Darwish, MSI must re-evaluate message
I went to an event featuring a talk by Nonie Darwish (Nov. 12) that was sponsored by Miami Students for Israel (MSI) and the Diversity Affairs Council. It was promoted as an event "to bring together different organizations around campus," and to "educate the community about Israel and issues in the Middle East." While not expecting much objectivity or complete disclosure of the truth regarding Israel and issues of the Middle East, I was shocked to hear the amount of hatred and negativity expressed toward Arabs and Muslims in this speech. Darwish mentioned that Arabs and Muslims teach their kids to hate Jews and enjoy the killing and death of Jews. She also stated that women always are treated badly, discriminated against and forced to wear a veil.
While some incidents that take place in the Arabic world involve crimes against women and hatred toward Israeli Jews, a generalization is very dangerous and misleading. She spoke a great deal about the "hate towards Jews," but forgot to mention the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and should have at least stated the phrase as "hate toward Israel" and not "hate toward Jews."
I am really sad that Miami University is allowing sponsorship of such speakers and letting their students be misled and fed incorrect information. The article in The Miami Student ("Egyptian-born author to speak on Middle East," Nov. 11) described the speaker as promoting reconciliation and acceptance between Israelis and Arabs, but all Darwish did in her speech was attack Arabs and Muslims. She mentioned that Arabs started the war (in 1948) because they wanted to kill all of the Jews. She also mentioned that a Muslim man has the right to be disloyal to his wife according to Islamic laws and that-under Islamic laws-there is no minimum marriage age for women. All these statements can be proven wrong by simply referring to the distinct histories and cultures of the Muslim world as well as Islamic Sharia books. If one is to promote peace and community, one must at least be respectful to all people of all origins and provide criticism to all parties involved in wrongful actions. MSI president Ilya Budik was quoted in The Student as saying that, "Miami Students for Israel is a pro-Israel, non-religious organization whose main purpose is to promote a better understanding and educate people about Israel and other issues in the Middle East … the organization tries to reach out to people in the community who don't know much about Israel and MSI tries to correct preconceptions." If an organization identifies itself as a non-religious promoter of better understanding among people, why did it host an event in which the speaker engaged in false accusations and misinformation, inviting a speaker who spreads hatred instead of hope and peace?
Lina Jarad Graduate Student jaradl@muohio.edu
Taxpayers should not assume Oxford's burden
In an out-of-court settlement, the city of Oxford is buying 47 acres of what was to be the continuation of the Western Knolls development for $3.75 million. The appraised value of this property is less than $750,000. The city of Oxford is essentially paying a $3 million penalty and buying into one of the worst real estate markets in recent history. This is terribly wrong.
City council failed to uphold the law and denied the property owners their right to develop what was previously planned and duly zoned. It is the taxpayer who ends up paying for the city council's dim-witted decision. They pandered to a vocal bunch of neighbors instead of having the courage to uphold the law of which they are bound. Now we have to pay dearly for their indiscretion and put aside other meaningful projects.
The members of city council now are not the same bunch that caused this problem, yet they seem to have the same arrogant attitude that puts the right of the landowner subservient to their whims. The city should be working on behalf of property owners and not against them. One of the basic foundations of our country and one of the things that makes America great is the right of land ownership.
The city council members that caused this predicament don't have to pay for the consequences of their actions, the taxpayers do.
The Oxford City Council acted contrary to the law. The city was sued and the taxpayer pays. Is anybody else outraged?
Marc Biales Oxford resident
UN should boost efforts to quell African violence
Frantz Fanon once said, "If Africa is a revolver, then Congo is the trigger." Recent history backs up his metaphor. In 1998, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was the battlefield for what has become known as Africa's World War, which directly involved eight African nations and resulted in over 5 million deaths. Despite a formal end to the war in 2003, intense fighting continues and innocent civilians are constantly caught in the crossfire. Recently, the conflict has flared up in the Kivu province as a Rwandan backed rebel group, led by Laurent Nkunda, began a campaign to capture the city of Goma. The genocidal atrocities that the world witnessed in Rwanda in 1994 have spread like a virus into neighboring Congo. Nkunda's Tutsi dominated rebel group claims to be protecting the Congolese Tutsi minority from Hutu militants. Congo's president, Joseph Kabile, is fueling ethnic conflict as well by arming Hutu militia groups to fight against Nkunda's forces. Both sides are accused of committing atrocities and crimes against humanity. In particular, there has been a hidden war against the women of Congo as rape has been used as a weapon by all parties in the conflict.
Seventeen thousand UN peacekeepers are currently in east Congo, trying to maintain peace and stability in the region, but their effectiveness is greatly hampered by size and mandate. Seventeen thousand may sound like a lot, but in a country the size of Western Europe this translates into only one peacekeeper for every 10,000 people. Moreover, the UN mission in the DRC has no offensive mandate to stop Nkunda's rebels. Despite the recent cease-fire and pullback of rebel fighters from the frontlines, reports of clashes and violence against civilians persist. Fear of the situation spreading into another region-wide conflict grows as Angola promises to send troops into the region to support the Congolese army.
The legacy of Rwanda's genocide casts an ominous shadow over the situation in East Congo, and one wonders if, like then, we will pronounce "never again" half-heartedly and only after the fact. However, there is still hope for the attaining peace and security for Congolese civilians. The UN Security Council has approved a request to increase the UN peacekeeping forces by 3,100. Yet, this by itself will not be enough. We need to keep pressure on the UN to strengthen the peacekeeper's mandate to protect the civilians from violence. We need to let our elected officials know that working towards lasting peace in the Congo is necessary to ensuring regional stability. The situation in the Congo urgently demands our attention and must be resolved before it is too late to prevent another African World War. This is not just another tragedy in the world. What is happening to the innocent civilians there is a global injustice, and we have a moral imperative to help bring it to an end. Let's make "never again" a statement of resolve and not a mere platitude.
Daniel Beck Member Stand Miami University Chapter beckdp@muohio.edu
