EDITORIAL
Arabs, Israelis take
step toward peace
As far as first steps go, this one can Ik- measured in
inches. But like all journeys of any importance, the
first step is the most difficult and important one.
Today begins the Middle East peace talks in Ma
drid. Spain For the first time in 42 years. Arab and Is
raeli representatives will sit down at a table and try to
resolve some of their differences and end the strife.
Nobody is predicting instantaneous reform or an
swers. The chasm between the two sides is just too
great to overcome in one meeting. Hut the pros|>ert for
peace or at the very least, a dialogue for peace — has
never been better
At stake is the future of the Middle East Since Isra
el became a nation on May 14, 1948. Arab Israeli ton
mods have erupted into five full scale wars and count
less other minor conflicts. Compounding the problem
is the matter of the occupied territories - the West
Hank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights — which Israel
captured during the wars
The problem takes on ironic twists In 1937, when
Great Britain sponsored a proposal to create separate
lowish and Arab states in Palestine, the Arabs balked
and demanded a single state with minority rights for
jews Neither side could agree, and after a long period
of both leg.il and illegal Jewish immigration into the
area, the IJ N stepped in and created Israel, stripping
the Palestinians of their land. Now Arab settlers in Isra
el exist in much tfie same way the early jewish settlers
did before 1 CMH
I his is not the first at
tempt at peace talks. In
1979. Israel ami Egypt sat
down to work out their
disagreements. President
Carter was the guiding
force behind the Camp
David Accords. The two
countries remain on cor
dial terms, but Israel con
tinucs to have conflicts
with its Arab neighbors,
most notably Syria, Leba
non and Iraq.
There are similarities
between the newest peace
talks and ones sponsored
by U.S. Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger in Gene
va after the 1973 war. Is
The chasm
between the two
sides Is Just too
great to
overcome In one
meeting. But the
prospect tor
peace — or at the
very least, a
dialogue tor
peace — has
never been
better.
rad backed out of the talk* at the last minute, refusing
to have anything to do with the Palestine Liberation
Organization. The PLO has been a major sticking point
in getting Arabs and Israelis to the peace table. Israel
still refuses to acknowledge the PLO except as a terror
ist organization and would not go to Madrid if the PLO
was included. The Palestinian delegates acquiesced.
Both sides have their strong and weak points. The
Israelis feel they are surrounded by enemies, so their
reactions (and often overreactions) are understandable.
The Palestinians just want a home. Radicals on both
sides push the two groups toward the brink of massive
conflict.
Even in the face of the peace talks, the conflict con
tinues. Tuesday saw terrorist attacks in the West Bank
and in Turkey. Such attacks will only resolve the will
of the two sides, making the peace process more diffi
cult.
The United States is behind the Madrid talks. Sec
retary of State James Baker made eight trips to the Mid
dle East to set it up, and President Bush will make the
opening remarks. The gulf war has a lot to do with
making the talks possible. The U.S. allied itself with
many Arab nations, such as Syria and Saudi Arabia;
and Israel, under intense pressure from the Bush ad
ministration. stayed out of the conflict. Had Israel retal
iated to the Iraqi Scud missile attacks, the precarious
balance of European Arabian allies would have proba
bly collapsed.
It’s impassible to tell what the peace talks will
bring. Most likely, the Bush administration, as well as
the Palestinians and Israelis, is hoping a cordial, un
eventful meeting will lead to further talks, where real
progress can be made That is the best that cun be
hoped for from Madrid.
