The timeline:
1. US awards 7 Palestinians from Gaza Fulbrights. State Dept. conducts extensive security reviews of the students, finds each student not to be a threat.
2. Israel won't let the Palestinians leave, citing "security threats."
3. US State Dept. cancels all 7 students' Fulbrights.
4. US State Dept. reinstates all 7 students' Fulbrights.
5. Israel still won't let 3 students leave Gaza.
Israel is our "staunchest ally in the Middle East," and yet even when we conduct our own security investigations on these students, it's still not good enough for Israel. Somehow Israel knows something about these 3 students that the US, the global superpower, doesn't. Then our "ally" tells us what to do (i.e. cancel the Fulbrights). Condi Rice said it best: “If you cannot engage young people and give complete horizons to their expectations and their dreams, I don’t know that there would be any future for Palestine."
One of the 7 students, who wanted to get an MBA in the US, said: "If we are talking about peace and mutual understanding, it means investing in people who will later contribute to Palestinian society...I am against Hamas. Their acts and policies are wrong. Israel talks about a Palestinian state. But who will build that state if we can get no training?"
It's time Israel end its practice of collective punishment of innocent Palestinians.
News coverage:
Rice Says Houses Hurt Mideast Talks. NYT 6/16/08
The Lesson of the Fulbright Seven. NYT 6/8/08
Israel to Loosen Limits on Gaza Scholars. NYT 6/6/08
State Dept. Reinstates Gaza Fulbright Grants. NYT 6/2/08
US Withdraws Fulbright Grants to Gaza. NYT 5/30/08
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment