Editor,
I'd like to refute and correct some remarks made by columnist Steve Painter in Tuesday's Daily Lobo. The bulk of his column arguing for U.S. support of Israel relies on unreliable, incomplete and biased sources.
Painter began his column by emphasizing the melancholy saga of the Jewish people and the harassments they have endured throughout the years, especially during World War II. Firstly, the Palestinians had nothing to do with the attempted mass extermination of the Jewish people in Europe. Also, despite Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments on the Holocaust, a minority Jewish community still resides peacefully in Iran.
In addition, Arab nations, including Palestine, were tolerant and cooperative when Great Britain deceitfully proposed its plans to allow Jews into Palestine. However, the Arabs were not aware of the apartheid government that would form in Palestine, and they were not aware of the population surge that would occur, weakening the already depressed economy of Palestine. Furthermore, the British never clarified their motives to the Arabs. They issued two different documents - one for the Zionists and one for the Arabs - and acted according to the pro-Zionist document. Thus, the Arabs were angered.
Painter also claimed that the 1972 Munich massacre was an act of persecution against the Jews. Firstly, this was not an act of persecution against the Jewish people, but rather an act of retribution against the Israelis for Palestinian losses. Any form of killing, regardless of the reason, is iniquitous, but these Palestinians may have felt that an Israeli team going to the Olympics as representatives of Palestinian land was an injustice to them.
Finally, if the Jews deserve the land because it is sacred to them, then what do the Christians get? The Vatican is holy for the Catholics, while Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem are holy for all Christians, as well as for Jews and Muslims. Moreover, if it is our obligation to reinstall victimized people to more comfortable lands, then the gypsies warrant their own country, as well as countless other groups. Also, do not forget about the Palestinian Christians who are suffering from malnutrition and other hardships.
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Dena Qassim
UNM student
