Accusation of racism was "thoughtless"
Issue date: 12/5/08 Section: Opinion
To the Editor:
While I do have conflicting political beliefs about the signs in question, I wrote to discuss the specific incident Rami Mikati and Uri Strauss discussed in their letters.
The thing that triggered me to write this letter was the disgusting way in which Strauss responded to the vandalism of the signs. As a disclaimer, I believe it was wrong to vandalize the signs. Freedom of speech is something we value in America. For some individual to be so disrespectful is unacceptable. Despite this, it is not okay to write off the "sabotage" of the pro-Palestinian signs as the work of hateful Zionists who are therefore "insecure about their own political position." Because we do not know who vandalized the signs, this is more of a First Amendment issue as I have highlighted. It is the right of Students for Justice in Palestine to display their beliefs. It is my right to write about my beliefs in The Observer. It is not right for anyone to impede either of our opinions from being heard.
According to Mikati, the signs along the binary walkway were removed because SJP had not displayed their group's name on the signs as the rules require. In that respect, it was completely justified that the signs were removed. I do not want to sound contradictory: it is the right of all student groups to display signs such as those set up by the SJP, but there are rules that should be followed. Mikati goes on to say that the SJP requested permission to repost the signs and was denied, calling it "a disgusting and deliberate act of racism." I am insulted that someone would accuse the administration of the university of being racist. This accusation is thoughtless and rude. Unless the administration specifically cited the reason for denying the SJP's request to replace the signs as "not Zionist," it is unfair to blame the situation on racism. The administration was probably unwilling to grant the SJP permission to replace their signs because SJP had broken the rules previously.
I won't humor the rest of Mikati's claims with responses. Such claims can only be rewarded with shame that he insulted the administration of his own university. If the goal of SJP is to foster peace then their president should not propagate hate.
Kyle Berkowitz
Undergraduate Student
While I do have conflicting political beliefs about the signs in question, I wrote to discuss the specific incident Rami Mikati and Uri Strauss discussed in their letters.
The thing that triggered me to write this letter was the disgusting way in which Strauss responded to the vandalism of the signs. As a disclaimer, I believe it was wrong to vandalize the signs. Freedom of speech is something we value in America. For some individual to be so disrespectful is unacceptable. Despite this, it is not okay to write off the "sabotage" of the pro-Palestinian signs as the work of hateful Zionists who are therefore "insecure about their own political position." Because we do not know who vandalized the signs, this is more of a First Amendment issue as I have highlighted. It is the right of Students for Justice in Palestine to display their beliefs. It is my right to write about my beliefs in The Observer. It is not right for anyone to impede either of our opinions from being heard.
According to Mikati, the signs along the binary walkway were removed because SJP had not displayed their group's name on the signs as the rules require. In that respect, it was completely justified that the signs were removed. I do not want to sound contradictory: it is the right of all student groups to display signs such as those set up by the SJP, but there are rules that should be followed. Mikati goes on to say that the SJP requested permission to repost the signs and was denied, calling it "a disgusting and deliberate act of racism." I am insulted that someone would accuse the administration of the university of being racist. This accusation is thoughtless and rude. Unless the administration specifically cited the reason for denying the SJP's request to replace the signs as "not Zionist," it is unfair to blame the situation on racism. The administration was probably unwilling to grant the SJP permission to replace their signs because SJP had broken the rules previously.
I won't humor the rest of Mikati's claims with responses. Such claims can only be rewarded with shame that he insulted the administration of his own university. If the goal of SJP is to foster peace then their president should not propagate hate.
Kyle Berkowitz
Undergraduate Student
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