HIPAC

To The Editors of the Crimson:

We are submitting this open letter to the Society of Arab Students, in response to Spencer S. Hsu's article, "Pro-Israeli Posters Stir Debate. We feel that it is relevant, not only to the Arab students, but to the Harvard community at large.

We, a group of concerned Jews and Zionists and members of Harvard Hillel's HIPAC committee, have been posting fact sheets not to enrage or frustrate you. Rather, these flyers show people that what we see on TV often lacks relevant facts. We are sorry that a statement in the second fact sheet offended you. We in no way intended the quotation to imply that all Arabs are Islamic. Similarly, the statement did not doubt Arab ability to run a democratic government, but rather called impossible a "Palestinian Liberation Organization 'democratic secular state.'" We apologize for the poor wording of the remark. Again, the purpose of these pamphlets is not to promote controversy or stifle debate, but to encourage meaningful intellectual discussion on the subject. In this respect the fact sheets are already showing signs of success, as attested to by the title of the Crimson article, "Pro-Israeli Posters Stir Debate."

The present situation has evolved from the conflicting national aspirations of the Jews and the Palestinian Arabs. In 1947 the UN partition plan provided a homeland for the Palestinians. Unfortunately, Egypt and Jordan occupied Gaza and the West Bank until 1967. at which time Israel took over these territories and part of the reponsibility for finding a long-overdue homeland for the Palestinians. Yet no simple solution exists. While we cannot expect Palestinians to live in another Arab country, neither can we expect Israel to relinquish the occupied territories without guarantees of peace from its Arab neighbors. As responsible Jewish and Arab students, we have the duty to engage in constructive dialogue. We openly invite you to join us to exchange views, participate in a forum, and work together to better understand each other's positions. Glen I.A. Schwaber '91   "10 facts a week" Coordinator   Jospeh Enis '91   HIPAC Co-Chairman   Laura E. Fein '91   HIPAC Co-chairman