Comparing Israeli Soldiers to Nazis Absurd

Hello, what's going on here? Dan Markel writes a humorous piece entitled "Can We Call You Al?" (December 9) that, despite its many merits, might not have been completely thought through, and Haneen M. Rabie, President of the Society of Arab Students, finds an opportunity in her critique (letter to the editor, December 12) of this article to make a totally inappropriate comparison of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to the Nazis. It's mind-boggling. The warring parties of the Middle East are finally sitting down to take steps toward building peace and what's going on in the pages of The Crimson? One of the most ridiculous exchanges conceivable.

Markel's piece calls for an end to "stiff formality" between professors and students and uses the fact that the enlisted men of the Israeli Defense Forces are on a first-name basis with their superiors as an example of the advantages of the "egalitarian spirit." The comparison, while somewhat funny, is inherently absurd and indeed inappropriate. The Israeli Defense Forces are a military organization. They probably want to build a sense of comaraderie in their ranks because they just might all die together in the defense of their nation. However, death by a sniper's bullet isn't something that I have on my mind when I attend lectures. Lecture halls aren't trenches and the professor isn't our platoon commander leading us in a campaign against subject material. I have yet to hear a Gov professor throw on a helmet and flak jacket screaming: "Watch it boys, they've lobbed over a copy of Locke's Two Treatises of Government! Get down! Aaaaargh!"

If the point Markel was trying to make is that we should learn more effectively in an intimate atmosphere, then his example of Plato and Socrates teaching in "little study groups under the shade of the tree" should have been the focus of his article. It was a good point that was both humorous and relevant. The comparison to the IDF, however, wasn't of much substance.

I can understand why Rabie might be perturbed. The Israeli Defense Forces, while nowhere near as notorious as its Arab counterparts for human rights violations, is a military organization. It is a military organization that certainly lives up to every part of its name and will indeed use force in defense of Israel when necessary. Often times it is defending Israel from Palestinians. The results usually make for heart-wrenching, out-of-context, 30 second news clips on American TV. I won't dispute this. However, the Israeli-Palestinian situation is an extremely complex one, with a long history to it. It is not black and white, but rather a confusing fog of gray.

Rabie's letter has reduced an extremely compicated issue into a simplistic, one paragraph propaganda piece. She has jumped at the opportunity to reply to Markel's "Can We Call you Al" with "No, but I'll call you Nazi, schmuck." Constructive criticism this isn't. With the present efforts being made toward peace, this name calling isn't necessary and certainly doesn't contribute to any dialogue. Furthermore, to compare the IDF to the Nazis displays nothing more than a stunning ignorance of both the Holocaust and of the Intifada.

Finally, I am rather dismayed with The Crimson's handling of the situation. The Crimson almost seems to apologetically agree with Rabie in the editor's note following her letter. This note stated: "The author drew a clear distinction between the way the IDF structures itself as an organization and what that organization actually does." The Crimson does itself a disservice by granting Rabie's letter any legitimacy, particularly when Rabie is so eager to find ways to defame Israel that she needs to launch her attack from a rather meaningless editorial. Joshua Lehrer-Graiwer '95,   Chair, Harvard-Israel Public Affairs Committee