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OPINION
~,Page 4
Tuesday, September 28, 1982
The Michigan Daily
Hollow remorse for Beirut massacre
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By Jeffrey Colman
Local supporters of the Palestine
Liberation Organization have once
again shown their true face. They had
the perfect chance to change their
age, to win support for their cause, to
ourn the loss of civilians in last
ek's massacre in Beirut. They had
e chance to show that their support
r the PLO (and the Palestinians it
ofesses to represent) was based on
manitarian concerns for a
leaguered people and not for political
pnd ideological reasons.
Instead of mourning for the senseless
murder of civilians, however, they
hose to exploit the tragedy for their
gown political advantage. What was
. illed as a silent march to memorialize
Sthe Beirut dead-which we all could
;have and should have joined-the
ecent rally on the Diag turned out to be
the usual vocal pro-PLO, anti-Israel
sdemonstration.
RATHER THAN trying to earn sym-
Zpathy for the plight of Palestinians and
%Lebanese, the protesters decided to use'
the tragedy as a pretext to advance
their own shallow political statement:
Israel does not have a right to exist.
tTheir leaflets, speakers, and slogans
revealed that the real issue to them was
%not the murder of civilians but the
legitimacy of the Jewish state.
Even more offensive than their
tperverse comparisons between Zionists
and Nazis was the protesters' repeated
chant of "Judaism, yes; Zionism, no." '
Do the Jewish people need someone's
permission to practice their faith? The
chanters (Jews among them) would, of
course, argue that they were trying to
make the distinction between Judaismj
and Zionism to show that they are not!
anti-Jewish, only anti-Zionist.
The implications of this slogan,
however, run far deeper and reek of
classic anti-Semitism. The Jewish
people are held to a different standard.
Unlike other groups, Jews must earn
the right to practice their religion let
alone the right to have their own state.
"Judaism, yes,"they shout. As a Jew, am
I supposed to go over and thank them?
Are we allowed by them to be Jewish
just as long as we don't get any wild
ideas about protecting ourselves or
determining our future?
CONTRAST THE opportunistic
demonstration in Ann Arbor with the
massive and emotional protests in
Israel over the killings in Beirut. The
Israeli people are accepting respon-
sibility for the tragedy even though the
Begin government indignantly is at-
tempting to shirk it. Israelis are
ashamed at having even the remotest
connection to this massacre. To them,
silence or mere msjudgment are suf-
ficient grounds to implicate their army
and government.
Until now, Israelis have prided
themselves on the discipline and high
writes, "the standards of behavior are
more exacting, the questions are more
troubling."
Fortunately, Israel is a vital
democracy with a judicious press. The
Israeli people demand accountability
from their public servants. They are
strong-willed and will not allow this un-
precedented event in their history to be
pushed aside by either Prime Minister
Begin or Defense Minister Sharon.
TO THE ISRAELIS, now experien-
cing this crisis of introspection, the out-
cry from the outside world must seen
hypocritical. It seems that those who
are screaming the loudest about sup-
posed Israeli involvement in the Beirut
massacre are those with the most blood
on their hands: the PLO, the Syrians,
the Soviets.
Where were the international con-
demnations when Yasser Arafat and
his PLO terrorists were taking hostage
and gunning down Israeli
schoolchildren, athletes, kibbutz mem-
bers, and diplomats?
Where was the outrage following
previous and even bloodier massacres
of Lebanese Christian and Moslem
civilians?
WHY DIDN'T anyone care when
earlier this year the Syrian army
destroyed almost an entire Syrian city
along with thousands of its innocent
civilians?
Where were the United Nations
speeches and resolutions when
Lebanon's President-elect Bashir
Gemayel was murdered a few weeks,
ago along with dozens of others?
Taking notice of these atrocities does
nothing to diminish or condone the most
recent tragedy in Beirut. But aren't
those who point a finger only at Israel
confirming their double standards for
dealing with thq Jewish state?
Israel must act forthrightly to
reestablish its credibility by openly
dealing with the implications of recent
events in Beirut-as its democratic
system and values provide. When this
tragedy is no longer headline news and
the rest of the world forgets about it,
Israelis will still be judging themselves
harshly. "If we cling to (our) values,"
Israeli President Yitzhak Navon said,
"I am sure that we will emerge from
this far stronger."
Israelis deserve credit for still having
the capacity to feel ashamed of their
transgressions. Do you think the PLO
and its supporters will ever show theS
slightest hint of remorse or anguish
over their own misdeeds?
Colman, a graduate student at the
Institute of Public Policy Studies, is
founder of the Coalition Against
Terror in the Middle East.
