Levitan Slams Rahman's Rhetoric

Author: Katya Levitan

I am here to answer Wasim Rahman's call to the Jewish community in the last edition of The Campus and to "also speak with conscience" when discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Of course, anyone who's read the article knows that the full version of the call is to have "someone from the Jewish community also speak with conscience and echo the message of the New Left posters and of Israeli groups such as Peace Now and Gush Shalom, which all maintain that Israeli security will only come from peace, not the other way around." Well, I'm here today to "also speak with conscience," but that would be antithetical to echoing the messages of both the New Left and the Gush Shalom/Peace. Rahman stated, "I believe that the events of the past month in the West Bank demonstrate to us, as Americans, that our current position of unrestrained financial and political support for the Israeli government is wrong and must end immediately."

The events in the West Bank? I will take it upon myself to presume that Mr. Rahman is talking about Jenin. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't The New York Times just publish an article by David Stout about that? "I've seen no evidence of mass graves, and I've seen no evidence that would suggest a massacre took place," Mr. Powell told a committee hearing. He said he based his conclusion on a recent visit to the camp by a State Department official.

Clearly, people died in Jenin, people who were terrorists died in Jenin," Mr. Powell went on, "and in the prosecution of that battle innocent lives may well have been lost." This is from April 24 online edition of The New York Times.

Granted, Mr. Rahman's article was written before April 24, but rumors of "no atrocities committed" were circulating in the press well before that. But then again, why let facts get in the way of a good theory?

Next, Mr. Rahman said, "… we believe that despite everything that has happened and will happen in the Middle East, students at Middlebury College support an independent Palestinian state."

Wow! Stop! Hold your horses! Or rather, flip to paragraphs three and four of Mr. Rahman's article: "I am stunned by students, predominantly Jewish, on our campus who are absolutely unwilling to accept that Israel can ever be wrong … I realize that Israel is important to them, yet I cannot imagine that they would let their Jewish identity be completely defined by it … An example of such blind allegiance is the slogan "Wherever we stand, we stand with Israel." This slogan speaks to the outright refusal to criticize any policy of the Jewish state…"

Do I really need to point out the obvious, or does everyone already see it? I hope that if I ever need a spokesman for my cause, it won't be you Mr. Rahman. Oh, no, I'm not attacking you, just your blatant hypocrisy and utter cretinism.

But I seem to have forgotten something, Mr. Rahman's statement, "…Their allegiance to Israel becomes harmful to the United States when it has no limits and fails to see reason." It's nice that you care about the U.S., Mr. Rahman, but that statement smacks of the Dreyfus affair. You probably don't know what that is, but it's worth the time to read up on the matter. After all, the state of Israel owes its creation to the man much influenced by the Dreyfus affair. So be careful when throwing treason accusations around, or you might unwittingly help your sworn enemy.

In the third paragraph he stated, "Conventional wisdom tells us that the first thing to disappear in propagandist culture is the ability to criticize." Funny you should mention that, Mr. Rahman, especially on the same page as the New Left. When the non-existent "Israeli atrocities" were just beginning to be heralded by the media, Shahan Mufti, who, as far as I understand, is one of the leaders of the New Left, showed me a newspaper article from The Independent, claiming that Israel massacred hundreds of Palestinians. I told him then that I would prefer to wait for more information to come out. Then, as truth began to emerge, I kept emailing him one article after another confirming my suspicion that Israel is, once again, free of guilt. Strangely, Mr. Mufti has yet to respond to my e-mails; even more strangely, he ignores my presence at Proctor, Voter, the Grille, etc. I'm not looking for an apology; I just want an admission of reality from someone who I know is highly intelligent and sane. So please, Mr. Rahman, don't ever mention "the New Left" and "conscience" on the same page ever again. Finally he wrote, "… you must speak out and let the campus know that a moderate position does exist — one that does not believe in the proliferation of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and Golan Heights and does not believe that destroying Palestinian homes will lead to a more secure Israel." Not that you would imagine it, Mr. Rahman, but such a position would include not believing in the use of terror, use of horrendous propaganda in the Palestinian textbooks, calls of the Muslim clergy to "kill Jews and Americans wherever you see them," etc. Are you sure you're ready for that? I'm tired of quoting your nonsense, Mr. Rahman, so I'll just refer to it, and anyone interested in it can find it and read it. The issue of the reserve soldiers, who refuse to serve in West Bank and Gaza, or "refuseniks," is quite interesting. There is a whole movement in Israel aimed at replacing the empty spaces those refuseniks left with people who wish to serve. So far, several thousands have signed up. And no, the refuseniks are not anti-Jewish or anti-Zionist, they're cowards who undermine the very essence of democracy. Democracy works by imposing the will of the majority onto the entire population. And so, if Israel as a country decided that the army needs to be involved in West Bank and Gaza, the soldiers must obey. Their refusal to protect the nation in times of trouble is cowardly, not honorable.My last point to the readers: I do not intend here to explain or justify Israel's actions — there are organizations dedicated to this. My sole aim is to point out once again, for those still unaware, that hypocrisy runs rampant on campus, and that no organization is immune to it. And to Mr. Rahman: Come visit me in Israel some time. I'm planning to settle down in the Negev Desert this October. Until that time — Physician, heal thyself.