Let's hope the radicals of both sides lire ignored,
and the rational Israelis and Palestinians can perform
the much-needed role: that of peacemaker
TtHNEb, PES ted,
snu vor peaov'
LETTERS
Health care
To M i c li.if I Mt i .if, w tin
wrote (n critic l/e ).istin Moore's
belie! in health i are for .ill (
()l)i:, Oil It). I egard lt-ss of
ahility to pay
Your point of view demon -
stratus mi acute hit k of ability
to empathize with your follow
human l>eings You statu thut
"health i are is a commodity
that is ptml for hv tlio.se who
i hot>se to muku money ami i an
afford it
Do sou really think all the
poor people choose not to
work? Single mothers, kids in
the ghetto w ith no way out, col
lege students, unemployed
workers, you think are all "un
willing to earn" the right to
health (.are' (five me a break
tfood health is the most im
portant thing to most people,
certainly more important than a
S.too billion dollar per annum
military, tobacco subsidies, oil
subsidies, eli II our govern
merit would gel Us priorities
straight, we would have plenty
of money for health care
The "wealths who made
modern medicine possible"
need to wake up and realize
what made them wealths was
the blood and sweat of the
poor, and exploitation of the
berth
Michael, take a Icxik around
you Are those people' Do they
have feelings' Think about it
|etl Unman
International studies
Two things
To Michael Mi Dee (ODE,
Oct J.i). who wrote "(Health
c are) is not a right of nature by
merely being born and by exist
mg
Do two things 1 Look
around J Think hack
It you Icxik around, you vs ill
notice that a Kcx kefeller. Doors
or Hein/, gets automatic: health
car. simpls by being born with
that name Unlike the rest of us,
they need not earn this privi
lege. they simply inherit it
Now go Inti k to the begin
ning When you were horn,
someone took your unhreathing
blue body, made you breathe,
and gave you nourishment and
warmth, human to human
Your new-born si reams did
not evident e "integrity and dis
cipline,' and certainly did not
earn you the care which
brought you out of an infant's
helplessness It was given you,
based on need, simply because
you were born
People do not over indepen
dently earn any of the privi
leges they are given, whether
through finances or bet a use of
another's human decency. We
live only through others we
may or may not set- Left solely
to an individual’s means, the
individual will die in a mo
ment
Aiden Hungum
Student
Men
Are you a man who wants to
do something about the prob
loin of rape anti sexual harass
ment m our society and on
campus7 Would you like to
meet and work with other men
who share this concern7 If so,
Men Against Rape needs vour
support
Men Against Rape is a group
oi pro-feminist, gay-uffirmative,
male-affirmative men working
to entf sexual anti physical vio
lence against women We meet
once a week to give each other
support, discuss issues, and to
plan our various educational
activities 111 esc meetings occur
each Wednesday at I. 10 In the
RMU (see the Wednesday l.rri
I'ruld for the exact place), or
you can t all us at
We need vour help, and we
hope to hear from you soon.
Hill Hm/tman
David Peterson
Co-directors
Headline
The titles for the letters in the
Oct 22 OUL' ("Details, de
tails " and "Tile sucks") were
chosen poorly and in question
able journalistic style The Let
ters column has traditionally
been an area for diversified
opinion and uncensured
speei h While letters such as
these may be amusing, it is not
the staff's job to critique the au
thors, nor select these letters
over less trivial ones simply for
laughs Please keep in mind
that journalism claims to be ob
jective
Steve Ransom
Theater Arts
Fallacious
Regarding Pusquale Anolfos
thoughts in “Jump in" (OL)L
Oct U4). the discussions re
volving around social issues
show a lai k of careful thought
in this case, some contradic
tions
Anoifo suggests that we
should emulate the natural
world, and yet he espouses ho
mosexuality. which is not rep
resented therein If people like
Jon W’ollander are to join the
majority of the "larger world,"
why should they accept a view
point which essentially ex
cludes majority belief?
Furthermore, Anoifo [>ro
jioses the protection of individ
ual opinion, hut oidy if it isn't
Wollander's point of view This
suggests that "truth" is subject
to jiersonal opinion, but also af
firms that truth is absolute be
cause someone's opinion is
wrong.
I refer to Anoifo‘s letter only
as an example of larger prob
lems fallacious reasoning, dis
regard for evidence or the na
ture of truth, and incomjiatible
ideas
Think about it We cannot re
jecl intolerance without being
intolerant ourselves. Diversity
can be extremely oppressive
Andy Sauervein
Music