LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The Michigan Daily - Monday, May 19, 2003 - 5
Skin deep diversity
AYMAR JEAN No RHYME, JUST REASON
r History of Israel
taken out of context
To THE DAILY:
Ari Paul's latest viewpoint (The
supremacist Blue Block, 5/12/03)
lacks the logic, thoughtfulness and
attention to accuracy that typically
characterize his work.
First, Paul did speak with me in
early March. However, his article
failed to provide the context in
which I mentioned the invasion of
England. Paul questioned the legiti-
macy of the state of Israel, based on
the fact that others once inhabited
the land. My reply was that accept-
ing his categorical argument - a
state is illegitimate if predated by
another - would render nearly all
states illegitimate. France, England,
Russia, Bulgaria, Romania and
Hungary, to name just a few, all had
previous inhabitants. Furthermore,
arguing about the founding of Israel
is unproductive. Israel is an interna-
tionally recognized state and is here
to stay. As Ahmed Qurei, the speak-
er of the Palestinian Legislative
Council, recently pointed out, the
key to progress is in looking toward
the future, not debating the rights
' and wrongs of nearly 50 years ago.
Second, Paul did question me
about Israel's immigration policies.
However, he failed to supply my
response. I informed Paul that peo-
ple of all ethnicities and religions
are eligible for citizenship in Israel.
It matters not if one is Christian,
Muslim, Hindu or Zoroastrian. It is
true that Jewish immigrants do not
have to undergo naturalization.
However, such immigration systems
are common all over the world.
France, Hungary, Romania, Ger-
many, Korea and Japan, among oth-
ers, all have similar systems. These
policies are not based on notions of
"ethnic supremacy" as Paul alleges.
Rather, they are attempts to preserve
the self-determination and cultural
cohesion of the state's inhabitants.
Third, Paul's tirade about Zion-
ism and the "Blue Block" is ill-
conceived. Zionism, or Jewish
nationalism, is equivalent to Pales-
tinian nationalism or, for that mat-
ter, Korean, Canadian or Bolivian
nationalism. Paul may wish that
our international system were not
organized into nation-states, but
condemning Zionism while failing
to take reality into account is illogi-
cal, at best. Paul also attacks stu-
dents who question the motives of
those who propose to hold Israel to
a double standard. Resolutions
endorsing divestment from Israel
crop up time and time again, while
their sponsors never suggest simi-
lar measures against Sudan, where
human slavery still exists, or North
Korea, Iran, China or Russia,
where human rights abuses exceed-
ing those allegedly committed by
Israel frequently occur. Separating
Israel out for condemnation is
unfair and, perhaps worse, unhelp-
ful. Resolutions like the one con-
sidered by the Michigan Student
Assembly only make compromise
more difficult and peace less likely.
If Paul wants to contribute to a
lasting peace, he should invest his
energy in finding forward-looking
solutions, rather than arguing over
ancient rights and wrongs or
encouraging selective divestment.
DAvID LivsHiz
Alumnus
Viewpoint ignored
persecution of Jews
TO THE DAILY:
Ari Paul's column (The
supremacist Blue Block, 5/12/03)
was misguided, offensive and gen-
erally unfortunate. Paul's distaste-
ful (and, sadly, all too common)
comparison of the destruction of
terrorists' homes by the Israeli
Defense Force and the Nazis'
industrial-style genocide is just
plain wrong. Were Jews in Ger-
many blowing themselves up in
crowded marketplaces? No. (And
even if they were, the punishment
would not have met the crime.) Are
Israeli forces stuffing starving
Palestinian Arabs into over-crowd-
ed trains, sending them to camps to
starve them to death, or, to make
things easier, simply gassing them
and incinerating their bodies?
Thank God, no, no and no. The
comparison is grossly invalid on all
counts and what's worse, it weak-
ens arguments for real Palestinian
grievances, as well as degrades the
memory of Nazi victims and the
reality of what the Nazis did.
