LETTER TO THE EDITOR
(In response to Michelle Peirano’s Feb. 28 article “Palestinian, Israeli student groups share protests days.”)
Students for Justice in Palestine at ASU displayed a mock apartheid wall, which currently exists on Palestinian land. The real wall in the West Bank is a 26 feet tall concrete wall, complete with watchtowers, trenches, electric fences, checkpoints and military patrol, (that spans) 500 miles. With 85 percent of the wall built on Palestinian land, it annexes 46 percent of the West Bank and cuts through villages, agricultural land and encircles Palestinian villages and cities, converting them into “Bantustans,” as stated by former South African President Nelson Mandela.
If these facts on the ground aren’t enough to represent an apartheid state, words from South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu may be more compelling: “I have been to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and I have witnessed the racially segregated roads and housing that reminded me so much of the conditions we experienced in South Africa under the racist system of Apartheid. I have witnessed the humiliation of Palestinian men, women, and children made to wait hours at Israeli military checkpoints routinely when trying to make the most basic of trips to visit relatives or attend school or college, and this humiliation is familiar to me and the many black South Africans who were corralled and regularly insulted by the security forces of the Apartheid government.”
For Markowitz to state that “it is not a war zone” unfortunately indicates she hasn’t stepped foot into Palestinian territory. With the U.N. Human Rights Council passing more resolutions condemning Israel than all other states combined, it doesn’t seem that Israel is so “peaceful.” For peace to really be achieved, the minimum would be for Israel to abide by international laws and to observe human rights. Mandela stated “The U.N. took a strong stand against apartheid and over the years, an international consensus was built, which helped to bring an end to this iniquitous system. But we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” As Americans providing about $8 million a day in military aid to Israel, we take part in this conflict, but we can also help bring an end to it.
Hanin Bearat
Ph.D. Candidate, Bioengineering
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