I was taken aback by an article in the Opinion section that appeared in the Jan. 31 issue of The Beacon, “Americans should demand solidarity for Palestine.”
The article is filled with anti-Israeli and anti-American biases, complete with erroneous “facts.” Nowhere in the article is there even a hint of an opposing view. Nowhere is there a suggestion that Israel and the United States have a legitimate argument.
So I thought it would be an important lesson for our campuses to face up to such a bias.
Right off the bat, the article refers to a handful of radical organizations that have called for taking a “stand for human rights.”
And yet, instead of any reference to the hard work for peace that is ongoing between the governments, the article can only call for “our (American) government to stop the mass oppression and collective punishment of innocent Palestinians.”
The implication is clear: neither Israelis nor Americans have human rights of their own.
Israel is attacked for its right to defend itself against arbitrary murder. Yes, that is what the article implies when it dismisses “rocket fire” at Israeli towns as if it were harmless firecrackers.
These explosive missiles are intended to kill and maim as many civilians as possible and to spread terror. Targets have been schools and shopping centers.
In addition, America is criticized for having our own network of defense, and for sending “tax dollars in aid” to our closest ally in the Middle East. That aid is substantially less than the cost of keeping U.S. soldiers in Germany, in order to defend Europe; or in South Korea to defend its territory; or even in the tiny Arab kingdom of Kuwait. The article’s author “believes the United States is responsible” for the Palestinian people, but fails to mention the billions we send in aid to them and the twenty-two Arab countries supporting them.
The students and faculty of FIU should know that they can find a measure of objective truth in the free press of the only real democracy in the Middle East. Read it for yourselves at the “Republican” Jerusalem Post (www.jpost.com) or the “Democrat” Haaretz (www.haaretz.com), Israel’s two largest English-language papers. The degree of Israeli self-criticism is refreshing, even of their own policies. We need to press for more than “opinion;” we need critical thinking to investigate claims that may appear to be facts.
This is particularly true of the confusion that terrorism spreads about victim hood.
If you care about a just peace, you can become a member of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (spme.org ), which provides a listserv to dismantle the confusion.
Dr. Rhonda Rosenberg is a assistant research professor in the Stempel School of Public Health. She is a networl member of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East.
