TO THE EDITOR:
Last week, Angela Davis delivered the annual MLK Memorial Lecture. She spoke of injustices in Ferguson and problems that we as a Black community still encounter today and made valid points. However, her stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict troubles me. My concern is that the audience listened to a multifaceted, complex issue from a one-sided perspective and assumed what she said to be true because it came from a person of such prestige.
Israel is a country that needs to defend itself and has established checkpoints to prevent attacks, like what happened last week. A Palestinian man illegally entered Tel Aviv, an Israeli city not in disputed territory, and stabbed at least 11 people. His actions were celebrated by Hamas — the ruling party in Gaza and a party that the United States, as well as other countries and organizations, have condemned as a terrorist organization. Angela Davis mentions these security measures but fails to mention that they exist because events like this attack are not isolated.
Furthermore, Israel is a country that encourages and practices diversity. This is evident in the service of women, Arabs, Muslims, Christians, etc. in the Knesset, the national legislature of Israel.
It is home to a variety of religious minorities and guarantees their right to practice. These facts are necessary to consider when talking about Israel.
Olivia Byrd
Senior
Hispanic Linguistics
