Editor,
I have some pressing concerns regarding Tuesday's Muslim Student Association's anti-Israeli exhibit. The degree of pro-Palestinian bias and spin present in the display appalled me to say the least. If the Muslim Student Association's supposed goal was to educate people about the conflict in the Middle East, it clearly failed.
I want to caution people about what they read and see in the media about the Middle East. It is so easy to take the side of the group that seems to be the victim or seems to be oppressed. Just because Israel has a stronger military than the Palestinians doesn't necessarily make the Israelis Goliath and the Palestinians David. Just because more Palestinians have been killed throughout the conflict than Israelis doesn't necessarily mean that Israel is wrong. Statistics do not tell the whole story, and they can be spun to support either side of a conflict.
The messages conveyed on these placards that claimed among other things, that Israel instigated the war of independence in 1948 are nothing more than anti-Israeli propaganda.
They conflict with the incontrovertible, historical facts, which clearly state that the intent of the Arab nations was to drive the Jews into the sea. Needless to say, I was infuriated to hear that out of ignorance, the majority of people agreed with these statements.
When you see footage of Israeli "incursions" in the "occupied territories," try to look deeper into it than the liberal media wants you to. Photographs can be used as the ultimate tool for bias, so use discretion when deciding what to believe.
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The situation of the Palestinians is certainly unfortunate, but it isn't a result of Israeli aggression. It is a result of the blatant and persistent efforts of other Arab nations, such as Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Iraq to destroy the peaceful Jewish state of Israel.
Finally, despite the obvious bias of their exhibit, I would like to commend the Muslim Student Association members for a respectful discussion of the conflict. Surely if Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian authorities were as open-minded and peaceful about the situation, the violence would have been stopped a long time ago.
Joel Berger
Undergraduate student and member of Hillel Jewish Student Union
