Letter to the Editor, 1/14/09

To the Editor, ‘ ‘ ‘ Clearly, Jayson Myers makes an effort to give both sides of Monday’s… To the Editor, ‘ ‘ ‘ Clearly, Jayson Myers makes an effort to give both sides of Monday’s story, ‘Pitt students, professors react to conflict in the Gaza strip.’ However, there are still some things I have to mention. First, in the second paragraph, the writer compares two things that shouldn’t be compared. He says that Chabad House believes in the validity of Israel’s aggression, but then he goes on to say that the Muslim Student Association and the Students for Justice in Palestine argue that Palestine has a legitimate claim to the Israeli territory. From reading this, it seems as if the writer asked these groups different questions. Why is he asking the Muslim and Justice in Palestine groups about the ‘legitimate claim to Israeli territory’? He should be asking them about the current offensive to make his comparison of the different groups valid. ‘ ‘ ‘ Also, the writer mentions that it is part of Jewish understanding that you are supposed to love your neighbor. It would have been more comforting for me to see him explain that this is also something deeply rooted in Islam as well. ‘ ‘ ‘ Finally, I have to disagree with Professor Goldstein, who says the conflict is over a piece of property. The Palestinian people want the right of return and to live in a comfortable setting, not just to possess more property. And I think Goldstein should stop with phrases such as, ‘You guys have to cut this crap out.’ Let’s not act like we are morally above anyone involved in the conflict. Masar Sakr School of Engineering