As one of the students present at Bishop Thomas Shaw's talk on the Arab-Israeli conflict Tuesday evening, I applaud the Bishop in his call for individuals to act as peace makers. In general, Bishop Shaw's remarks were profound and insightful.
However, an individual point made by the bishop (and reported by the Daily) seems counter-intuitive to achieving peace. When I asked the Bishop if (on a governmental level) his call to action included the Palestinian Authority in addition to the Israeli government, whose actions he mentioned in his talk, he responded in the affirmative.
Thus, it is confusing why Bishop Shaw chose only to protest Israeli actions at the consulate in 2001. To criticize both sides verbally, but act out against only one seems to present an unbalanced and contradictory statement about the Arab-Israeli conflict. True, Palestinian rights must be attained, and Israel often prevents this, but accountability must be placed on not only one, but all entities with power, including the PA and the governments of Arab nations, to stop violence in the Middle-East. Only by working together can a true and meaningful solution to this most tragic of conflicts be attained.
Scott Weiner
LA, '08
