Nothing complicated about Palestinian conflictI am in shock about your editorial. The Varsity is agreeing on a ban on speech on a political subject at a university. That is so out of character with The Varsity whose every issue I read for four years. What is happening at the University of Toronto? Could it be that rising tuition has driven all sensible people from The Varsity? I truly hope not. The demonstration at Concordia against Benjamin Netanyahu was not against freedom of speech at all. It was against an unrepentant war criminal being allowed on their campus. You say that no one can resolve the “complicated” Israeli-Palestinian conflict. What is so complicated about it? Israel is occupying and perpetrating a holocaust on Palestinians. It has robbed them of land, sent them to refugee camps (modern-day concentration camps) and routinely bombs them. Not only that, but Israelis refuse to accept any criminal or civil responsibility for their actions. Israel has violated more UN Security Council resolutions than any other country. Benjamin Netanyahu presided over much of that. Zionism has been equated with racism by every country but the U.S. and Israel. What is complicated about that? Concordia students did not riot at other students making a case for Israel. They riot at their university allowing and welcoming a war criminal and mass murderer into their campus. These are two very different things. That man should be behind bars. The Varsity, if anyone, should demand freedom of speech at universities, and it should seek justice for all peoples.Oscar BrainAnti-Israel = Anti-Semitism?The very suggestion that anti-Jewish sentiment still exists and still helps shape political opinions draws charges of hyper-sensitivity. An objective analysis, however, provides no other reasonable explanations for the hateful anti-Israeli literature on campus. The evidence that anti-Semitism, or at least an extreme insensitivity to Jewish concerns, exists in the minds of many students is overwhelming. Adamant support for the PLO, led by the murderous Yasser Arafat, which has for the majority of its existence sought to gain statehood by “driving the Jews into the sea,” is understandably troubling to Jewish students. Also upsetting are the unceasing and vitriolic allegations of “human rights violations” committed by Israel. Israel is an oasis of democracy in a literal desert of tyranny, the only nation in the entire region where the rule of law is supreme and human rights are aggressively defended by a representative government and an independent judiciary. I do not have the space to present a litany of the appalling human rights abuses of other Middle Eastern states. Israel’s infractions pale in comparison. It is easy to understand why Jews suspect anti-Semitism is the answer when they ask themselves why so many students speak so passionately about Israel’s relatively mild transgressions while they are mute about the crimes of its neighbours. After all, what is prejudice if it is not pointing at a common trait as singularly despicable when it exists in one particular group?I believe the majority of students at the U of T accept the practical necessity of a Jewish national home as well as its moral right to defend itself against terrorists. A sizeable and vocal minority, however, continually singles out Israel for unfair criticism and, sadly, anti-Semitism is the only answer I can arrive at when I ask myself why. Ben EisenGetting “Syrias” about Lebanese independenceOn November 22, Lebanon celebrated the 59th anniversary of its “Independence Day.” On such a day, the Lebanese people have been accustomed to sing freedom and sovereignty anthems, reminisce about past heroism and glory, and parade in the streets of their homeland. Today, we have been deprived of our independence. So tell me, what is there to celebrate? Is a state independent when its domestic and foreign relations are controlled by another state? Today Lebanon is no longer a sovereign and independent state, with 25,000 Syrian soldiers occupying the land. Until 1990, Lebanon was the only country in the Middle East that enjoyed a just democratic system. Alas, no more. It’s now a country controlled by the Syrian dictatorship regime and its people are treated as second-class citizens. Today, a citizen in Lebanon does not enjoy any kind of independence. People avoid thinking about tomorrow because the foreign regime of Syria exposes them to brutal injustices. It neglects their personal and national interests and forces them to abandon their land and emigrate. This puppet government currently in Lebanon shows blind subservience to their masters in Damascus. It is our hope that some time soon, Lebanese Independence Day will not be a commemoration, but will once again be a celebration. Charbel Constantine
