To the Editor:
Things have heated up once again between the Israeli government and the Palestinians. In fact they have more than just heated up, war has broken out in the occupied territories and the Gaza strip. A tragic war whose only victors are pain and death, hate and rage. The Intifada, after resting for a while, has come back in a whirlwind of newer and more atrocious forms of violence. Now Palestinian police have automatic assault rifles, Israelis have apache helicopters firing on Palestinian civilians. The Israeli newspaper Maíariv bared the headline in huge block letters: War In the Territories on September, 27th, noting 11 Israeli soldiers killed, 58 wounded and 40 Palestinians killed and over 500 wounded. Most likely these numbers have increased in the last two weeks respectively, the Palestinians maintaining the higher death toll. Chris Hedges' article in the New York times, Oct. 3, frighteningly breaks down the situation of the Palestinians youths, a generation growing up knowing curfews, shootings, closed borders with Israel and grinding poverty. He reports that Palestinians live in cities that lie ringed by Israeli tanks and armored vehicles. The Israeli Newspaper Maíariv shows pictures of Israeli youth at protests bearing signs: Netanyahu are we making war for sure and not another war, and this state is not a game. The Al-Ahram, Cairoís English written newspaper has a picture of Israeli youths bearing signs, Bill Clinton save our country from Netanyahu.
Consistently we are flooded by information, from theorists and analysts. Last year we were flooded and people got mad, got frustrated, tempers flared, insults were exchanged, feelings got hurt. Let me repeat, Palestinians and Israelis are really suffering. We can learn and observe and then theorize until the world destroys itself. Nothing is wrong with theorists or intellectuals, it is necessary to understand what we do before we act. But when we are drowned in words we become fearful.
There are two equally important aspects behind effective political action (1) a basis of information (2) a passion for action. Here at Oberlin I fear that although we are very proficient in the facts, the analysis, the theoretical side of the crisis but when it comes to action we become like statues, frozen, impotent and afraid. All our energy is going into studying, we must pull ourselves out of this flood of information and act! By giving up a little there may be more to gain.
We can always learn more, there will always be different ways to see the issue, but all the information in the world matters nothing if we are not ready to act. Before we can make any progress we must overcome our stagnant fears and immobility.
Just like our political leadership. If you are voting for Bill Clinton you should be concerned about his actions in this time of crisis. This country can help fix this situation, this country can influence Israel if it applied the right amount of pressure. Israel needs the U.S., diplomatically and economically. If our political leadership (which represents us to the world) does not act soon, it will have failed dramatically and stood idly by while innocents on both sides are killed.
Copyright © 1996, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 125, Number 6; October 11, 1996
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