Letters to the Editor 9/30

To the Editor,

I would like to comment on your coverage of the rally held on Sept. 28 on the… To the Editor,

I would like to comment on your coverage of the rally held on Sept. 28 on the corner of Forbes and Bigelow. In the edition of The Pitt News that was printed on Sept. 29, there was a photo of a member of Students for Justice in Palestine with a caption that did not indicate that any other student group was present at the rally [on Tuesday.] Panthers for Israel and the Pittsburgh Israel Public Affairs Committee held a pro-Israel rally [the same day] that coincided with the Students for Justice in Palestine protest. Members of the two pro-Israel organizations joined together with numerous supporters in order to display to the Pitt community that there is a strong pro-Israel voice on this campus. Students distributed information about Israel’s work with the environment, LGBT rights in Israel and Israel at the United Nations, as well as various facts about Israel and the peace process. Approximately 20 students were on Forbes and Bigelow showing support for Israel, a number that was bolstered by numerous passers-by who stopped to learn about Israel and talk to club members. The pro-Israel students who gathered [Tuesday] are passionate about the peace process and the well-being of all individuals whose lives have been affected by the conflict. We as an organization are committed to a peaceful Middle East in which Israel can exist within safe and secure borders. Panthers for Israel and the Pittsburgh Israel Public Affairs Committee are groups that are committed to educating the campus community about Israel.

Sincerely,

Samantha Vinokor

President, Pittsburgh Israel Public Affairs Committee

To the Editor,

I was very disappointed to see the biased coverage of the two Israel-related rallies on the cover of yesterday’s The Pitt News. The cover photo depicted only the anti-Israel students, even though the majority of the students present were demonstrating in support of Israel. The photographer for The Pitt News even had to stand in the sea of pro-Israel supporters to snap the photo depicting only the anti-Israel students.

Additionally, the photo chosen to run on the cover of TPN only further spreads misinformation about the Arab-Israeli conflict to our student body. The student’s misleading sign reads “Occupation is a crime.” Ironically, it is the Palestinians’ own government that is harming them most, either through Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority’s support of terrorists (Palestinian Media Watch, Jan. 5) or through Hamas stealing medicine and food supplies from their own people and burning down Palestinian children’s summer camps (Reuters, May 3). Hamas even recently reaffirmed their pledge to continue deliberately targeting and killing Israeli civilians (Jerusalem Post, Sept. 27).

Meanwhile, Israel, who these students claim as an occupying force, continues to aid Palestinian civilians. For example, Israel sends hundreds of truckloads of supplies into Gaza a day, often replacing the very supplies Hamas steals from its own people (Jerusalem Post, May 18).

I sincerely hope that TPN is more careful about monitoring its own biases in the future.

Micah Toll

Senior, Mechanical Engineering

Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America