Beg is a first-year political science student.
By Atif Beg
While reading Tsarovsky’s submission, (“Media
oversimplifies conflict in Middle East,” Viewpoint, April
11), I was pleased to see that he was attempting to uproot the
delusive and simplifying tendencies of the media and public opinion
toward the complex conflict in the Middle East. The one-sided
protests in front of the Federal Building and elsewhere are
mirrored by the polarization of representatives deliberating on the
Middle East crisis in various international forums.
But while claiming to conceal his position by proposing a series
of questions designed to urge honest analysis, Tsarovsky presented
a one-sided argument. He ignored an entire spectrum of questions
and let his personal position seep through.
Only half of the facts were presented in his submission.
Tsarovsky was right in that the West Bank and Gaza Strip lie at the
core of the Middle East crisis. But aside from those conflicted
areas, Jerusalem and the new Israeli establishments in occupied
lands south of Nazareth are also cornerstones of the dispute.
Tsarovsky was correct about the Arab nations engaging Israel in
three major wars. But the Arabs weren’t the only belligerent
powers. In 1966, Israel announced its intention to divert part of
the Jordan River waters to irrigate the Negvev Desert. While the
Security Council and the newly formed United Arab Command held
emergency meetings to discuss the issue, Israel launched a major
attack on Nov. 13, 1966, at the West Bank border village of
Samu.
We should not casually forget to ask why Israel opposed U.N.
General Assembly Resolution 194, which had requested it to desist
from the establishment of new settlements and to withdraw from
settlements established since 1967 in the occupied territories. We
should inquire why the Israeli Air Force continued
“penetration bombings” in the Nile Valley inside of
Egypt from 1972 until war broke out in 1973.
Tsarovsky hit the mark when he noted that Ehud Barak made an
offer to leave the occupied territories just a few years ago. Barak
genuinely wanted peace. But then-Minister of Defense Ariel Sharon
stated publicly that he was “firmly against any concession to
the Arabs.” The Israeli Knesset (Parliament) was just one
member short of calling for a new election with a vote of no
confidence.
The Peace Plan proposed 19 months later by the United States
presented an implausible plan that would divide up Jerusalem into
several dozen parts. That plan was rejected by Israelis and
Palestinians alike.
I stand firmly with Tsarovsky on his condemnation of Palestinian
aggression; suicide bombings in marketplaces, buses and hotels have
claimed the lives of several dozen Israeli civilians and wounded
countless others. But why does he fail to mention the Israeli tank
rampage on Palestinian Refugee Camps, the attack on five Islamic
Masjids, the missiles launched on Palestinian police departments or
the most recent efforts by the Israeli terrorist organizations Kach
and Kahane Chai to bomb nine Masjids and schools?
Along with Tsarovsky, I believe that the United States, when
dealing with the Middle East, has remained consistently
inconsistent. While Israel is the number one recipient of U.S.
foreign aid, great amounts of funds through the Arab Institute in
Washington have been allocated to Arab nations. Furthermore, the
United States continues to sell conventional arms to both sides
while it sends dignitaries to the region in the name of peace.
Thoreau once said, “For every thousand men that hack at
the branches of evil, only one strikes at the root.”
Similarly, all endeavors for peace in the region have failed to
focus on the key issues. Rather than trying to alleviate the
situation by bringing aid to the injured and justice to the
criminals on both sides, all faculties are spent on trying to
assign blame.
I am neither pro-Israeli nor pro-Palestinian; I am pro-peace. I
believe that the Israelis and the Palestinians are an intertwined
people, united by history but divided by destiny. And only when the
problem that plagues them is approached with a mentality suitable
for peace will we see an end to the violence.