Live Together In Peace

I am writing in response to the column and letters by Mr. Baram, Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Figa. All three gentleman present a perfect example of the conflict in the state of Israel today: All three neglect the views of the other side. While Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Figa have passionately pointed out the bias in Mr. Baram’s Tuesday column, “America: Take a Stand on Israel,” I would like to make them aware of quite a few of their own.

To begin, I did an extensive research project comparing media biases against both Israelis and Palestinians in their homelands, in America and abroad. Media bias is prominent everywhere, and if Mr. Figa stopped to take a breath for a moment, he might realize this and reconsider his false statement claiming the American media “does not vindicate you” if you support Israel. My research found everything from articles such as those presented by Mr. Figa to an Arab perspective supporting the state of Israel to American newspapers manipulating a photograph of a “Palestinian man” being attacked by an Israeli soldier (which was actually an Israeli soldier running to assist a Jewish student who was attacked by Palestinians) to a Palestinian children’s program, comparable to our Sesame Street, which boasts children no older than 10 years old screaming for Jihad and fighting a bloody war to the death.

In addition, Mr. Figa, as you wrongly call Mr. Baram racist, I might call you anti-Semitic for your pro-Palestinian stance or for your constant references to Jews as “wealthy.” But I won’t. I stole your land, you stole mine. You can go back as far as you wish, but Palestinians and Jews, as well as Christians, have their own claims and sentiments to the land. Was it right for us to create a genocide against Native Americans as we took over their land? Of course not! It was brutal, vicious and disgusting. But don’t kid yourselves for a second: If all of a sudden there was a Native American revolution and they began attacking and murdering our families on their way to school or at a restaurant, don’t think we wouldn’t fight back with all the ammunition we had in us. The Jews’ claim to this land is far more justified than our claim to American soil, as we forced the natives out. Mr. Figa and Mr. Gallagher both point out the land “stolen” by the Israelis from the Palestinians and others during wars. They fail to recognize these wars, such as the Six Day War, were unwarranted attacks on Israel from several surrounding territories. Israel fought back, won the war and gained land. If they were never attacked in the first place, they would have never gained this land.

I do not support the current actions of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The treatments of Palestinians in the current roundups are unacceptable and brutal. I also do not agree that terror should be fought with terror, as Mr. Figa suggested is happening. After all, “an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.” However, it is absolutely wrong to portray strong Israeli soldiers destroying helpless Palestinian children, because when these “children” are walking around with firearms and screaming of bloody war at the mere age of six on children’s programs, it puts a whole new twist on the “innocence” of kids.

In response to Mr. Gallagher’s attacks on life for Palestinians in Israel, I agree there is an unfavorable imbalance. Something must be done to create equality. However, Israel happens to be the only country in the Middle East where all Arab citizens are represented in government; it is the Middle East’s only democracy. I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to negotiate and live together in peace when the current Israeli leader has destroyed so many Palestinian lives and Arafat has destroyed so many Israeli lives. Despite outpours of violence portrayed in the media, the truth is, many Israelis and Palestinians alike are longing for peace. If each side truly wishes for peace, they must elect leaders who not only represent their extremist views but can work with the other side without quite as tainted a history.

How ironic that both sides are fighting so brutally for land, making the ultimate sacrifice so often, because the land is believed to be “holy” for the great things that occurred there so long ago. It appears to me that the brutality over the past few years in the region far outweighs its holiness. What holiness is left in this grief-stricken land? If we fight for the past, whether it be to regain something great or to continue long-standing feuds with the ideas of “your father killed my father, and now I will kill you,” no one can ever win. Neither total Israeli occupation nor total Palestinian occupation of the land can end in peace. The only hope is for both sides to learn to live together under their own governments while respecting the government of the other; they must create their very own “salad bowl,” so to say. If Arabs and Jews can live together in America in peace, I believe they can live together in Israel in peace, as well. Because once you look past all the dirt, that’s all there really is. Holy or unholy, all it is is soil, all it is is dirt.