to blend in with the rest of Palestinian society, and partly because Israel becomes frustrated when the Palestinians who engage in murder and terrorism are cheered on by most of the rest of the Palestinians.
If Palestinians stopped trying to kill Israelis, then their human rights would improve.
The opposite is not true. When Israeli improved Palestinian rights and freedoms during the Oslo process, including giving Palestinians autonomy and self-rule in many West Bank and Gaza cities, Palestinians used their freedom to import weapons and increase terrorism. The response from the Palestinian leadership ranged from ineffectual actions against low-level militants to active engagement in terrorism against Israel.
At about the same time that the Students for Justice in Palestine announced their anti-Israeli petition, 42 of 50 state governors signed a petition supporting Israel at this time when it is trying to survive in the face of Arab terrorism.
The expectedly hypocritical response came from the Muslim Public Affairs Council: "It undermines America's responsibility to be a broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, because it's blindly supporting one side in the conflict." I guess it's only okay to blindly support one side when you are pro-Palestinian.
-Josh May
Berkeley
