In her viewpoint "Where is all this dark Israeli hatred coming from?" on Oct. 17, Dina Karam discusses what she views as excessive Israeli force in response to the recent outbursts of Palestinian violence. She states, "The only explanation I can derive, unless someone can explain another convincingly to me, is that 'You often hate those you wrong.'" I would like to offer another explanation.
Karam says that the PLO and the Arab nations are no longer challenging the existence of the State of Israel, and "Even if they did not acknowledge this, it is an obvious fact they could not do anything about it." Perhaps it is obvious to us, watching the situation from our comfortable homes far away from the conflict, but to the Palestinians living in the Middle East, the war for Israel's right to exist is far from over. The Palestinians Karam defends so passionately are fighting for their homeland; just as the Israelis claim entitlement to the land, so do the Palestinians.
Like Karam, I do not attempt to generalize about all Israelis or all Palestinians, but this is a war that has been going on for centuries; the history of Israeli-Arab relations is a history of bloodshed and hatred. Karam claims, "The Palestinians did not want to fight against the Israelis simply because of some instinctive, bigoted, inexplicable hatred they have always felt for the Jews for no reason." This is partly true: they have always felt that way, but it is not for no reason, and it is not a one-sided hatred.
The current Israeli culture breeds intolerance, as does the Palestinian culture of the 21st century. Children there grow up learning to hate each other because their families instill this feeling in them. Those Palestinian children throwing rocks that Karam refers to were brought by their parents to "peacefully protest." An angry mob capable of brutally murdering two officers is hardly a peaceful protest.
Karam thinks the "...Palestinians, or any Arab for that matter, [haven't fought with] the Jews during the past few centuries when they lived side by side." This is also a false statement. Jews and Arabs have been fighting for years. The Middle East is in a constant state of unofficial war. In Israel, there is always the threat of terrorist activity, and there are constant attacks on security, if not from Lebanon and the other surrounding Arab countries, then from terrorists groups within the country.
In 1967, during the Six Day War, the holiest of cities was finally reunited. Anyone who has studied Israeli history knows the famous words of Uzi Narkiss, then head of the Israeli Defense Forces' Central Command, "Har habayit beyadenu." -"The Temple Mount is in our hands." These three Hebrew words caused Israeli soldiers to throw down their guns and kiss the ground around the holy land, the same land they are still struggling to keep. The sticking point in the peace talks this summer was the status of Jerusalem. Although it is currently the Israeli capital, the Palestinians want it to be re-divided, and to have East Jerusalem designated as their capital.
The Palestinians are fighting for something that they hold very dear to them, just as the Jews are. The Palestinians, however, have been staging protests and attacks by angry and unregulated mobs, throwing rocks and being extremely violent. It is impossible for Israel to control these "demonstrations" without using some type of force. Israel has learned from history not to stand by passively, that they must show their force and make sure that others are aware of the strength and seriousness of their security.
The United Nations, or "the rest of the world" as Karam deems it, sees Israel as using excessive force. It is no surprise then that Prime Minister Barak does not want an investigation done by the UN. He has offered to let the United States, which abstained from the vote, perform such an investigation. The Palestinians did not agree to this. Maybe that is because they know the US will see that Israel is only taking the steps it deems necessary to controlling a violent group of citizens whose own leaders cannot control them.
If Arafat actually condemns the violence, will the Palestinian people heed his request? In order to truly comprehend the situation in Israel, one has to be aware of the mindsets of both sides. Both are extremely proud people who hold religion extremely close to their hearts. The Palestinians were exiled from their homes, forced to become refugees in Jordan and Lebanon and other territories, so naturally they are going to feel violated and threatened. Violence, however, is not the way for to get a point across. They should realize that a peace settlement with Israel would help them both economically and socially. Palestinians would be able to take advantage of many new benefits if there is peace.
On the flip side, the Israelis are not going to give up their land without a fight. The Israeli people are much more patriotic than we Americans are. For so many years, the Jews were persecuted and expelled from or killed in most of the countries of Europe and Asia. It took a mass genocide of six million to wake the world up to the need for a Jewish State. From the very start of her existence, Israel has been attacked from every side by her neighbors. Although there is peace with Egypt and Jordan, it is a superficial peace, reminiscent of America and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. If war was to be declared between Israel and one of her Arab neighbors, one has to wonder which side Egypt and Jordan would take.
Almost all Israeli teens know someone who has given his or her life so that they may live in Israel. They all serve in the army after high school, and are proud to defend their country. Israeli adults can still remember all that has happened to establish the State of Israel, and do not take it for granted. We have tried giving up land: Gaza, the West Bank, and numerous other settlements. These have not brought peace. We have tried negotiations and peace talks and summits. These have not brought peace. One can see why the Jews are skeptical of a real Arab interest in peace, when they very vocally state that they do not want us in "their land" in the first place.
It is horrible that there is violence between the two people that are in essence fighting for the same thing: religion. Did God really intend for this to be? One has to wonder, based on the number of people dying in His name these days in the Middle East.
Did the Palestinians really believe that by attacking Israeli soldiers and unarmed citizens they would be aiding their cause? It is hard to imagine they thought these actions would not elicit a response. Tensions have been building up under the guise of calm for some time now. While I pray for peace, I see a holy war looming on the horizon. Some call for more peace talks, but I find it hard to believe solutions to issues that have been unresolved for so long and caused so much bloodshed can suddenly be found now. War seems inevitable, and war is not what either side wants. So if the Israeli army uses a little force in order to subdue provocative demonstrations that could only lead to violence, understand that they are trying to keep the peace. Or what little is left of it.
Florice Engler is a freshman who has not yet chosen a major.
