For the editor: I find Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing acolytes reprehensible. I hate what happened to innocent Gazans while Hamas still holds over 100 hostages. (“California college campuses become lightning rods for pro-Palestinian protests,” May 1.)
That said, where are the student protests against the harassment and displacement of the Rohingya by the Myanmar junta? Where are the protests against China’s genocide of the Uyghurs? Where are the protests against Russia for invading a sovereign nation, targeting civilians, and kidnapping children to take to Russia?
I have not seen any of these student protesters express their animosity against these evil acts of the government – it is only Israel that is the focus of the student protests.
Could it be because Israel is a Jewish state? This is a serious question that requires answers.
Barbara H. Bergen, Los Angeles
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For the editor: I am a proud Jewish scholar. Anti-Semitism is horrible and should have no place in our society.
However, nothing that happens to Jews in this country equals or surpasses the devastation that has befallen Palestinians in Gaza. Does recognizing this make me an anti-Semite?
Fred Smoller, Orange
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For the editor: The occupation of university facilities is a tactic that emerged from campus protests in the 1960s and 1970s against the Vietnam War. But universities are missing a great opportunity to revive another activity from this era: teaching.
What better place and time than this to invite faculty to teach the history of the region, along with contributions from political science, sociology and other departments, sharing perspectives, from all sides of the debate?
It may not change minds, but it does what universities are supposed to do: teach critical thinking and the importance of context.
Debra Kaufman, Venice
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For the editor: I would like to ask those protesting the war in Gaza: what have you accomplished?
You have not changed the trajectory of the war. You have not convinced the United States to end its support for Israel. You didn’t gain favor by singing “from the river to the sea.”
What you have done has spoiled the joy of back-to-school exercises for students who deserve to celebrate their educational journey with all the pomp and ceremony they rightfully deserve.
Susan Grossman, Los Angeles
This story was originally published in the Los Angeles Times.
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