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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 1988)
_Forum_ U.S. should open eyes to Israel's violations of human rights By Cary Murrell November 9, 19HH, the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of “Kristallnacht,” a night of savage brutality, in which Na zis destroyed Jewish Syna gogues, Jewish homes, Jewish businesses and incarcerated thousands of Jews in concentra tion camps. Christians and Jews through out the United States vowed to _Commentary never let this kind of thing hap pen again. Yet. inconceivably, it is hap pening again. Ironically, the perpetrators of this new savage brutality are survivors and de scendants of the Nazi ruthless noss. Nov. 9 marked another anni versary. In the occupied territo ries of tiie West Bank and Gaza Strip. Palestinians marked the 11th month of their uprising: intifada. In these 11 months, and the 21 years of occupation which preceded them, we have witnessed the destruction of Palestinian Mosques and Churches, Palestinian homes, Palestinian businesses, and the incarceration of thousands of Palestinians in concentration camps. I get no pleasure in publiciz ing the parallel aspects of these two events. I’m sure my Jewish friends and colleagues will at test to my revulsion. But draw the parallel I must because the evidence of the similarities is overwhelming. I speak here of Israeli govern ment policies. I have spoken against similar policies of the United States and South Africa and others. I have seen the bullet-rid dled, ransacked, demolished and desecrated Mosques and Churches, homes, and busi nesses of Palestinians. 1 have witnessed the emaciated bodies of Palestinians released from the concentration camps Ansar II in Gaza and Ansar III in the Negev desert. I have seen the shattered bodies of Palestin ian youths, shot with dum-dum bullets. From July 10 to August 3 (l'lHB), I was a member of a del egation of 16 U. S. citizens par ticipating in "Eyewitness Isra el,” a program sponsored by the American Arab Anti-dis crimination Committee. For al most three weeks I lived with Palestinian families in the refu gee camps in Gaza and the West Bank. Our delegation was asked to carefully document human rights violations using as our standard the 4th Geneva Con vention regarding Occupied Territories, to which Israel and the United States are signato ries. Sitting comfortably in Ore gon, one can understand suffer ing intellectually. We read about suffering daily in our newspapers. But being a wit ness to the systematic brutality of Israeli State terrorism left me sickened, shocked and horri fied. I was not alone; my fifteen colleagues joined me in these sentiments when we expressed, quite clearly, our group outrage in a group statement released to the press in Washington, D.C., the day of our return. Among other violations we found: • Willful, premeditated murder of Palestinians by the Israeli Dofense Force (IDF). • Torture of persons in custo dy. • Denial of medical services. • Illegal expulsions (sending Palestinians out of Palestine). • Detention of persons without due process. • Collective punishment and systematic harassment. • Confiscation and destruction of property. • Denial of freedom of thought, communication and expres sion. If Christians and Jews are really committed to freeing the world of fascist/Nazi brutality we must act and act quickly in Palestine. Time is running out. The Palestinians cemeteries are filling up. The election in Israel assures a coalition gov ernment, a government domi nated by the right-wing Likud Party aligned with the the ocratic religious extremists. THK FAR Sll By GARY LARSON Anyone for a chorus ol 'Happy Trails'?' If these prospects do not bode ill enough for Palestini ans, they need only fantasize about their fate should the aspi rations of Ariel Sharon, the for mer Defense Minister in charge of the Sabra and Shatilla massa cres in Lebanon, reach fruition — “if it's (he/she) a terrorist," (i.e., Palestinian), says Sharon, “Kill it.” Citizens of the United States must act quickly. To para phrase the historian Gore Vi dal, the Israelis are eventually going to have to give back some of the land they have stolen from the Palestinians. The questions that predominate are When? Where? and How? This giving can come now, at the insistence of the United States applying pressure on Is rael, or, it will surely come la ter, at the insistence of 150 mil lion Arabs, using their oil as le verage, applying pressure on the United States. What can we do in the Unit ed States to affect a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian war? At present, the Israeli economy would collapse were it not for the three to ten billion dollars which the United States annu ally pumps into the Israeli economy. Israel has used approximate ly 1/3 of that annual subsidy, this year, to offset the political and economic impacts of the intifada. The United States can no longer afford to spend billions of dollars to assist Israeli occu pation in contravention of the Foreign Assistance Act, which prohibits foreign aid to nations which consistently violate hu man rights, nor the violation of the 4th Geneva Convention, which, according to the consti tution, is United States Law. The morality of our support is bankrupt. Instead, the United States must speak with one policy when addressing violations of human rights. Violations in South Africa, Chile, and El Sal vador are no different than Is raeli violation in Gaza and the West Bank. The Palestinian intifada will not go away — it is a way of life and a way to live. Palestini ans deserve the support of the peace and justice community in the United States, a country founded on the greatest revolu tionary principles and by some of the greatest revolutionaries in history. The intifada is no less a revolution, and as John Kennedy said, “Those who make peaceful revolution im possible make violent revolu tion inevitable.” Gary Murrell is a graduate stu dent of U.S. history at the Uni versity. Coffee Bean of the Month Dark Mexican Altura Pulma s585 lb. 3.00 1/2 lb. I.6OV4 lb. KINKO’S 860 E. 13th • 344-7894 Goldworks % AT EMU CRAFT SHOW December 7 8 "Custom Design Jewelry "Sterling Silver Earrings ranging from $8-45 Come by and see us! Juniors, Seniors & Grads. . GIVE YOURSELF SOME CREDIT! APPLY NOW FOR YOUR VERY OWN... • Bring a photocopy of your School I.D. • No cosigner required APPLY NOW ON CAMPUS! Date: December 6,7,8 Time: 9 a.m. ■ 5 p.m. Place: 6th and 9th in the Main Desk Area. 7th in the Fishbowl Annex C,TIBAN<°