LETTER: Column errs in citing facts, blaming Israel for terrorism

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by David Grossman

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To the editor:

After reading Usman Baber's column in last week's Thresher ("Terrorism not key to peace"), I feel compelled to correct certain misleading, inaccurate statements Baber made.

Regarding his claim that Israel confiscates Palestinian land to build new settlements and roads for Jewish use, I object on two counts.

First, Israel no longer confiscates Palestinian land to create new settlements. Second, the construction of roads complies with the agreements stipulated in the Oslo Accords.

Therefore, Baber should direct any complaints about these actions to the Palestinian Authority's President Yasir Arafat, as he agreed to the building of new roads as part of the peace accords.

In terms of his allegations that Israel tortures Palestinian prisoners, I challenge him to direct me to the source of this statement. If Baber wants to cite Israel for questionable treatment of prisoners, moreover, he must also examine the record of the Palestinian security forces.

I also object to Baber's attitude toward Israel's demolition of the homes of alleged terrorists in the West Bank and Gaza. Although Baber's statement is true, he never acknowledges that these homes are also the laboratories for making bombs. Palestinians who tolerate and passively support the use of terrorism can not be viewed as innocent bystanders.

Yet another problematic aspect of Baber's column is his suggestion that Palestinians are losing confidence in Arafat's Palestinian authority primarily as a result of Israel's actions.

In this instance Baber improperly assigns blame to the Israelis and ignores the inflammatory rhetoric of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, two terrorist organizations committed to the complete destruction of the peace process and the state of Israel. These groups do more to subvert the peace process and weaken support for Arafat than any Israeli action could ever do.

To be fair, I agree with and applaud Baber's statement that "Peres, along with Arafat and Clinton, must acknowledge and deal with all terrorism."

The problem, however, rests in how any government can combat terrorism without engaging in normally frowned upon practices. Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority are responding to terrorism in the only possible way short of doing absolutely nothing.

The reality of the problems in the Middle East forces all parties to behave in ways that seem inappropriate to our sensibilities. Without examining their situation, however, we cannot jump to conclusions about their practices.

In addition, we must apply the same standards to Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and every other government in the Middle East. Unless we do so, any statement we make will be unfair and misleading.

David Grossman

WRC '97

This item appeared in the Opinion section of the April 19, 1996 issue.

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