La Voz

I am a liberal. I support selfdetermination for the Palestinians. I support a two-state solution.

And I support a withdrawal of Israeli settlements to pre-1967 borders.

I am also a Zionist. And, from 2002 to 2005, I served in an airborne infantry unit in the Israeli Defense Forces. As such, I was both saddened and offended by the demonstration held last Tuesday by the Muslim Students Association. In it, a mock Israeli checkpoint was set up in the Main Quad, and MSA members, dressed in Israeli fatigues, brutalized, humiliated and assaulted other students acting as Palestinian civilians.

The question that immediately came to my mind was, "How many checkpoints have these students been through, or even seen, that they feel qualified to portray them for the public?" I have been through, staffed and commanded hundreds. Simply put, Tuesday's demonstration was pure fiction.

Do human rights abuses occur? Yes. But they are the rare exception, not the rule. When they do occur, they hardly approach the cartoonish brutality portrayed by the MSA, and those responsible are swiftly and severely punished.

I have no problem with harsh criticism of Israeli policies, nor with fervent protest. But I do take objection when a group of students publicly slanders the young, conscientious soldiers that I served with and commanded.

It is this same type of lowbrow stereotyping, sophistry, and propaganda that lies at the heart of hate speech. Yes, some Muslims are terrorists, but how would the MSA respond if a De Anza club held a demonstration where caricatured Muslims were portrayed laughing as they blew up innocent civilians? They'd be outraged, and rightfully so.

These demonstrations only serve a negative purpose, widening the chasm between Jews and Muslims. Instead, we should all work towards bridging it.

Some might say that this is just street theater and that I'm taking it too seriously. But that position is both naive and ignorant: "street theater" led to the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, not by a Palestinian, but by a Jewish right-wing extremist.

Fifteen years earlier, Anwar Sadat of Egypt was assassinated by a right-wing Arab for similar reasons. To stage such a demonstration without having competent knowledge regarding this issue is irresponsible.

It convinces the layperson that the behavior portrayed is common. Even the flier MSA printed to promote the demonstration referred to it as "a day in the life" portrayal. One student said he believed the behavior portrayed occurs 25 percent of the time - an astronomically inaccurate figure by anyone's account, including the UN's.

This demonstration was an insult to anyone working to elevate the public discourse and bring about understanding and compromise, rather than fear and hate.

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