Letters

Tuesday, April 2, 1996

Shining light

Editor:

Recently, I lost someone so very dear to me. This person didn’t
die, but completely turned his back on me. This was my very best
friend whom I trusted, loved and depended upon. There’s nothing
wrong with trusting and loving someone, but to depend on a person
to the point that without that person you are incomplete, can be
dangerous to one’s self-love, self-esteem and individuality.

Well, in the midst of stress and anxiety over approaching
finals, credit card bills and graduation, my only friend in this
world ­ the only person I trusted, the only person that has
proven to be a friend through thick and thin ­ tells me, "I
can’t be there for you anymore."

Some days later, someone looked at me and said, "You look like
you just lost your best friend." Well, I did.

Then last Thursday, March 7, I opened to Aaron Howard’s
Viewpoint column, "Light from within," and after reading that
column, I was restored. In it, Howard talked about how there are
times that we are going to be tested and tried, and to surmount
over your obstacles takes self-determination and faith in God.

I had faith in God, but I hadn’t bothered searching for that
light within me that served as my innate resilience. That light is
the torch in my soul which I now hold before me as I run over
life’s many hurdles.

I’d just like to thank Howard, and also God who put it on
Howard’s heart to write a column that ministered to my heart.

Malinda Williams

Fourth-year

Sociology

Fact vs. fiction

Editor:

Nobody would refute that the Arab-Israeli conflict is a complex
one, which engenders deep emotions and numerous viewpoints.
However, when opinion is presented as fact, as was done in Roxane
Márquez’s first two articles, ("Zionism," Feb. 26; and
"Intifada," March 28) little good can result.

Some of the facts conveniently left out of the articles:

1) There was never an autonomous, self-governing country in the
Middle East called "Palestine."

2) In 1917, the British partitioned its holdings žn the
Middle East into a Jewish State and an Arab state. Eighty percent
of what was supposed to be the Arab state ("Palestine") is today
known as the Kingdom of Jordan.

3) The 1947 U.N. partition allotted the Arabs half of the land
which had been originally earmarked for the Jewish state in
1917.

4) Even this proved to be unacceptable to the Arabs. In 1948,
Israel was simultaneously attacked by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and
Egypt.

5) From 1948 to 1967, the West Bank was controlled by Jordan and
the Gaza Strip by Egypt. Neither country made any attempt to
establish a Palestinian state during this period.

6) In response to overt Arab aggression in 1967, Israel captured
the West Bank and Gaza. Thus, the Israeli "occupation" is a direct
result of Arab aggression.

7) In 1969, in direct violation of a U.N. cease-fire, President
Nasser of Egypt ordered artillery barrages against Israel from
across the Suez Canal. These continued for 16 months.

8) Israel was invaded by Syria on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of
the Jewish religion, in 1973.

9) Palestžnians now control all of Gaza and most of the
towns of the West Bank, while 58 Israelis have been murdered by
Arab terrorists by March 11.

10) When Jordan controlled Jerusalem from l949 to l967, Arab
Christians were barred from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,
Israeli Muslims were barred from the Dome of the Rock, and Jews
were barred from the Wailing Wall. All have freedom of access
today.

11) As for Loraine Minza’s complaints about Israeli attacks on
Hezbollah guerrilla bases in Lebanon ("Security," March 5), perhaps
an analogy is appropriate. Let’s say a group of radical Canadians
were attacking citizens of Buffalo, N.Y., and then retreating back
to Canada. If the Canadian government did not take steps to prevent
these attacks, the United States would be obligated to protect its
citizens by pursuing these terrorists, even if it meant going into
Canadian territory.

The Middle East conflict is a complex and emotional one.
Articles replete with selective and distorted facts do a disservice
to those in the region who are seeking to extricate themselves from
a history of blood and anguish.

A. Randall Steinberg

Assistant Director

Anti-Defamation League