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OPINION
Page 4
Wednesday, November 13, 1985
The Michigan Daily
mt hhrigan iax1u
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
UN: Zionism as racism?
Vol. XCVI, No. 50
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board
Armed courses'?
THE LSA curriculum commit-
tee is currently discussing the
possibility of reinstating academic
credit for ROTC courses. Under the
present policy, ROTC students do
not receive LSA credits for courses
they take in the ROTC program,
and the policy should stand.
Granting LSA credits for such as
"Land Navigation" and "Contem-
porary Military Issues" would
seriously undermine the spirit of
liberal arts education. The idea
that students should take a diverse
courseload, selecting from various
subjects in the humanities, social
sciences, languages, and natural
sciences does not embrace the
ideals of military science. There is
a good reason why LSA does not
currently grant credits for such
courses as military strategy and
amphibious warfare: they are
irrelevant and morally opposed to
the ideals of a liberal arts
education.
At present, ROTC students must
take military science courses in
addition to those required for LSA
distribution. Appropriately, ROTC
requirements are independently
established by the armed forces for
their own purposes, not by the
college of LSA. Students who elect
to join ROTC are engaged in a con-
tract with the government. LSA
does not set the standards for
ROTC courses, and should not ac-
credit them. Many students enter
the ROTC program out of financial
necessity, and meeting both ROTC
and LSA requirements only creates
additional academic hardships for
these students. It is not, however,
LSA's responsibility to mitigate
these hardships.
There is one reasonable way in
which ROTC courses might be ac-
credited. ROTC classes might be
evaluated for the possibility of
cross-listing them with LSA depar-
tments. This policy currently ap-
plies to the program of American
Institutions, in which courses are
cross-listed as political science,
history, economics, etc. These
courses have been incorporated in-
to the LSA curriculum, and any
LSA student can elect them for
credit. Under a similar policy,
ROTC courses that meet LSA stan-
dards could be cross-listed accor-
dingly.
A course in military history, for
example, might be a likely can-
didate for cross-listing. LSA
should not refuse to incorporate a
class into its curriculum simply
because it originated in the ROTC
program.
The curriculum committee
should only adopt those courses
that will be relevant to a liberal ar-
ts education, and not grant a carte
blanche of accreditation to the
ROTC program.
By Jeffrey Parness
and Lisa Bardach
Now that the speeches have ended, the
champagne bottles lie empty, and the
United Nations' 40th birthday celebration is
over, it is time to return to the real world
once again. Yet the history of the U.N., the
world's most expensive and useless
debating society, is not nearly as rosy as the
parties they held to celebrate its failures at
ending world hunger and poverty, slowing
the nuclear arms race or resolving regional
conflict. This week, we remember one of the
United Nations' most reprehensible acts in
the 10th anniversary of the U.N. General
Assembly's resolution equating Zionism
with racism.
During the Fall of 1975, such peace-loving
nations as Syria, Libya, Iraq and Cuba
diverted attention away from the issue of
apartheid in South Africa by using the
"Decade for Action to Combat Racism and
Racial Discrimination" proclamation in
their attempts to condemn Israel's ideology
for statehood - Zionism. A resolution was
adopted in the Social Committee of the
United Nations determining Zionism to be a
form of racism, and this effort was accom-
panied by pressure from the oil-rich Arab
states on the poorer Third World African
nations in order to ensure passage of the
resolution. On Nov. 10, 1975, the resolution
Parness and Bardach are LS&A
juniors.
Wasserman
passed the U.N. General Assembly without
any definition of "racism" or "Zionism"
being established. It should also be noted,
that of the 72 nations voting for the
resolution supposedly "concerning" itself
with the freedom of peoples, 58 of these
countries were run by dictatorships, strong
men or elite groups. In the wake of this vote,
the PLO and Arab nations gained yet
another rhetorical tool to use in their
propoganda war to delegitimize the State of
Israel. The goals of the U.N. on resolving
conflicts such as apartheid in South Africa
were sidestepped as the U.N. continued to
diminish its dwindling credibility.
As then U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.,
Daniel Patrick Moynihan stated of the
resolution: "Now, this is a lie." Zionism is
the ideology of a secure state in which Jews
can live, free from persecution that was
their history for thousands of years.
