A Letter To The Editor:
As some of you may know, this past week the terrorist organization Hamas committed an unspeakable act of mass terrorism against Israeli citizens, resulting in the death of almost a thousand innocent civilians, including men, women, and children. There are even reports of public beheadings and rape.
Before I go any further, I fully acknowledge and am cognizant of the complicated, emotionally charged, and controversial nature of this entire situation. I also want to be clear that in my personal capacity I identify as on the Progressive Left, I am unabashedly Pro-Free Palestine, and have been critical of the Israeli government’s occupation of Gaza and illegal settlements in Palestinian territory. I have also been critical of Hamas’ tactics and their openly anti-semitic & genocidal publicly announced goals.
Having said that and hopefully made my position clear, I turn to CSU Long Beach, where a student group shared a social media post calling for a Pro-Palestinian “Day of Resistance” immediately following the terrorist attack and included a graphic of a hang glider, which was used by Hamas to carry out its terrorist attack on innocent men, women, and children.
Hamas does not speak for Palestine, and Hamas does not represent innocent Palestinians just trying to live peacefully in their homeland. Likewise, the Israeli government does not speak for and does not represent innocent Israeli citizens trying to live in peace with their families.
I find the student group’s post from CSULB deplorable, vile, and counter to any efforts to establish peace in the region, and reflecting incredibly poorly on the CSU System as a whole.
It is possible to condemn the terrorism committed by Hamas and still be Pro-Palestinian freedom.
It is possible to mourn, and not celebrate, the death of innocent Israeli men, women, and children, while being extremely and harshly critical of the Israeli government and the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.
I ask the student body at Channel Islands to be aware of what is happening on other CSU campuses. We as students each have a role to play in making sure that we as a CSU system, a campus, and individuals are not celebrating, even by accident, the death of innocent human beings in the name of a larger “greater good”.
We can be, and have a responsibility to be, better than this.
Andrew Fox
Student, CSU Channel Islands
Letter to the Editor: CSU Students Ought to be Aware
