To the editor:
In the guest commentary "Palestinians clearly the ones suffering" (Opinion, March 13), Salma Taher asks us to take a step back and examine the situation, but her column reveals that she herself has not taken that step back. In fact, she shows a strong belief that Palestine has not done anything wrong, and has even questioned whether Israel should exist in the Middle East. Ultimately, a profound, innovative, and well-balanced column would have articulated the harms caused by the British use of eminent domain, a tool that governments can use to force individuals to sell their land with a certain degree of compensation.
In America, we see corporations like Wal-Mart manipulate eminent domain in order to acquire the land necessary for their superstores, but the response by the displaced individuals in America is not to bomb Wal-Mart premises. In this same sense, although the Palestinians were victims of eminent domain, a just response does not include participation in terrorist attacks and wars.
Additionally, the column lacks any understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is undeniable that Palestinians are dying because of the IDF, but there are also Israeli children, women and elderly who are dying because of terrorist actions. Taking things a step further, Locke’s social contract theory requires that the government protect the life, liberty and property of its citizens, and this is what the IDF is doing when it demolishes the home of a terrorist, or retaliates against a terrorist group. After a quick Google search, I was able to determine that in 2004, there were 15 suicide-bombings killing 117 and 367 suicide-bombing attempts that were thwarted by the IDF. Don’t forget the rockets that are regularly fired from the tops of schools and hospitals into Israeli homes, schools and crowded areas.
Benjamin Cohen-Kurzrock university studies freshman
To the editor:
In the guest commentary "Palestinians clearly the ones suffering" (Opinion, March 13), Salma Taher asks us to take a step back and examine the situation, but her column reveals that she herself has not taken that step back. In fact, she shows a strong belief that Palestine has not done anything wrong, and has even questioned whether Israel should exist in the Middle East. Ultimately, a profound, innovative, and well-balanced column would have articulated the harms caused by the British use of eminent domain, a tool that governments can use to force individuals to sell their land with a certain degree of compensation.
In America, we see corporations like Wal-Mart manipulate eminent domain in order to acquire the land necessary for their superstores, but the response by the displaced individuals in America is not to bomb Wal-Mart premises. In this same sense, although the Palestinians were victims of eminent domain, a just response does not include participation in terrorist attacks and wars.
Additionally, the column lacks any understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is undeniable that Palestinians are dying because of the IDF, but there are also Israeli children, women and elderly who are dying because of terrorist actions. Taking things a step further, Locke’s social contract theory requires that the government protect the life, liberty and property of its citizens, and this is what the IDF is doing when it demolishes the home of a terrorist, or retaliates against a terrorist group. After a quick Google search, I was able to determine that in 2004, there were 15 suicide-bombings killing 117 and 367 suicide-bombing attempts that were thwarted by the IDF. Don’t forget the rockets that are regularly fired from the tops of schools and hospitals into Israeli homes, schools and crowded areas.
Benjamin Cohen-Kurzrock university studies freshman
