OPINION & EDITORIAL
Israeli sympathizers present false truths
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by Yazan Qaryouti
Monday, March 3, 2003
I write because I am a Palestinian refugee, a Palestinian who has no home, a land that was taken away.
The expulsions of hundreds of thousands of civilians were demonstrated; severe bloodshed of innocent Palestinian children, teens and elderly; violations of human rights.
Untill today, the Israeli government has failed its own people, Europe and, as a country that stands proudly saying it is a nation seeking peace, disregarded many United Nations resolutions.
Those are not just the words of a Palestinian. They are facts that you as the reader can find. Then you would be able to realize the type of propaganda that has been set up for you here in America. Living covered underneath a dark curtain, large enough to deprive you as a person the rights to be presented, the facts and the reality of the truth. Journalism has turned from an idea that presents facts — and equally concentrates energy on both sides of a conflict — into a business.
The method of “those who have the money buy the opportunity to publish any form of advertisement,” such as the Zionist one that was published in The Badger Herald on Thursday, Feb. 25, by campustruth.org.
This ad shows the fact that propaganda is being desperately spread so Israelis can establish — in the views of Americans and Christians — that they are better than Palestinians; thus Jews are better than Muslims, an idea so far from the truth as the Sun is from Earth.
Thus I am sorry to say that many people are ignorant of the facts of the conflicts in the Middle East, and mainly the Palestinian-Israeli issue, which makes it easy for this racist nonsense to be absorbed and believed.
Meanwhile, this affects the Palestinian population here in America, the land of so-called peace, love and equality.
Unfortunately, The Badger Herald is not the only newspaper that enabled such propaganda. Media have concentrated most of their energies on showing how Israel is the prey and Palestinians are the predators.
When an incident happens to the Israeli people and loss of a life is involved, the media creates a main event — failing to focus on the cause of this whole conflict, which is the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories by Israel, something that causes 10 times the suffering and catastrophes to the Palestinian civilians than it does to Israelis.
Why don’t the media concentrate on the hundreds that are daily killed or imprisoned, or of the destruction of homes and the murder of innocence that is performed daily by the Israeli military? This is terrorism performed by Israel, which people are desperately trying to ignore.
We need to ask ourselves, even ask one another: Why?
My advice to you, if you are a person who seeks the truth, go and search for it, because it won’t be handed to you on silver plate.
Talk to people who have visited that region of the world and ask them what they have seen, or come and attend a movie festival about Palestine (e-mail me if you seek more info about dates). Seek facts, for you shall realize the inhumane truth and reality that has been hidden from your sight for a long period of time.
Yazan Qaryouti is a pre-law student at MATC planning a degree in international business. He can be reached at yqaryouti@stu.matc.madison.edu.
