Esensten Skirts the Issue

To the editors:

I don’t know that much about the situation in the Middle East, but from simply looking at what Jonathan H. Esensten ’04 wrote in his editorial, I can discern what he seems to think is so mysterious: why Israel is treated differently that “any other nation on earth” (Comment, “Let’s Repeat The Obvious on Israel”).The short answer is; it isn’t. North Korea and Iraq come as the most obvious examples of nations that would not have much luck getting people to sign a statement of support for them. Clearly, by talking about a double standard that treats Israel differently than “any other nation on earth,” Esensten is only talking about certain nations that he assumes meet certain criteria, such as being democratic, unrepressive, peace-loving. That assumption is precisely what is at issue! Esensten should stop playing innocent and make arguments that actually address the contentious issue.

Patrick M. Dolan ’03

March 5, 2003