4A - The Michigan Daily -Friday, March 16, 2001 Z~be d1Nxtijtrn tailg 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 daily. letters@umnich.edu The weapons of war: Rocks, kids and crayons PETER CUNNIFFE LT IN THE GAME 0 EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 GEOFFREY GAGNON Editor in Chief MICHAEL GRASS NICHOLAS WOOMER Editorial Page Editors Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. wo nights ago, while walking through Pierpont Commons, I ran into an interesting display; against a back wall of the lobby were several panels cov- ered with drawings by Palestinian children. I spent a long time staring at these drawings by children trapped in a conflict- plagued society, entranced by the strange power of scene after scene of violence and death, crudely sketched in crayon. It was a heart wrenching display and I can't even begin to think of how horrible it must be to be so young and a witness to the type of violence that has become commonplace in many of their lives. But something else about these drawings struck me as well. Most noticeable was the common themes running through most of them. Eighteen of the 36 drawings were of rock- throwing crowds being mowed down by Israeli soldiers, eight were of the tragic and widely-tel- evised killing of 12-year-old Mohammed al- Durra and five were of helicopters dropping bombs on buildings. I stepped closer and read the captions on one of the drawings. It contained the phrase, "Where are the eyes of the world to see what Israel does?" Several other captions also con- tained that phrase or very similarly worded ones. Perhaps it is common for Palestinian chil- dren, growing up in very poor, nearly Third World conditions, to know and use English, but I was surprised many of them had not just translated captions, but English words and sen- tences mixed in with Arabic in their drawings. These drawing are here thanks to an increas- ingly vocal group of students and others who have been working hard to turn the recent vio- lence in Israel into the most important issue on campus. But discussions of the violence soon lead, as they are designed to, to criticism of many other aspects of the Israeli state, including its very right to exist. The drawings in Pierpont Commons were yet another piece of propagan- da, and certainly the most ingenious one, meant to inflame anti-Israeli sentiment. The "on-mes- sage" scenes illustrated in those drawings and the plaintive cries for peace those children were doubtless encouraged to write by their teachers are meant to emotionally manipulate people into believing Palestinians are merely helpless victims of a brutal oppressor. I do not condone or try to downplay the many unfair ways in which Israel has treated its Arab citizens or the violations of human rights it has perpetrated. But the recent wave of vio- lence in Israel, which Israelis did not start, is nothing less than an internal insurrection and Israel has responded more calmly than most countries facing a similar situation would. I don't know how people expected Israelis to react to having rocks thrown at them for months (did they think they'd send their kids out to throw rocks back?), but there are few ways to deal with violent and threatening mobs except with a good deal of force. And however careful authorities are, people will be hurt and killed during several months of street fighting. It breaks my heart that so many Palestinians have been killed, but I am also dismayed that the authoritarian Palestinian Authority has put forth little effort to stop the fighting. The deaths of so many Palestinians, especially children, has been and continues to be a futile exercise, get- ting the Palestinians nothing, not even the nega- tive opinion of Israel they so desperately want the American public to develop. In fact, the only notable result of the vio- lence is a new Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, a right-winger with a lot of Palestinian blood already on his hands. I have little doubt Sharon committed atrocities that he should be in jail for today, but if I lived in Israel, I proba- bly would have voted for him too. Palestinians seem to have gotten the idea that they can use mob violence to bully Israel into giving them anything they want (even Ehud Barak's report- edly huge concessions were not enough) and faced with that prospect, what can Israelis do but put someone in power that they're sure won't be bossed around? Palestinians will eventually get a state of their own, though I don't know why anyone expects it to be better than their current situa- tion. The vast majority of Palestinians will still live in poverty. It, like the surrounding Arab countries, will be a police state. As much as violations of civil liberties by Israel are com- plained about, a Palestinian state, like the suri rounding Arab countries, will be virtually devoid of freedom of speech, a free press and freedom of assembly. Women's rights? Gay rights? Protection of racial, ethnic or religiou4 minorities? Don't hold your breath. How about elections? I'm sure they'll be about as free and fair as Egypt's or Syria's. I don't say this to deny Palestinians should have a country of their own, but people need to understand that neither side is an angel. I fear seeing more people on this campus being swayed by shocking images into believing that Israel is the sole aggressor and not worthy of American support, the usual argument of pro- Palestinian groups in the U.S. and on campus. People in this country need to understand th4 Israelis are dying too, the Palestinian Authority won't be setting up a liberal democracy when it works things out with Israel and turning against our best friend in the region would be a terrible and completely unwarranted mistake. When we're sent drawings by kids asking, "why doesn't the world [read: Americans] see what Israel is doing?" I hope people realize that those aren't just emotional outpourings, they're very clearly targeted messages meant to manip, ulate us. I've heard too many well-meaning pro- gressive students, outraged at the specter of ethnic conflict and violations of human rights, be swayed into believing vicious claims that Israel is practicing apartheid, ethnic cleansing and even genocide. There has been no organ- ized effort to push all the Palestinians out of Israeli