Paul wondered which side of
the "human rights fence" Goldberg
would have been on during World
War II. I wonder what Paul would
be doing in that same era if he were
a European Jew. Would he have
smuggled himself into British-con-
trolled Palestine and become part of
the tiny minority that escaped the
Nazis? And in 1948, after Palestin-
ian Arabs rejected the United
Nations proposal for a sovereign
Arab state next to the proposed
Jewish one - when Israel declared
statehood and was promptly
attacked by Egypt, Jordan, Syria,
Lebanon and Iraq - would Paul
have returned to Poland to nothing
but seething hatred and looted
property? Or would he have stayed,
fought and become an Israeli? And
in 2003, when synagogues burn in
Europe (see Brenner, Vanity Fair,
June 2003; Rothstein, The New
York Times, 5/17/03; or just type in
"Europe anti-Semitism" at
bbc.co.uk), when "Death to Jews!"
is the rallying cry at state-spon-
sored parades in Tehran (this is
well-documented), and with this
sentiment refracted across the Arab
states, how could Paul still retain
his starry-eyed political naivete?
God bless America, where a
Jew can become so cushioned by
freedom and diversity that he
becomes completely estranged
from the historical persecution of
his ancestors.
JOANNA STEINHARDTr
LSA senior
NEW YORK -
As the decision
in the Supreme
.Court regard-
ing affirmative action
approaches, I feel com-
pelled - as an
African-American, a
writer and a University
student - to think
about diversity. To defend its admissions pro-
gram, the administration has cited diversity
as the main reason for such plans. Arguably,
there are other notable reasons for affirma-
tive action, but, seeing that these other rea-
sons all hint at social and economic
engineering, the University has chosen the
more palatable concept of diversity. In my
opinion, the diversity achieved from aggres-
sive affirmative action is, as of now, purely
numerical. True diversity is conditional, and
I will attempt to explain the conditions.
This spring, University liberals and
minorities decided to affirm their presence in
several ways: from an anti-war gathering on
the Diag to Queer Visibility Week to certain,
unmentionable boycotts. Though these
events are a token to the University's diversi-
ty, I contend that this diversity is only skin
deep. Let me explain further.
I recently visited Vassar College, a
small, secular, liberal arts college in
upstate New York where I saw the differ-
ences between that self-proclaimed liberal
institution and the University. Incidentally
when I visited, as a Christian, I wore a
fairly recognizable, gold cross on my neck.
Upon viewing said cross, my friend
promptly suggested that I take it off. When
I asked why, she told me that I would get
inquiries all night from various Vassar stu-
dents as to why I am a Christian. This is
not, as it may seem, liberal discrimination
or secular segregation, but it is representa-
tive of the intellectual inquiry across polit-
ical and social beliefs that is most central
to liberal culture. When the Lesbian Gay
Bisexual Transgender Association held a
kiss-in this spring, their bravado was met
not with this inquiry, but with tacit
demands to "keep it to themselves."
. The concept of welcomed diversity con-
nects these two incidents, seemingly about
two separate issues: sexual orientation and
religious orientation. My first contention is
that diversity is more than just race. This is
obvious, but many do not live out this truth
in their daily lives. If your friends are only
those of the same religious persuasion, sexu-
al persuasion or political persuasion, then
you are missing out on the fruits of diversity:
the diversity that spans beyond and goes
beneath the skin.
What makes this University great is that
it represents the true U.S. intermediary. It is a
defiant representation of the traditional col-
legiate experience because it lies outside the
bounds of characterization. The University
knows no label - and this is coming from a
continually skeptical out-of-stater. It lies in
the Midwest, somewhere between the whole-
some South and the cynical Northeast. It
draws neo-hippies and fraternity brothers. It
admits Jews, Christians and Muslims. And it
attracts, of course, every major U.S. race.
All this diversity is in vain if there is
no interaction. And so, my second con-
tention is that differences should cultivate
inquisitiveness and rumination. The dif-
ference between my experience at Vassar
and the incidents of this spring is that, at
that self-proclaimed liberal institution,
diversity evolved into education. Here,
diversity has devolved into the mere
acknowledgement of difference. The stu-
dents at Vassar did not point and laugh at
my cross and they did not tell me to "keep
it to myself;" instead, they asked me about
it and sought understanding.
All sides, unfortunately, are indictable.
Black or white, Christian or Jewish, gay or
straight, poor or rich, we all feel more com-
fortable around those who are similar to us.
Yet, bridging differences instead of simply
acknowledging them will cure this Universi-
ty of the curse of small-mindedness and will
necessitate an aggressive affirmative action
program. Only with this individual action
will diversity cease to be purely numerical.
