In his Jan. 18 letter, ("Alumnus Differs With Columnist, Israel Is Ready to Make Peace") Joshua Isserman repeats a number of well-worn arguments to support the continued military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. His claim that former Prime Minister (Ehud) Barak offered the Palestinians a state is entirely misleading: Barak's "offer" would have consolidated Israeli control over the economy, the borders, even the air space and water supplies of the Palestinian territories. Israeli settlements and military checkpoints would have stayed in place (as they have anyway), making a viable Palestinian state impossible.
Indeed, all the post-Oslo Israeli governments have worked to extend Israeli control of the Palestinian lands through settlements and house demolitions; the "peace process" turned out to be a cover for a massive land-grab.
Isserman lauds Barak's offer for the return of 100,000 refugees -- yet this would comprise less than 3 percent of the Palestinian refugee population (a population created by the expulsions of 1948).
Isserman echoes (Ariel) Sharon in holding Arafat solely responsible for the continued violence. As I asked in my column last week, where are the calls for Sharon to "rein in the extremists?" The prime minister would have to start with himself -- his record of atrocities stretches back to the early 1950s -- and then perhaps he could deal with the excesses of his army and of the fanatical settlers that his government arms and unleashes against unarmed Palestinians.
Violence and inhumanity are to be denounced and opposed regardless of the source or the "justification." Yet those who reflexively defend Israeli government actions seem either oblivious or indifferent to the terrible suffering inflicted upon the Palestinian people. Not only have the Palestinians incurred far more deaths and destruction than the Israelis, their entire population must endure comprehensive and unrelenting collective punishment. An honest examination of the history of this conflict would compel Isserman to reconsider his arguments.
John Cox
Graduate Student
History
