FOR SHAME
Advocates of Human Rights often find themselves at odds with people who ideologically support actions of different states. An instance of this kind of confrontation happened last Tuesday, right here on the ASU campus, when students from diverse backgrounds walked out in protest of a talk by a former Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldier on the "Ethics of the IDF." Although I am not a member of Students for Justice in Palestine, I wholeheartedly joined in the protest. Talking about the "Ethics of the IDF" while it is accused of committing war crimes and possible crime against humanity by the United Nations is shameless propaganda.
This is the same IDF that is responsible for maintaining the longest military occupation in modern history. Amnesty International called IDF’s operation in Gaza, in December 2008 and January 2009, “22 days of death and destruction.” The U.N. investigation by Richard Goldstone found that "the assault was designed to humiliate and terrorize a civilian population." Roughly 1,500 people were killed by the IDF during the assault, a third of them women and children.
I wish that more people around the world were willing to educate themselves on the human tragedies going on around the globe. For now, I laud the people who put an effort in waking us up from ideologically induced stupors.
Adam Morales
Reader
