I found Professor Ussama Makdisi's remarks in the Daily this past Friday ("Rice prof. traces roots of anti-American sentiment in Middle East to pro-Israel policy") disturbing and unfounded. He disseminates the same myths that despotic Arab regimes have been using for nearly 60 years to discredit the State of Israel. Such misleading rhetoric and oversimplification of the conflict are counterproductive to achieving peace in the region. To convey Israel as the sole reason for anti-American sentiments in the Arab world is false and ignores a wide array of issues including the rampant anti-Americanism propagated by authoritarian Arab governments. If Professor Makdisi truly supports Palestinian self-determination, he should advocate a two state solution rather than conveying deceptive rhetoric to disparage Israel. Tufts University should continue to seek productive discourse on this issue and not allow discussion to be monopolized by either side.
Also, greater care should be taken when covering such a speaker. We must not boil down complex geopolitical issues into cheap sound bites, especially without noting the context of such remarks and the background of such speakers.
Alex Zerden '07