Diversity goes beyond race. It spans
across creeds, lifestyles and economic back-
grounds. Yet, it even goes beyond that which
is physical. The essence of diversity lies in
the mind. At the University, we have all the
physical signs of diversity - and hopefully
we always will - but if we dare to claim
that diversity is the main reason for affirma-
tive action, then it is time to open our minds.
Jean can be reached at
acjean@umich.edu.
Muera la vie boheme
JASON PESICK ONt MAL VOICE
The two most
bohemian towns
in Michigan are
Ann Arbor and Royal
Oak. In these vestiges
of '60s hippy liberal-
ism, it is still not out of
the ordinary to see peo-
ple with multicolored
hair and multiple pierc-
ings, carrying with them the scents of various
forms of plant life. How many other cities
could credibly host Hash Bash annually?
But the times are finally beginning to
catch up with Royal Oak and Ann Arbor.
The former is now host to one of Barnes and
Noble's latest flagship stores as the city
seeks to revitalize itself by attracting other
such chains. Ann Arbor's unique atmosphere
is slowly being replaced by national chains
as local establishments such as Decker
Drugs, Ethnic Creations, Shiva Moon, Lure
and Boss Guitar all exit the city's commer-
cial districts. I see this destruction of local-
ism not only as a manifestation of the
triumph of capitalism and the homogeniza-
tion of culture that have been taking place
for years, but also as a symbol of what has
happened to the political movement associat-
ed with Ann Arbor.
When our parents attended this university
during the Vietnam-era, it was host to more
protests than any other university in the coun-
try, except the University of California at
Berkeley. It was an era befitting such a move-
ment. The country's three greatest leaders (all
of whom were young) were assassinated and
then replaced by older, out-of-touch leaders
caught up in what turned out to be an unnec-
essary, never-ending war.
Two thousand three could not be more
different than that era. Following a decade
of great prosperity that made it difficult to
mobilize a truly progressive movement, the
United States has just entered an era in
which it faces real security threats. The
bombings in Casablanca and Riyadh only
reinforce this reality. It seems impossible
that any old-time progressive could ever
get elected president now. No member of
the idealistic Left will be able to defeat
President Bush. Issues such as healthcare
are important, but the average American
values his safety and security over goals
that liberals have been promising to
achieve since Harry Truman was president.
So it seems that bohemia and the political
movement associated with it are dead.
But why is this? Why did so many chil-
dren of the '60s cut their hair and don suits
and ties instead of tie-dye. My guess is that
even the most idealistic person cannot contin-
ue living in a fantasy world through three
assassinations, the Nixon presidency, a lack
of any viable Democratic candidates for
decades, the Reagan administration and the
tragedy that was the Clinton administration.
I think, however, that there is some-
thing much more significant involved in
the dissipation of the U.S. progressive
movement, and that is self-destruction.
Subscribers to this political persuasion
never learned to adapt to a changing world.
They have been bent on rejecting reality
and living in the haze of an earlier era.
Instead of embracing the triumph of capi-
talism, much of the Left turned against it,
fighting to block free trade and slow global-
ization even though trying to stop globaliza-
tion is like trying to keep the sun from com-
ing up - it can't be done and is merely a
waste of time that helps no one. A movement
that is out of touch with reality has no chance
of finding political support and winning elec-
tions. The Left can only survive by focusing
on achieving liberal goals through more real-
istic means. This means envisioning a pro-
gressive worldview that does not disregard
the state of world affairs.
Unions, for example, are still operating
on the same model as when Henry Ford
ran Ford Motor Company. And while many
of the roles that unions have played have
not changed since then - collective bar-
gaining and workers' rights remain hugely
important - workers can no longer count
on supporting a family by doing the same
task on an assembly line for 30 years.
Unions would better serve their members
by getting into the business of providing
workers with training and education - in
short, helping them adapt to the realities of
a global economy - than by fighting the
North American Free Trade Agreement.
George W Bush is the president, U.S.
Rep. Tom Delay (R-Texas) is the most pow-
erful man in Congress and William Renquist
is the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
Liberals aren't doing too well in this country,
which means it's time for a new strategy. If
they don't figure out a way for bohemia and
the aforementioned national chains to coex-
ist, I have no doubt as to who will win that
fight.
Pesick can bereached at
jzpesick@umich.edu.