Placards of the silent march
ethical standards demonstrated by
their soldiers during wartime. For
Israelis, under constant siege since
1948, how warfare is conducted has
been just as much of a concern as its
results. For a people who have been
victims throughout much of history,
David Shipler of The New York Times
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Sinclair
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Vol. XCIII, No. 17
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board
Poisoned minds in Carolina
S North Carolina malicious or merely
stupid?
In 1978, to cut corners, North Carolina
sprayed PCB waste alongside rural
roads. The move was economical,
simple, and blatantly illegal.
Now in 1982, to clear its roadsides of
toxic wastes, North Carolina plans to
transfer contaminated soil to a landfill
in predominantly poor, black Warren
County. The move is costly, com-
plicated, and blatantly unfair.
The state's first error - the roadside
dumping- was made with the full
knowledge of the devastating effects of
PCB. The toxic waste, which is linked
to cancer, birth defects, and liver
disease, was pulled from the market in
1976 - a good two years before the
North Carolina roadshow.
And now, in the backlash against the
dumping, the state plans to cart off the
despoiled land and give it to one of
its least vocal constituencies. In
other words, the mess is being dumped
into the lap of voters that count least at
election time - minorities and low-
income voters, for example.
In fact, the state's entire system for
getting rid of its waste follows a callous
logic - dump it on a road, in a poor
county, anywhere it might not attract
attention.
North Carolina's actions will not be
checked at the state level. Gov. James
Hunt claims that no health hazards
exist and that the Warren County
dumpsite is a "Cadillac of landfills."
The federal government also is
unlikely to step and investigate the
matter - both toxic wastes and poor
people are low on the list of the Reagan
administration's favorite topics.
Fortunately, North Carolina's
citizens are willing to fight state
ignorance and federal insensitivity.
Large groups have gathered at the
Raleigh capitol building to protest the
Warren County landfill. They are ready
to oppose a waste disposal plan based
on neither safety nor responsiblity, but
on convenience.
The protesters, however, must be
getting discouraged. Go away, the
governor has blandly told them. All
you're doing, he said, is wasting the
time of state troopers, whose job is to
save lives, not control protests.
Given a recent study which showed
that several female residents of North
Carolina have traces of PCB in their
breast milk, Hunt's words ring hollow.
Researchers admit that the most
severe effects of the toxic waste won't
show up for another ten or twenty
years. Instead of saving lives, Gov.
Hunt is well on his way to destroying
many in Warren County.
LETTERS TO THE DAILY:
Daily should wash its mouth with soap
To the Daily:
While reading the September 21
edition of The Michigan Daily, I
was appalled at the quality or
rather the lack of quality evident.
In two separate articles, each in-
volving quotes, the Daily printed
the words "bullshit" and "screw-
up". "Bullshit" appeared in a
story on the front page
("Program defenders to voice
objections to 'U' cuts") and
''screw-up" was included in the
headline of an article dealing
with the Michigan football team
("Schembechler baffled by
'screw-ups' ").
The Daily is published by and
for the students. Most students
want and expect a high quality
student newspaper. How often
are the words "bullshit" or
"screw-up" or similar profane
words found in The New York
Times, Chicago Tribune, Detroit
Free Press, or other high auality
the Daily is a direct insult to its
readers-University students. It
undermines, criticizes, and
demeans our intellect, morale,
and sophistication. Such jour-
nalism is sophomoric and inap-
propriate in a University student
newspaper.
The majority of the news ar-
ticles in the Daily come from the
two major wire services. The
number of articles written by the
students themselves therefore is
significantly reduced, thus the
standard of quality should be
higher. Unfortunately, it is not.
This letter is not from a mem
ber of the Moral Majority, but
from a student who wants the
quality of his University paper
raised.
-Randall Lending,
Sept. 27
Mutual respect lacking in Diag rally
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To the Daily:
A small group of Palestinians
and Lebanese professed their
loathing against violence in the
Middle East on campus Friday.
Yet, I was surprised and shocked
that these same people had no
reservations about verbally
threatening and physically
assaulting those who differed
with them.
During the demonstration
march around campus, I was
passing out literature with a dif-
passed out leaflets undistur-
bed, I was appalled that such a
courtesy was not reciprocated.
While USI does not agree with
many Arab contentions, we do
Herpes ad misleading
have the decency to respect their
opinions. I am saddened that the
respect was not mutual.
-Steve Belkin
Sept. 24
To the Daily:
Herpes Simplex has been in the
news of late-on the cover of
Time as well as in numerous
news features elsewhere. This
has led to increased awareness
laboratory-such as certain dyes,
ether, and other chemicals-none
has been effective in stopping
relapses of these lesions. Only
one medicine-Acyclovir, which
wa recentlv released by the
i