Letters to the Editor

Palestinian Authority not innocent of terrorist activity

I'm writing in response to Alexandra Snyder '03's opinion piece that ran yesterday ("Chicken or the egg: Terminate the cycle of violence"). I will defend to death Snyder's - and anyone else's - right to disagree with me. However, I find the use of fallacious arguments when doing so considerably harder to stomach. I'd like to step through some of the more glaringly problematic statements in Snyder's column.

First, while the comparison between Yasir Arafat and Osama bin Laden is perhaps not totally accurate, it isn't completely off base - for a large part of his public life, Arafat has led a terrorist organization (one that has, according to some, rehabilitated itself) that has specifically targeted innocent civilians. In addition, while Arafat may not seek the Islamic state that Islamic Jihad and Hamas do, he has been perfectly content in the past to join with them in calling for the destruction of the state of Israel (all of it, by the way, and not just disputed portions thereof) and has actively courted their support. Additionally, whether Arafat may or may not have control over terrorist groups, there is evidence suggesting that he has made life easier or more difficult for them, depending on his political goals at a given point in time. That he has, on occasions too numerous to count, arrested known terrorists with blood on their hands (when he has arrested them at all), only to release them days later, is illustrative.

Snyder notes that despite conditions that are, admittedly, incredibly unfortunate, "the vast majority of Palestinians do not act violently against Israel." This is true, but Snyder omits the fact that, while most Palestinians have not engaged in violent acts, a large majority, in poll after poll, have been shown to support violence, including violence directed not only against soldiers but against mothers and fathers driving their children to school, children riding in school buses and, most recently, teenagers looking to have a good time on a Saturday night. This suggests that there may be a large number of Palestinians who do not want peace, among them members of Arafat's Fatah faction and members of the Palestinian Authority (PA) security apparatus who have, time and again, been apprehended or killed while sniping at civilians and planting roadside bombs.

It is perhaps true that "since 1948 the Palestinians' negotiators have compromised time and again" (so have the Israelis, but that is not my point at the moment). During the same time period, the Palestinians (and Arafat) have supported and engaged in five (count 'em) wars aimed at the destruction of Israel, never mind numerous hijackings and other terrorist acts. It bears repeating that the Palestinians call for the implementation of UN solutions that they have chosen in the past to oppose violently (e.g., the partition of the land that currently constitutes Israel into separate independent states).

In summary, I would indeed "like nothing more than for the violence to end." Sadly, I feel uncomfortable saying the same of the PA. To make one final point, if Sept. 11 teaches us anything, it should be the value of human life; terrorism is less a product of desperation than it is a product of the realization of terrors, often ruthless effectiveness and the blatant disregard for the lives of those one disagrees with or even has legitimate grievances against. Jonathan Sapan '03

Guard against racial profiling

We applaud Princeton University for its commitment to protecting the rights and privacy of its students and support the University's decision, announced on Nov. 28, to monitor requests for disclosure. It is vitally important that educational institutions take great care to ensure that requests for information are not being made solely on the basis of national origin.

We have strong objections to the practice of investigating persons on the basis of their country of origin, ethnicity, race or religion. No individual should be subjected to investigation without substantive evidence indicating his or her involvement with criminal activities. According to the ACLU, "Racial profiling" occurs when the police target someone for investigation on the basis of that person's race, national origin or ethnicity." To target students simply because they arrive from the Middle East is a form of racial profiling and is inappropriate in a society that values civil liberties. It is an act of prejudice that we oppose on moral grounds.

To better understand how Princeton University would respond to future investigations by the FBI, INS or other federal agencies, we hope that Office of General Counsel could assist in answering several questions. Are there criteria by which the University will decide whether or not information is being collected based primarily upon ethnicity or national origin? If the University receives a request for information that the University decides is profiling students based upon their national origin, will the University comply with the request or will such information be withheld until the University has had its concerns addressed by the courts, law-enforcement agencies, etc.? Should the University have concerns about a request for information, will the University community be informed of those concerns? Will students be informed of requests for information specific to their person? Would the University consider issuing a statement in opposition to racial profiling, both with regard to current investigations and as a point of principle?

We thank you for the time and effort you have already dedicated to considering these difficult issues and for your consideration of our questions. We urge Princeton University to consider a position of non-compliance to investigations that appear to be primarily motivated by considerations of national origin or ethnicity. We look forward to further correspondence. Amnesty International, Princeton Arab Society of Princeton Muslim Students Association Nassoons National Work Rights Institute Princeton Footnotes Princeton Justice Project Princeton Peace Network Princeton Prison Project South Asian Students' Association Students for Progressive Education and Action Sustained Dialogue on Race Relations Third World Center Turkish Student Association