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Dear Editor:
In
the 1930s many people contributed to the Zionist movement in spite of questionable
tactics on the part of some factions like the Stern gang, in the context of
government indifference toward the plight of European Jews. But now the Stern gang has evolved into the
Likud; the Zionist movement has gone over to the dark
side; and the worthy cause is the defense of the people it is oppressing: the
Palestinians. And this time the government
and sympathizers like the Post (“The Al-Arian Defense,” Editorial, Feb. 24) are
not just indifferent to the suffering, but hostile to those who seriously
oppose it.
The
government and the Post apparently feel that what constitutes proper opposition
to Israeli policies on the part of those adversely affected by them cannot
involve taking up arms. (For example,
after resistance fighters managed to take out an Israeli military vehicle a
week or two ago, Palestinians were supposed to be passive as the army bulldozed
houses and killed some twenty people in retaliation for the attack.) If you contribute financially to factions
that do you are subsidizing “terrorism,” and if you actually get involved with
them you too are a “terrorist,” subject to imprisonment (no doubt without the
necessity of bringing formal charges or allowing access to an attorney if you
are not a citizen, and maybe even if you are).
It’s
a good thing I don’t have money to spare for worthy causes these days. In fact, I’d better hurry and get this letter
in the mail before Attorney General Ashcroft, supported by the Post, gives
another of his press conferences to announce that stating opinions such as
mine constitutes giving aid to “terrorism” and is an actionable offense.
Sincerely,
(2/24/03)
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