Editors of The Herald should ensure that their opinion writers are at least peripherally cognizant of the positions they pontificate.
In his op-ed, (“Lattanzi-Silveus ’14: Solidarity with resistance to apartheid,” Mar. 5) Luke Lattanzi-Silveus ’14 boldly asserts “the Israeli laws ... are inhuman and specifically set up so that the Jewish people systematically dominate the Arabs,” pointing to apocryphal allegations of abuse and neglecting to cite any “inhumanities” of current Israeli law. He then astutely points out “some 30 laws ... specifically privilege people of Jewish nationality” in Israel, a controversial doctrine found in many developed societies known as “citizenship.”
The Jews, like their Arab neighbors, have a right to self-determination. Yes, this creates tension between Arabs living in Israel who feel that they live in a country at odds with their identity. For this reason, many of them have chosen not to apply for the citizenship that is offered to them. But if Lattanzi-Silveus is truly against apartheid, why has he not called for divestment from Saudi Arabia, where apostasy is punishable by death? Why has he not decried the inhuman legal code of Iran, which imposes an estate tax only on non-Muslims? And what of Egypt, where President Mohamed Morsi has described Jews as the “descendants of apes and pigs?”
In its editorial response to Israel-criticism on campus, The Herald quoted Thomas Friedman: “Criticizing Israel is not anti-Semitic, and saying so is vile. But singling out Israel for opprobrium and international sanction — out of all proportion to any other party in the Middle East — is anti-Semitic, and not saying so is dishonest.” The Herald would do well to actually heed his words before publishing another piece of denigration.
David Kaufman ’16
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