I would like to address the flier stating Rachel Corries will not be taking finals this week
and The Post column on March 29, 2004 discussing the reasons why the United States should stop sending all foreign aid to Israel. As president of Alpha Epsilon Pi, the Jewish Fraternity on campus, I want to offer students important facts amid the recent anti-Israel statements.
Rachel Corries, who was crushed by a bulldozer in Israel in March 2003, was a member of the International Solidarity Movement, a group known to sympathize with Palestinian terrorists, receive funds from the extremist group, Hamas, and has even been known to harbor suicide bombers. Second, Corries was standing in front of an emptied house that Israel was preparing to bulldoze because it housed the family of a suicide bomber. Corries' death is unfortunate, but she was not a peace activist, she was an anti-Israel activist.
Palestinian suicide bombers purposefully target innocent civilians, and Israel has a right to combat this terrorism. Israeli civilians face a danger that we cannot even imagine. When they ride a bus or enjoy lunch in a crowded restaurant, they could be the next victims.
Palestinians also use their own noncombatants as human shields, such as putting bomb-making factories next to elementary schools. In contrast, Israel attempts to minimize civilian casualties, oftentimes putting its own soldiers in more danger. Despite what the flier and article would lead you to believe, I would argue that Israel, especially when compared to countries in similar situations, has one of the best human rights records in the world. In the region it is common for Arab countries to suppress the rights of women, gays and other minority groups and to allow the torture of prisoners. In fact, Jordan prohibits Jews from obtaining citizenship. Compare this to Israel, where the government allows citizenship and rights to all of the above categories, outlawed any type of torture, increased the life expectancy rates and decreased the infant mortality rates among Palestinians, and offered free health care to everyone regardless of race or religion.
I, as well as most Jews, believe that there should be a Palestinian state even though the Palestinians fought on the losing side in both World War I and World War II and have started three wars in an attempt to exterminate Israel and its Jews. After Israel defeated the aggressors they offered these lands back in exchange for peace and no more terrorism.
Israel has accepted peace agreements on three separate occasions, the latest being in 2000-2001. Israel offered virtually all occupied lands back for a Palestinian state with Jerusalem (except for the Jewish Quarter) as its capital. Israel, as it was when it was created, would only be a country where Jews were the majority and were exercising the right of self-determination. The Palestinians refused each peace agreement because they would have to admit that Israel had the right to exist as a Jewish nation.
I believe Israel makes mistakes, but it acts in good faith toward human rights. Israel receives a large amount of aid from the United States, but it offers America the most for its money by giving it a democratic ally in a hostile part of the world. I encourage all students to do their own research and come to their own conclusions. 17
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David Friedman
