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OPINION
Page 4
Monday, January 20, 1986
The Michigan Daily
al
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Zionism is racist in Israel
Vol. XCVI, No. 77
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor; M 48109
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board
King for a day
T oday is a day for dreamers.
Dr. Martin Luther King en-
couraged that sort of thing.
And finally, 18 years after the
civil rights leader was shot to
death, the nation will officially
remember, and perhaps dream.
Many will remember the fervor of
the struggle, the movements, the
sit-ins, the bus boycotts, and
especially one blistering hot after-
noon in 1963 when a huge crowd
gathered in front of the Lincoln
Memorial to hear a black man
preach his vision of an America
where "Little black boys and little
black girls..." would live in peace
and cooperation with little white
boys and girls.
King's was a voice and a vision
that inspired America- a brilliant
flame aglow with a passion for
justice.
Still, today, there are black
leaders who continue in King's
spirit, even id they do not receive
as much publicity and credit as
King did. For example, Randall
Robinson of Trans-Africa gained
attention for his role in organizing
a year's worth of daily civil
disobedience at the South African
consulate in Washington. At his
side in the arrests and his recent
call for a Shell Oil boycott were ac-
tive black congressmen.
When Bishop Tutu came to
Detroit, Mayor Young presented
him with a mock check for $225,000
of pledges. Mayor Young said local
business, religious and civic groups
would find the money for Tutu's
programs.
A particularly disturbing aspect
of the King holiday is President
Reagan's opportunistic antics in
"honoring" King. Reagan initially
rejected the push for a holiday
honoring King on the grounds that
the nation's businessess could not
afford the economic impact of
another national holiday.
It is even more important to
recognize that the current ad-
ministration has cast a nasty tar-
nish on the dreams of Dr. King.
The legislation of the 1964 Civil
Rights Act did not eradicate the
economic and social injustices
which continue to be endured by
America's black community.
Under the leadership of Ronald
Reagan, 35 percent of the nation's
blacks live below poverty
level; close to 50 percent of all black
children below the age of 18 live
below the poverty level. Such
devastating disadvantages are
directly attributable to Reagan's
social spending "prudence',
allowing joblessness, poverty,
hunger,, and homelessness to per-
sist as brutal realities for an alar-
mingly large number of American
blacks.
Indeed, today is a day to dream.
But dreams and words are not
enough. We shall not overcome by
invoking wistful, wishful
memories. Today is a day for
dreams, and dreamers and deter-
mination. Dr. Martin Luther King
finally has his day, and we have the
legacy which invests each
American with the responsibility of
turning those dreams into long
overdue realities.
By Hilary Shadroui
In response to Stacey Coleman's and Barry
Schreier's "Zionism opposes S. African
racism" letter of 16 January 1986, I would
like to correct the blatant misinformation
the authors posit as truth.
Zionism is an ideology held by the state of
Israel. The goal of Zionism is to create and
maintain a Jewish state. Israel does not
have to pass a law ensuring Zionism,
because it is a Zionist entity. Therefore,
any laws produced by Israel are Zionist by
nature and support the Zionist cause. Any
ideology that promotes the interests of one
group/religion/race over other humans is
exclusionary. As Zionsim is practiced by
Israel, it is racist.
The authors have, apparently, never been
in Israel or read anything but propaganda,
else they would know that the state of Israel
does, in fact, both segregate and oppress the
Palestinians. The notion that Palestine was
a "barren, desert wasteland" is, of course,
ludicrous, since Palestine supported life for
thousands of years prior to the Israeli oc-
cupation. The Palestinian economy was an
agrarian one, noted especially for its orange
orchards, which now belong to Israel since
the Israelis took the best farmland from the
Palestinians in 1948.
Today, certain sections of Israel are
greener than others, notably the areas
around Israeli settlements. The Israelis
channel water from Arab villages in order
to make the settlements look as appealing
as possible to prospective settlers, and to,
Shadroui is a graduate student in
history. She teaches a pilot program
course on the Holocaust.
strengthen the myth that Palestine was
"wasted" on the Palestinians.
The assertion that Palestinians are "free
to live where they want" is another myth. If
that were the case, hundreds of thousands of
Palestinians would be living on their farms
and in the villages from which they were
driven by the Israeli invaders in 1948 and
1967, rather than in refugee camps in oc-
cupied Palestine and other countries.
If Arabs are not discriminated against as
fourth class citizens in Israel (after
Ashkenazy, Sephardic, and Ethiopian
Jews), why, then, are they denied equality?
Why does the "Law of Confiscation and
Return," which states that if a Palestinian
leaves his home for more than three months
he cannot return, exist? Why must
Palestinians carry I.D. Cards, why are they
harrassed daily by the Israeli army, why
are they denied equal opportunities and
equal wages?
The assertion that the P.L.O.'s
"terrorist" acts are unprovoked is
ridiculous. If one's country is invaded, a
state of war exists and one has the right to
fight back. Equally ridiculous is the
authors' claim that Israeli's military kills
only combatants. The authors are less
honest than the Chief of Staff of the Israeli
army, General Gur, who admitted that he
makes no distinction between civilians and
noncivilians in an interview in "Al-
Hamishmar" in 1978. When the Israelis say
they attack "Palestinian positions" in
South Lebanon, they refer euphemistically
to refugee camps, where indeed women and
children are killed, hospitals and schools
destroyed. Likewise, the bombing of
Tunesia was an act of state terrorism direc-
ted against the Palestinian people as whole,
not only against its military.
