In response to Dagan Sassarini’s Nov. 29 letter to the editor, “Sun Devils for Israel misguided in search for peace.”
Over the past several years the State Press has featured publications related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Although I am certainly not calling for an end to publications on the topic, the State Press has allowed itself to become the “middle man’ for ravenous “#TeamPalestine” and “#TeamIsrael” (facetious hashtags included) advocates trying to “own” each other through letters to the editor.
The fact is that these groups are only useful for having nasty shouting matches and counter-protests to one another on campus. Although I am sure individual members may sometimes engage in civil discussion with each other, the fact remains that members of these two groups are often so entrenched in their ideologies that their nasty bickering is really just a symptom of whatever their dogmatic religious or intellectual ideology is. Both groups (probably Students for Justice in Palestine more so than Sun Devils for Israel, based on my observations) are guilty of spending a huge amount of time trying to “educate” ASU students on a conflict that is complex and intricate by its nature.
It’s an issue that has roots in religious claims and political intricacies spanning through the last century or so; it is not an issue that should be “taught” to college students via obnoxious and fallacious one-liner slogans, spectacles, and “zinger” letters to the editor. It deserves several thick books checked out from the library.
Ashlee Greene
Alumna
