Letters
Shedding light on 'peace'
To the editor:
Despite the media attention given to conflicts in the Middle East
and the ongoing "peace process," I believe some light has to be shed
on this oftentimes confusing situation. A fact that deserves major
attention is that Israel is attempting to make peace with an enemy
whose mission, which has been explicitly stated, is the elimination
of the entire Israeli state. Despite this, the Israelis and other
nations have blindly participated in the handing over of more and
more Israeli holy land and militarily strategic land in the name of
peace.
It is obvious by looking at the start of these recent events that
Yasser Arafat was looking for conflict. On Sept. 28 the Israeli Likud
Party leader visited the Temple Mount, the most holy site for Jews
and the third most holy site for Muslims. Immediately after this,
there was no uprising by Palestinians. What Arafat then did was call
a general strike and close all schools, leaving thousands of young
men with idle time. He then began showing footage of young Palestinians
throwing rocks in previous skirmishes on Palestinian television and
played war music on the radio. Arafat also called on Arab and Islamic
nations to mobilize to "protect the shrine." Do these sound like actions
of a peacemaker or of a man inciting violence?
The painful and sad truth that has not been realized by most is that
peace cannot be attained when one of the sides wants anything but
peace. Indira Ghandi, the first female Prime Minister of India, once
said, "One cannot shake hands with a closed fist." It is time that
all parties involved heed this advice and put off the ideal vision
of peace until both are ready to put forward an open hand.
Joel Portzer
junior in LAS
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