The authors accuse Mr. Dawud of anti-
Semitism. Such a technique is a poor at-
tempt to discredit his argument. The cry of
"anti-Semitism" is a powerful weapon, but
it does not apply to criticisms of Israeli
policy and strategy, which are both racist
and state terrorism par excellence. Con-
trary to the author's belief, criticism of
Israel does not mean that the critic is anti-
Semitic. Anti-Semitism is racism, which
one must abhor in all forms in order to be
human. For the record, Arabs are Semites,
too.
The authors did not demonstrate that they
are "well informed on world occurrences."
Instead, they showed a tendency common to
American liberals: to be tough on op-
pression in Central America and South
Africa - and rightfully so - and
astonishingly blind to similar failings in
Israel. They also showed ignorance of in-
ternational affairs when they overlooked
the fact that Israel befriends and supports
racist South Africa, as well as the vicious
regime in Guatemala, by selling arms and
giving advisory military assistance.
I am well aware of the oppression Jews
have suffered, mostly at the hands of the so-
called civilized European nations. What is
incomprehensible and tragic to me is that a
people so oppressed has become one of the
major oppressors of the 20th century, and
that this fact is obscured by governments
and the media, which both disinform and
misinform the American public.
Wasserman
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Nite-Owl needs a lift
K)
CAMPUS SAFETY is a problem
that has been partially ad-
dressed by ,the implementation of
the Nite-Owl, a free university ser-
vice for women who want a safe
ride to their on-campus housing af-
ter dark. The Nite-Owl is a good
program, but it needs im-
provement.
Many students are unaware of
the hours Nite-Owl runs and the
areas it sevices because it is poorly
publicized. This problem could
easily be eradicated by posting
schedules and information in
prominent, late night spots, like
the Undergraduate Library and
the Union. In addition, many
women have had difficulty iden-
tifying the Nite-Owl because it was
poorly marked. Belatedly, the
University has allocated funding
for a sign to place in the window of
the van. Other criticisms of the
current program are that the stops
are neither well marked nor well
lit; the vans are over crowded at
peak hours between 11:00 p.m.,
and 1:00 a.m., and the drivers are
often rude.
Despite these difficulties, Nite-
Owl is potentially the best preven-
tion security the University offers.
That potential may remain untap-
ped, however, if the University
continues to deny the necessity of
another van to service the two-
cheapest safe ride, isn't
realistically affordable on a
nightly basis for late night
studiers. In addition, University
housing can not accommodate
these students, but those off-
campus should not have to pay
every night to ensure they arrive
home safely.
Probably the greatest dilemmas
in expanding Nite-Owl to run off-
campus are monitoring student
use and establishing boundary
lines the would be fair to the large
and dispersed off-campus
population. But these problems are
not insurmountable. Students
could be required to present a valid
Identification card before riding
and the Nite-Owl could be targeted
at the heavily student populated
Oakland and East University and
North Ingalls areas.
If the cost of such a program
makes it prohibitive, perhaps the
University could include the price
in tuition, as it does for maintenan-
ce of the recreation buildings. The
demand for these facilities has
been impressive, and the Univer-
sity has responded accordingly;
even though many students don't
use them, the services are
available. Similarly, the off-
campus Nite-Owl would not be a
service for everyone, but it would
afford many women the oppor-
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LETTERS:
In formation access must be a priority
To the Daily:
In the Daily (12/10/85) Douglas
Van Houweling was interviewed
regarding his views about the
role of computers on campus and
more specifically his opinions
regarding the appropriateness
and value of a student computing
fee perhaps better termed an "in-
formation technology access
fee". I prefer to leave the debate
of fees to Dr. Van Houweling and
MSA. But I would like to raise a
point triggered by this debate,
which to my mind is much more
fundamental than whether
students will or will not support
fees for library and/or computer
access. One of the hallmarks of
our society has been the free
public library movement and in
parallel, free library services in
our colleges and universities. I
realize this statement is sim-
plistic since library services have
.., ... . l - T. * .- .d1.- -
enough to exercise their control
with a wholesome discretion, the
remedy is not to take it from
them, but to inform their
discretion by education.
There is what I believe to be an
unfortunate trend, albeit in-
nocent, in our country which may
threaten the ideal of an informed
citicenry. That is the practice of
passing on charges for library
and information services directly
to those who seek information. I
am not referring to fee-based
library services which provide
information to business and in-
dustry. The commercial sector is
accustomed to paying for ser-
vices rendered. I would refer to
fees for interlibrary loan services
and computer data base searches
which are passed on to users as
two prime examples. I believe it
was a great misfortune when cir-
cumstances forced libraries to
safe depository of the ultimate
powers of society. The issue may
not be whether or not user fees
for computer services or
libraries are appropriate, but
rather how we as members of an
academic community want to
fund these services and what we
can do to see that no student or
faculty member is disadvantaged
through an inability to pay for
access to information.
Richard M. Dougherty
January 13
Dougherty is the Director of Univer-
sity Library and a professor in the
School of Library Science.
Sign the petition for peace
To the Daily:
At this time in our local com-
munity there is a petition cir-
culating with a very important
message. It offers Ann Arbor
voters the opportunity to put Cen-
tral America on the ballot.
What this means in less am-
biguous terms, is that Ann Arbor
voters would have the oppor-
tunity to say whether or not they
feel that the United States should
be snending tax dollars nur tax
ministration states that it- i
trying to help maintain stabiUty
but Frances Moore Lappe tells
us, "if progress will come only
with redistribution of control
over productive resources, then
outside interventions to maintain
'stability' will only postpone the
day when that necessary
progress can begin".
We need to see that our aid to
Central America is used to help
redistribute the resouirces td