I have two issues with the May 19 Ideas Lab op-ed (“Student demonstrators will not remain silent about the genocide taking place in Gaza”).
Let me begin by saying that I believe there must be an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and that the continued loss of civilian lives will only harm long-term efforts for peace and stability. I also support the right to peaceful protest, but when protests turn into racist confrontations, it is counterproductive. Violence and inflammatory rhetoric are never the answers.
The first problem, however, is that she wrote that Israel is populated by “European ‘settlers’.” But almost a million Jews fled or were expelled by Muslim countries and settled in Israel. There are also Muslim and Christian citizens of Israel.
The second is that it avoids dealing with Hamas, which has caused this current conflict and uses the people of Gaza as a human shield. Now that I have traveled to the Middle East, I believe there is a lot to make up for. I believe that Israel as a nation should have done more to find lasting solutions, but Islamic terrorist groups have made that more difficult.
Both sides in this conflict must come together and create a state for the Palestinians and use the resources used for war to bring about some measure of social justice.
Joseph Geck, Waukesha
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This article originally appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Palestinian supporters missed key points in the essay on the Gaza war
