On Monday, January 25, Palestinian supporters staged a peaceful rally. Its intention was to create a consciousness among Penn State students and the local community of the brutalities suffered by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank over the last six weeks.
The eight people killed last week raises the unofficial total of Palestinians killed by Israeli troops since December 8, 1987 to 48.
As I walked by the front of the HUB at 10 that Monday morning, I saw a student handing out flyers for the demonstration.
As I stood to watch him, almost every student I saw tried to avoid the distributor, shifting left and right to get out of his way. Those few who did accept the form took a few steps, crumpled it in their hands and tossed it away.
I am not now and have never been anti-Jewish and I am not anti-semitic, a word which has been thrown around a lot lately, but almost always misused. I respect the Jewish religion and all true practioners of that creed.
But I can't tolerate oppression in any form, no matter who's practicing it. That brings me back to the theme of this column, student apathy -- particularly towards the Middle East. I'm sure a lot of you reading this column are thinking, "What difference does it make to me what happens over there, half a world away?"
Last week, a classmate of mine told me what he thought about the present situation in the Middle East. "That stuff's boring," he said. "I really don't have time to worry about people in other countries. We should worry about our own people."
This guy's comments really got to me. This guy is a friend of mine and I know his intentions were good but what he said got me thinking. I'd like to key in on the last sentence. I agree 100 percent that we should worry about our own people. However, the United States last year provided $4.2 billion in aid to Israel, that's one-third of the nation's foreign aid expenditures for last year.
Stop and think for a minute what this money is being used for. Israel has used this money to build up its military machine and to tighten its iron vise over the occupied lands of Palestine. Bottom line: your tax dollars are being used by Israel for oppression. We could put this money to much better use by sheltering the homeless and feeding the hungry of this nation.
Student apathy on American campuses is nothing new. It's been rampant for the last 15 years. It wasn't always that way though. Students were concerned enough about America's illegitimate presence in Vietnam to make their views known. Intense student pressure was eventually a direct cause in forcing U.S. withdrawal from Southeast Asia.
As every high school kid knows now, the tumultuous period from 1965- 75 was marked by the Kent State massacre of May 4, 1970, which left four students dead, shot down by National Guardsmen. This event instantly became a part of every American's consciousness.
However, since the Vietnam fiasco came to a whimpering halt in 1975, students across America have been quiet.
Unfortunately, the same kind of thing that happened at Kent State is taking place almost every week in the occupied territories of Palestine. The problem is that until recently, we haven't heard much about the Palestinians who are being killed or injured on a regular basis, because of the inherently biased attitude of the American media in favor of Israel. Like it or not, it's true.
The message has been sent out to students thousands of times -- get involved -- but nobody seems to give a damn.
Most of us here at Penn State are from well-off middle or upper-class families. After class, we can all go back to the safe haven of our homes and forget about what's happening around us. Every American has the inalienable right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Young Palestinians today are being denied these rights.
Forget about the last two rights, many Palestinians today don't get past right number one, the right to life. The majority of the people being beaten and killed out there are the same age as you and I, with hopes and dreams just like us.
Last week, I talked to a student from Glasgow, Scotland. In the following words, he described the attitude of the average American towards events in the Middle East: "You look at the T.V. screen and you don't give a damn about what's going on, but you're the one responsible for what's happening there."
You can do something about what's happening in the Middle East. Write a letter to your local Congressman asking him to support a motion in the House for a temporary suspension or cut-back of aid to Israel. Call a congressman. Talk to your friends about it. But do something.
We can pressure this administration to reassess their policies towards Israel. A temporary suspension or even a significant cut-back of U.S. funding would force Israel to get serious on this issue, and perhaps push them towards adapting a more humane attitude towards the people whose lives they control.
In South Korea last year, students staged mass demonstrations on the streets against the dictatorial regime of President Chun. The protests started in June, 1987 and continued for the next five months until student pressure forced Chun to allow the first open presidential election in that country in 16 years.
At least one student was killed and countless numbers were injured but South Korean students weren't afraid to take a little physical pain to gain the freedom that they cherished.
Throughout Europe last month, thousands of students marched in support of the Palestinians. The groups were comprised not only of Palestinians, but included large numbers of local students.
These students around the world are not afraid to stand up for justice.
Why can't we capture some of the spirit, the sense of caring and compassion that these students have shown?
Here at Penn State however, the leaders of the USG and the CCSG, who initiallly supported the demonstration, quickly withdrew their support on the day of the rally, claiming that the march was "anti-semitic." Yeah, there's that word again. Their withdrawal showed two things:
1. A lack of principles in reneging on a committment.
2. A mis-understanding of the meaning of the word "semitic."
This last topic has been dealt with in depth by many students, so I'm not going to waste your time here explaining it again. The first point however, is of prime importance: a failure to stand up for what one deep down knows to be just.
Now, I know that these leaders are representing the entire university community, and they're worried about making "politically insensitive" statements, but that can't justify their actions. This wasn't a politically motivated demonstration but one spurred by humanitarianism. And at times like this, you've got to have the courage to stand up for what you know is right.
We don't have to accept the status quo. It is not our option but our obligation to stand behind those who have to fight for what we take for granted.
"You can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out a fire." -- Peter Gabriel in honor of slain South African civil rights leader, Steve Biko.