controlled territory and there certainly has been no attempt to kill all of them. People should not buy into this vilification of Israel. It is a friend worthy of our support, a country with a right to exist and a right to quel violent uprisings whose rocks, and some too, are aimed at its people. Peter Cunnifes column runs every other Friday. Give him eedbackat www..michigandaily corn/orum or via e-mail atpcunni umich.edu. Michigan Party free of politics To THE DAILY: As horrified as Peter Romer-Friedman may have been upon seeing a poster with FDR, imagine my shock to see the Michigan Party labeled "ultra right-wing Republican." I'm a Michigan Party candidate. I'm definitely not ultra right-wing. I'm pretty sure I don't even count as a Republican. And as far as I can tell, our "reactionary conservative agenda" isn't par- ticularly ultra right-wing Republican. There's a reason we're named the Michigan Party, and not the URepubs. We're trying to promote issues that will improve our school, and not issues that promote the platform of a national political party, be it Republican, Democrat, or Green for that matter. Doug and Chip are Republicans - I'm not trying to deny that. But perhaps it would be appropriate to simply think of them as Universi- ty students foremost, and actually look at our platform, rather than call us names. JAPHY BARTLETr LSA sophomore The letter writer is a Michigan Party candidate for the Michigan Student Assembly. Englander's past actions cast doubt on candidacy To THE DAILY: The Michigan Party has nominated Doug Tietz and Chip Englander for Michigan Student Assembly President and Vice-President respec- tively. Many of us remember the name Doug Tietz because we've seen him run for various MSA positions over the years, but few recog- nize the name Chip Englander. Those who fol- low MSA even slightly will recall last year's election in which the Wolverine Party was com- pletely thrown out of the election due to an __e '_ _ _ U_ v f. l - -T 1_.1 /__ , 4 __ I p "MAYcWE tOcJb 1(AMJE NA~MED 1 15rOK-T (AFF' TO AI1pAL TO A VA KMTy F ofSPORTS FN.. RkMDfr 'Ta T E F 4(,kT POSITION So -rE F "'7'SEMr NE~f ICuW?" infraction of the election rules and regulations by one Chip Englander. Admittedly, I don't remember the specifics of the scandal, but to the best of my recollection, Englander was the campaign manager for the Wolverine Party and got so caught up in trying to secure votes for his candidates, he lost track of the guidelines con- cerning campaigning, specifically in residence halls. On election night, Englander toured the residence halls trying to convince students vote for his party which is allowed, but he also entered student's rooms and "showed" them how to vote online, a big no-no. Many of you might not consider Englan- der's actions with a different party relevant to this year's election. However, after last year's election night debacle, the Wolverine Party was dissolved and later reformed under the name of the Michigan Party. Notice the connection? Outside of the fact that most of the items on the Michigan Party's platform cannot be signif- icantly influenced by the Michigan Student Association, the man they have nominated for the Vice-President of our student body got his own party removed from the ballot only a year ago. Currently I do not endorse any party or candidate for MSA because I feel that for some time now, MSA is a waste of our tuition dollars and a completely ineffective organization. I have yet to see any major changes brought about by MSA in my tenure here at the univer- sity. In fact, the only things that come to mind when MSA is mentioned are the passing of "The Vagina Monologues," and the passing of a- resolution to lift the embargo against Iraq. Come election day, vote for whomever you' choose. I felt that the truth about the candidates should be brought to light. BARRY FULLER' Engineering sophomore Hideki's sign makes * him best To THE DAILY: I would like to voice my support for Hidek Tsutsumi. To all of you out there who write him off as a joke, obviously you have not seen his sign this year. Now that is a big sign! I am not looking for a candidate who promises to creat more parking and resolve global problems or discrimination, for these unrealistic expecta- tions are as good as promising to do nothing. Rather, I want a candidate who can commu- nicate with the average student. One who has a heart of gold and a passion to listen to what I have to say. One who can make really big signs. One who is Hideki, JESSE HERZOG LSA sophomore The role of the Michigan Student Assembly VIEWPOINT Amidst all the attention that is given to the Michigan Student Assembly election, as well as the energy that is spent on often con- troversial topics, it is easy to understand why many, including Kyle Mazurek, may ques- tion what exactly MSA does. Even more importantly, what does MSA do that benefits students? I have spent four years on MSA, three serving as the Chairman of the Community Service Commission of the Assembly. I have watched representatives, administrations, I have gotten to work with many students who are a part of this campuses service com- munity, and am confident to say that all of them - from the largest groups to the small- est - have spent the money we allot them - your money - on worthwhile projects, which are undertaken with the best of inten- tions. Funding is an important issue. The responsibility to insure that it is carried out fairly, with viewpoint neutrality, and with a serious commitment to better the campus through community engagement is one that is taken very seriously by everyone on the Community Service Commission. The job of MSA meeting. The point is this: Make the people who are running accountable to you now, so they will be accountable if they are elected. Make the election more than about catch-phrases and nice chalk. By being involved you can help to insure that the Assembly that is ultimately elected is one that is comprised of honest individuals with constructive and realistic agendas. The question of what MSA does is a fair one ... especially amidst the semblance of disunity, argumentation, and election time haggling that too often seems to be the focus of MSA's attention. For myself, and I know for many who are involved with the funding I i IU11Jg 4S. AU . - ir Jv' G l 3 Y . rLL