Neal is the 2002-03 USAC EVP-elect. Â
By Christopher Neal
What is the situation in the Middle East about? Is it concerned
with oil, religious tension, or a holy land? The Middle East is a
large area, diverse in its make up and teeming with issues that
need to be addressed. The most pressing issue now, however, is the
situation in the region of historical Palestine.
The reason why this issue is most urgent is the near apathy the
majority of people in this country are expressing toward it. The
escalation of violence on the part of the state of Israel against
the Palestinian peoples is an issue of human rights.
To turn a blind eye to human rights is to become inhuman. The
current situation in the Middle East is a direct concern of
American citizens and all others who identify with this country.
The United States politically and financially supports the state of
Israel and considers it the key U.S. ally in the region. This has
translated to a near complete condoning, and even encouragement, of
the offensive Israel is undertaking against the Palestinian
people.
My alliance to the Palestinian cause has nothing to do with
religion, cultural attachment to the region, or even disdain or
prejudice against Israelis and Jewish people. My alliance and
therefore advocacy on behalf of Palestinians stems from my
commitment to human rights. I do not hold a Palestinian life in
greater regard than that of an Israeli, but I understand the great
disparity in the losses of those lives. There are far more
Palestinians in the death toll than Israelis, and the sheer
military strength of Israel shows that this conflict is very
skewed.
Why should the human rights of Palestinians be important to you
as an American? A U.S. citizen living in this country supports
(financially or otherwise) this system. You contribute to the
bullets used to kill Palestinian children, the tanks used to
demolish makeshift homes in refugee camps, and the rounding up of
obscene numbers of young Palestinians for “fear” that
they may be terrorists.
As Americans you support the closures of schools and the
disconnection of the electricity of whole towns. This support comes
in the form of your taxes and your complacency. As you read these
words, people are starving and dying, not only of bullets, but of
disease and lack of adequate resources to maintain life. This
situation cannot be justified with the line “Are you with us
or against us?”
Do not forget your humanity in the details of your personal
life. Only a very few truly desire war. Some of us are sold into
thinking it is the only means to obtain security. But on the
contrary, war, whether on terrorism or otherwise, only leads to
more conflict. Israel is systematically killing and imprisoning a
whole people.
An entire group of human beings is seen as less than equal in
the interest of “security.” Can you truly be secure if
others must be oppressed for you to realize that security?
Apathy when people are dying or living in substandard conditions
is not an option. You cannot turn a blind eye to reality. Step up
now and become a part of the world community and do your part to
make sure that humanity is maintained.