To the Editor:
On Tuesday, Zachary Ingber ’15 published a column regarding anti-Semitism and several cases of it that he claims have recently materialized. Ingber writes that one such case occurred when a panelist from “Students on Palestine and Israel: Perspectives on the Gaza War” supposedly remarked: “Jewish donors control elections.” I was that panelist, and that was a deplorable misrepresentation of my views. For starters, a quick check of Blog Daily Herald’s liveblog of the event will confirm quite clearly that the remark was as follows: “Our politicians’ hands are bound and need to support Israel to gain support for their campaigns.” This fact is well-known, as CNN cites 82 percent of Americans in 2011 as being in support of Israel, while Congress unanimously passed a resolution declaring their support of Israel’s operations in Gaza this past summer. Also this summer, a memo from Democratic candidate Michelle Nunn’s campaign was leaked which stated that maintaining pro-Israel ideology could be a vast base for the campaign’s financial support.
To skew words and veer clear of the truth is an insidious and deliberate attempt by Ingber to divert criticism of Israel into the realm of anti-Semitism. This is made doubly insidious by the fact that in his column, Ingber states: “Let me be nothing short of absolutely clear: It is perfectly acceptable and appropriate to criticize the actions of Israel without venturing into anti-Semitic territory.” However, he then utilizes that exact deception a few sentences later.
More profoundly, it subverts the entire aim of a panel convened by Palestinians, American Jews and Israelis alike, which was to demonstrate the ability for vigorous and impassioned discourse, without Islamophobia and anti-Semitism rearing their ugly heads. Even worse, this is an attempt to quell free speech and bold criticism by claiming racism. This misrepresentation of the facts is a poor exercise in journalism and deserves harsh condemnation. The inability to come to terms with Israel’s racist, violent and apartheid policies is one matter; willful deceit is another.
Peter Makhlouf ’16
Opinions Columnist
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