Scott Kelber’s letter, Consider both sides regarding Israeli, Palestinian conflicts (SN 3/18), contains a number of factual inaccuracies, but most shocking is his sin of omission.
Kelber, like many of Israel’s critics, blames only Israel for Gaza’s suffering.
Besides failing to even recognize that Gaza borders Egypt as well, he also conveniently forgot Israel said it would end the blockade the moment Hamas recognizes Israel and releases Gilad Shalit, an innocent 22 year-old Israeli-French citizen kidnapped in 2006.
Kelber calls Hamas a legitimate democratic government, but makes no mention of the hundreds of Fatah (opposition party) supporters that Hamas has tortured and murdered.
That’s not democracy to me.
Israel has done so much to work for the two-state solution, including offering Arafat all of Gaza, 93 percent of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 2000, only to have it rejected. In 2005, Israel withdrew all troops and forced 8,000 Jewish settlers from their homes in Gaza as a step toward two states.
Believe me, I was as upset as you were when the 3,000 rockets fired by Hamas forced Israel to send troops to Gaza for a few weeks. Even you must admit, if Hamas had never fired rockets and mortars at Israeli towns every single month in 2008, there would never have been a Gaza operation at all.
No, criticizing Israel isn’t anti-Semitic; I criticize many Israeli policies myself, and agree that the IDF must be more careful with Palestinian lives.
But criticizing only Israel while touting how “understandable” Hamas’ Jew killings are might be considered anti-Semitic to some.
Geoff Levin
international relations sophomore
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
