Blaming the Victims?
I was shocked at all the letters in
the last issue of Satya (February 2001) denouncing Hanan Ashrawi
and Satya’s decision to print her essay, “Anatomy
of Racism”(November/December 2000). The common theme of the
letters—that the Palestinians are largely responsible for the violence
directed against theme—is disturbing in its total lack of compassion
for the victims. A recent Village Voice article described the pain
and
suffering endured by some of the 11,000 wounded, including 1,500 who
are crippled for life. Yet we are told to blame the stone-throwing
civilians,
rather than those behind the lethal M16s, helicopters and tanks.
I think Ashrawi roils so many people because she speaks the truth so
eloquently. “All we want,” she says, “is for the Israeli
army to leave us alone, for the occupation to leave.” She speaks
of dignity and rights, and calls on Israeli leaders to “chart
the course of a future unfettered by inequities of the past.”
I want to hear what Ashrawi and other Palestinians have to say, and
I applaud Satya for daring to publish her views. I challenge all compassionate
people to stop blaming the victims and begin addressing their grievances.
Joan Zacharias
Chatham, NY
I applaud Satya’s publishing an article
by Hanan Ashrawi, and I’m disturbed at three letters
in the February issue which object to it.
One of the writers identifies herself as from ‘Jews For Animal
Rights.’ But it seems she can’t extend her compassion to neighboring
members of her own species who have been dispossessed of their homes,
humiliated and deprived for decades of a chance for self-determination
and a dignified life. Racist generalizations about ‘the Arabs’
and apocryphal stories about Palestinian children with rifles can’t
hide the fact that the Israeli state, armed with helicopter gunships,
advanced aircraft, cluster bombs, and all the terrible panoply of modern
armaments—including nuclear weapons—has consistently used
its military might to oppress another race and pursue an aggressive
policy of expansion. Israeli attacks on civilian populations, not just
Palestinians but Lebanese people, continue, unfortunately, to be commonplace.
Against this, the desperate youths who throw stones are demonized by
Israeli propagandists.
Another writer suggests that Satya is ‘anti-Jewish, anti-Israel’
(falsely equating the two) for publishing a moderate Palestinian voice.
No, it isn’t anti-Jewish to criticize the racist policies of the
Israeli state, which is constructing an apartheid-style Bantustan system
in the occupied territories, and has imposed one of the longest military
occupations in history, against the condemnation of the entire world—excepting
the U.S which is using Israel as a military surrogate in its endeavors
to control the region. That path will continue to do more long-term
harm to Israeli society, and to the Jews, than would a policy of true
peace and non-violence.
Laurie Kirby
Woodstock, NY
Challenging Your Religion
In a recent book review (“Tinkering Around the Edges,”
Satya Nov/Dec 2000), I took issue with author Joseph Singer’s
claim that human beings are entitled to “dignity and security”
because we are created in the image of God, and said that, “An
ethical system that excludes the majority of sentient beings from its
protection is fatally flawed.” In a letter published in Satya
(“Failing Vision?” Jan 2001), Richard Schwartz takes that
sentence to mean that animal rights activists should reject the teachings
of the Bible.
Nothing could have been farther from my mind, and I apologize for not
expressing myself clearly. The notion that only humans have rights because
only we are created in the image of God has become a common theological
defense for animal exploitation. But it is nowhere to be found in the
Bible, and it does violence to the Bible’s highest teachings, which
are universal love and compassion. When examined with openness and integrity,
these teachings lead us to the recognition that animals are to be protected
and nurtured, not imprisoned, tortured, and killed. I agree with Professor
Schwartz that “Rather than rejecting religious teachings…we
should challenge people who profess to be religious to live up to their
religion’s highest ideals.” My comment was intended to be
just such a challenge to author Joseph Singer.
Norm Phelps
Spiritual Outreach Director
The Fund for Animals