Theodore Herzl, in recognizing the impen-
ding doom of European Jewry in the late
1800s further highlighted the need for a
Jewish State in Ottoman controlled
Palestine as a means of survival from the
pogroms of Czarist Russia and the
Holocaust he never lived to see. Nowhere
was a doctrine established for a state based
on exclusivity determined by biological dif-
ferences in identifiable groups. The new
Jewish State accepted thousands of im-
migrants from Asia and Africa who were of
many colors and cultural backgrounds. The
Israeli Declaration of Independence, the
document that institutionalized the ideology
of Zionism states: "We call upon the Arab
inhabitants of the State of Israel to...play
their part in the development of the State
with full citizenship and due representation
in all its bodies and institutions. We offer
peace and unity to all the neighboring states
and their peoples, and invite them to
cooperate for the common good of all." Can
it be said that these rights were ever exten-
ded by the Arab nations to their indigenous
Jewish populations?
Today Zionism is still a means for
national survival. From the Soviet Union
where Jews are imprisoned because they
want to go to Israel, to the American hear-
tland where right-wing extremists have
singled out the Jews as scapegoats for the
farm crisis, to Leon Klinghoffer, who was
murdered to "teach a lesson to Israel and to
America" because he was an American Jew
- Zionism is still the ingredient for the
preservation of the Jewish people.
If anything can be said for the passage of
the resolution it is the bitter irony that
November 10 is also the day on which
"Kristalnacht" occurred - the night Nazis
ravaged Jewish homes and stores and
places of worship. At leastthis anniversary
reminds us of the true meaning of racism.
Ten years later we should remember the
words of Sen. Moynihan regarding the
resolution and we must neither
"acknowledge, nor abide by, nor acquiesce
in this infamous act."
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LETTERS:
Suicide article
sensitiv ity
Covert terror
A .CCORDING TO A RECENT
article in the Washington Post
President Reagan has approved a
covert CIA plan to overthrow Col.
Moammar Khadafi of Libya in yet
another example of CIA instigated
foreign policy. As in the past, such
actions are totally unaccountable
to public opinion and are more
likely to harm America s ultimate
interests than to help them.
Opposition to the CIA's plan does
not indicate a concern for the
health and welfare of Khadafi. His
foreign policy is to support the,
most vicious terrorists in the
world. His embassies act as bases
from which his thugs attack
Libyan students abroad who have
the impertinence to criticize
Khadafi's policies. A year ago a
British policewoman was killed
when Libyans in the London em-
bassy opened fire on anti-Khadafi
demonstrators in the street.
If Khadafi's elimination would
increase the chances for peace in
the Middle East and other areas
where he influences conflicts his
death might well be a positive
thing - but then, blowing your
nose does only so much to cure
pneumonia. Assassinating Khadafi
attacks the symptoms and not the
causes.
Now that this plan has been
revealed it may even contribute to
the causes of dispute. The CIA has
indicated that it will continue
"covert" activities to undermine
Khadafi's regime.
This action can only harm
America's ability to act as a
peacemaker in the middle east. If
the U.S. acts as simply another in-
terest in the region willing to use
any means to gain its' desired ends
it sacrifices any claim it has as a
mediator. It simply acts to further
the cycle of violence and thereby
hurts its interests and interests
of the region.
The embarrassing revelations of
past CIA plots against Salvador
Allende of Chile and Fidel Castro of
Cuba have resulted in an executive
order prohibiting American in-
volvement in assassination plots. If
America is to be regarded as a
mediator in the region it should
abandon the plan. By showing
respect for its laws, it will be
viewed as much more likely to
respect agreements it makes with
other nations. Its willingness to do
this will accomplish much more
toward decreasing Khadafi's in-
fluence than the CIA.
To the Daily:
I have appreciated the Daily's
efforts over the years to address
the issue of suicide among college
students, and have been
privileged to consult as a resour-
ce person on several of those ar-
ticles. I am troubled, however, by
certain aspects of last Friday's
article. I am quite concerned
about your decision to include in
the article a detailed account of a
specific student's recent suicide
attempt. I believe that the infor-
mation given was specific enough
to be likely to cause further
distress and embarrassment to
those involved.
While this was perhaps
motivated out of a wish to
illustrate a "typical" suicide at-
tempt, each suicidalincident is so
unique and complex that very lit-
tle can be truly learned from a
brief summary of precipitating
events. The learning to be gained
does not justify the intrusion into
the privacy of people who con-
tinue to be part of this university
community.
