From campus newspapers this week…
- There’ll be a panel discussion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at Oklahama State University this Thursday, and Jeremy McLean writes in The Daily O’Collegian that he hopes it can help tilt the scales in favor of the Palestinians:

Because of the influence of western media we are in large part conditioned to think “poor Israel� when we hear of the area’s ongoing troubles.
It does seem, however, that Israel gets a pass on much of its questionable behavior because of its friends in high places. When the United Nations resolved to create an Israeli state in 1947 it was decided that 55 percent of the territory that was then considered Palestine would be handed over to form Israel.
However, the state of Israel soon expanded in the inevitable war that followed in 1948. By the end of the war, the European-trained Israeli army controlled nearly 80 percent of what was formally known as Palestine and incorporated the occupied territory into their newly formed nation.
Seven-hundred fifty thousand Palestinians were left without a home and were placed in refugee camps where many of them still live today, nearly 60 years later.
I realize the Jewish population has faced enormous hardships and extreme persecution I can’t begin to comprehend. But, two wrongs don’t make a right.

- Divestment from Israel is not a good idea, Students for Israel President Ariel Drissman writes in Wayne State University’s The South End:

Recently, a debate has arisen on campus about whether or not it is plausible for Wayne State to divest itself from the state of Israel. What a brilliant plan! Like the university hasn’t lost enough money so far. Did someone say “budget cuts� and “program cutting?� And we know that the Michigan economy is doing so well that we can afford to ask universities and private businesses to stop doing business with Israel.
Why didn’t we think of this before? Because it’s a stupid idea, that’s why.
There are people who believe the situation in Israel is one of apartheid state. Guess who didn’t do their homework? What a funny accusation to make against the only democracy in the Middle East.

- Georgetown University sophomore Corey Prachniak uses the upcoming elections as a jump-off point to discussing the Middle East in The Hoya:

Last year, the Palestinian Solidarity Movement — a group that supports an economic, nonviolent approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — met on Georgetown’s campus. Many students called the members of this group “terrorists,� launching an inaccurate, intolerant and sensationalist campaign that blindly followed America’s hawkishly pro-Israel foreign policy and worked against an honorable (if controversial) peace-seeking group.
[…]
Congress did debate a fairly tempered resolution in support of Israel this past summer, but in the end, the debate was for naught. Congressman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) suggested condemning Hezbollah’s actions and reaffirming Israel’s right to self-defense while also “urging all parties to protect innocent life and civilian infrastructure.� But Congress rejected this relatively moderate statement in favor of a resolution which used language that granted full support and even praised Israel for its “longstanding commitment to minimizing civilian loss.� It is clear that Israel, like the U.S., has no such commitment.