Sharansky accusations should not be taken seriously

Mr. Fouda’s letter to the editor (“Israeli government speaker is no human rights activist,” Sept. 19, pg. 6) was filled with so many inaccuracies that it is difficult to address all of them and keep this letter to less than 500 words. He addressed Natan Sharansky’s position as the Israeli Minister of Housing and Construction saying, “Sharansky oversaw Israel’s colonization of Palestinian territory.” In fact Israel is not colonizing Palestinian territory; it is building homes on Israeli land. Israel is a sovereign state and has the right to build homes for its citizens. The Israeli government not only allows the Palestinians to live in Israel but to work there as well. The only reason Palestinians continue to live in refugee camps is because their Arab brethren refuse to help them or allow them into their countries. Arafat himself uses the money that was given to him to help his people to support his terrorist Fatah movement. This, as Mr. Fouda eloquently put it, “is in direct violation of the Geneva Accords and a war crime as well.”

Fouda also describes Israel’s acts as “ethnic cleansing.” This is not only inaccurate but also offensive. In Israel, Arabs are allowed to live, become citizens and vote. They cannot even vote in their own countries. As far as ethnic cleansing is concerned, in most of the countries of the Middle East, Jews are not allowed to vote or own property. In fact, the Jews of Morocco, Iran, Iraq and Syria — to name a few countries — were kicked out and their possessions confiscated by the government. During the Holocaust, 6 million Jews and 5 million others were brutally murdered because they were not of the “Aryan race.” That, Mr. Fouda, is ethnic cleansing.

I do agree that it is unfortunate that the two innocent Palestinian children were in the wrong place at the wrong time. When such accidents occur, the Israeli government apologizes and investigates the case. However, when innocent Israeli children are killed, such as in the Beit Israel bombing of 2002 where a homicide bomber blew himself up next to a crowd of women and children, Palestinians celebrate.

I also agree children should not be used as human shields. However, it is the Palestinians and not the Israelis who are the perpetrators of this horrific action. Palestinians send their children to throw stones at the Israeli soldiers while the Palestinian snipers fire from behind. The Israeli soldiers are between 18 and 21 years old like us.

In closing, one cannot take any of Mr. Fouda’s accusations seriously if he still believes in the so-called “Jenin Massacre.” The United Nations, as well as the Palestinian Authority, rescinded this accusation because this event simply never occurred. A massacre would have occurred had the Israeli government simply dropped a bomb on Jenin and killed all of its inhabitants. Instead, the soldiers searched from house to house, risking their own lives, only to be killed by explosives. This is sensitivity to human life. The only massacre that occurred was on Passover 2002, when people sitting down to their seders in a hotel in Netanya were murdered. Before accusing Mr. Sharansky of violating human rights, one should read his autobiography and get his facts straight.

It is unfortunate that Boston University invites speakers who promote war crimes. But this is America, and like Israel, we have freedom of speech. And for those keeping tabs, that was Noam Chomsky, not Natan Sharansky.

Sarah Weller SED ‘04 The writer lived in Israel from January-June 2002.