I would urge you to consider a
policy of not pursuing such
stories in regard to students who
may still be on campus or have
close friends still on campus. If
illustrative case material is
needed for such stories, it can be
found in the professional
literature or even in incidents
To the Daily:
This is partially a response to
last week's letter to the editor en-
titled, "Missing the Point of
Protest," (Daily, October 29). I
would like to first point out that
there are many people, with
varying points of view on issues
such as U.S. involvement in Cen-
tral America. Just because some
feel that their views are correct
and they Have a strong commit-
ment to their particular ideals
does not give them the right to
rudely enforce these beliefs on
others. Can you imagine how
much more chaotic this world
would be if we all decided to form
demonstrations each time we
disagreed with another person's
beliefs. This does not mean I am
advocating complacency.
I believe people should, and
need to express their opinions.
However, there are appropriate
times, places and ways for people
to do this. A demonstration at a
celebration of the Peace Corp's
birthday is not one of them, no
matter who the speaker is.
Now, some feel that a demon-
stration such as this is the only
way that one can obtain an
audience with the Reagan ad-
ministration. This is a widely
believed fallacy. The Reagan
administration, or any ad-
ministration has to listen to their
electorate, because if they don't
they will be out of a job come next
election. It is, of course, obvious
that an administration cannot
please everyone. In order for it to
survive, it therefore must do
what the majority of voters want.
I therefore state to the par-
ticipants of the recent demon-
strations, it is not that the
Reagan administration is not
listening to you, they are by
necessity listening to everyone, it
is just that you are not in what
appears to be a majority view
with the rest of the nation. This
does not mean your views are
necessarily wrong, but you may
perhaps gain more respect from
people if you expressed your-
selves at times that are more ap-
propriate. You might even try
writing letters to the current ad-
ministration. They are interested
in people's views and would, I
think, have much more respect
for yours if you showed you had a
strong following by means of
many letters and not many in-
terruptions.
I think we all agree that Cen-
tral America is an important and
volatile issue, but that does not
mean we have to be continually
disruptive when expressing our
views. Organizations that sup-
port these actions are as much to
blame as the demonstrators
because they are perpetuating
their actions. If you want others
to respect your point of view, you
must first show them your
respect.
At last week's meeting of the
MSA I heard particular members
praising last week's article. The
MSA also made plans to set up in-
formation booths around campus
to inform students of MSA ac-
tivities and let constituents ex-
press their views. I wonder how
these MSA members would feel if
each time they spoke with a
student, a group of demon-
strators started protesting MSA
policies.
I sincerely hope this does not
happen. It is time that the studen-
ts and the MSA started com-
municating with each other, so
that MSA members can start
representing the students, in-
stead of promoting their political
beliefs. I urge all students to take
time to stop and talk with your
MSA "representatives." Express
your opinions, but please be cour-
teous and respectful, because*
many of your representatives
need examples of these qualities.
--William B. Clemons
November 1
by Berke Breathed
cited from other campuses caring and sensitive, not con- Novem'
similar to ours. Our collective tribute further to individual Gauthier is the ass
commitment should be to make distress. director of the University
the campus community more -Evelyn J. Gauthier fice of student services.
Inappropriate perpetrate chaos
nber 11
sistant
Y's of-
Question the roots of racial hostility
To the Daily:
David Roth's article ("Student
is the victim of racial vandalism
at library," Michigan Daily, Nov.
7) unfortunately, lacked the dep-
th which would have addressed
our concerns as minorities more
effectively. Why, for example,
didn't he think about the un-
derlying issues concerning
racism? Where does racism
originate? More importantly,
what can we do to minimize
racist attitudes and prejudices in
our society? How can we educate
people? How do minorities
(probably) feel about the quality
of life on campus as a result of
such incidences and attitudes?
people realize the underlying
hatred that exists behind such
cowardly acts.
The racial animosity directed
towards Scott Wong was not an
isolated incident. It was an act
directed towards all Asians (and
other minorities as well). We all
have been victimized. Such an in-
cident could have happened to
any one of us.
Instead of simply reporting
such racial incidences and later
brushing them off as unfortunate,
let's see open discussion and
BLOOM COUNTY
cooperation in educating these
ignorant people. Attending
college is more than getting a job.
It's learning to think and live
harmoniously with others of all
races as well.
-Theresa Hlaing
November 10
I
Hlaing is the
the Asian
Association.
President of
A merican
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