Tutu is anti-American and our graduating seniors should not have been forced to listen to him. He equated Bush with Bin Laden during his talk. This would not have come as a surprise to the University if they had done their homework and read previous speeches of his. They would also have found that he equated Jewish influence in the United States government with the power of Hitler and Mussolini. Although I doubt that the University of Pennsylvania is scholarly enough to have read Desmond's speeches in advance, I worry that maybe some Penn faculty did do their homework and chose to invite him anyway. Karl Ericson

I notice how those who are criticizing Penn for having Tutu speak and those accusing him of anti-semitism like to quote him completely out of context. If you read the full text of what he wrote in the Guardian last April (http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,706878,00.html) you can clearly see how balanced he is. Sarah Nachmias

I see that in my last post, the link to the Guardian article does not work. Therefore, here's an example of what I mean by his balanced point of view: "Israel will never get true security and safety through oppressing another people. A true peace can ultimately be built only on justice. We condemn the violence of suicide bombers, and we condemn the corruption of young minds taught hatred; but we also condemn the violence of military incursions in the occupied lands, and the inhumanity that won't let ambulances reach the injured." Sarah Nachmias

Contrary to Sarah's comments the Guardian article she quotes is not so balanced. Also contrary to Sarah's comments people who accuse Tutu of antisemitism don't do so because they like to do so but because of outrageous analogies he draws between the Jews and Hitler. Lets examine some of the balanced Guardian article that Sarah refers to. Tutu writes regarding the Israelis What is not so understandable, not justified, is what it did to another people to guarantee its existence. I've been very deeply distressed in my visit to the Holy Land; it reminded me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa. I have seen the humiliation of the Palestinians at checkpoints and roadblocks, suffering like us when young white police officers prevented us from moving about. Tutu neglects to mention why it's necessary to have these roadblocks. These roadblocks exist to prevent mass murder of Israelis by suicide bombers and terrorists. Without roadblocks what would be there to stop terrorists from infiltrating Israel? Why is Tutu so concerned about the inconvenience of Arabs having to go through a roadblock and so unconcerned about the murder of Jewish civilians? Tutu writes: I have experienced Palestinians pointing to what were their homes, now occupied by Jewish Israelis. I was walking with Canon Naim Ateek (the head of the Sabeel Ecumenical Centre) in Jerusalem. He pointed and said: "Our home was over there. We were driven out of our home; it is now occupied by Israeli Jews." Tutu is swallowing Arab propaganda hook line and sinker. Arabs left their homes when the Arabs from the surrounding invading armies said leave so you won't get annihilated, you can return when we've annihilated the Jews. Unfortunately for them the vastly outnumbered Jews decided not to be annihilated. Israel made several offers to the Arabs regarding peace for the right to return. The Arabs refused. Since that time the Arab refugee population has exploded through high birthrates and through the attraction of false refugees because of free UN benefits. Allowing this huge hostile population to pour into Israel would mean the end of Israel. So Israel offered the Palestinians land in the West Bank, (Judea and Samaria) where the refugees could be settled but that is not enough for the Arabs. No peace they say until you allow all the refugees to enter the land you have left they cry. No peace from terror from bombs full of nails and from exploding rockets. No we will continue to cripple and kill until you voluntarily succumb to your annihilation. Tutu condemns the home demolitions of suicide bombers without making the least attempt to understand why these demolitions are taking place, to deter suicide bombings. He condemns the home demolitions of houses used by terrorists to shoot at Israeli civilians. Why not condemn the terrorists shooting at Israeli civilians. Which is more important human life or an Arab home Mr. Tutu? Tutu accuses Israel of oppressing the Palestinian people but in truth It is Palestinian Arab terrorists who are oppressing the Jews and who give them no choice but to set up road blocks. Tutu condemns Israel for stopping ambulances to search them but this has become necessary because Arabs hide explosives in their ambulances. Why doesn't Mr. Tutu condemn this outrageous Arab practice? Why doesn't Mr. Tutu condemn the Arab attacks on Israeli ambulances rushing to save injured Arabs. Why doesn't he praise Israel for its efforts to provide medical care for its Arab population? In this same article that Sarah quotes to prove that Tutu is balanced Tutu writes: People are scared in this country [the US], to say wrong is wrong because the Jewish lobby is powerful - very powerful. Well, so what? For goodness sake, this is God's world! We live in a moral universe. The apartheid government was very powerful, but today it no longer exists. Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Pinochet, Milosevic, and Idi Amin were all powerful, but in the end they bit the dust. What an outrageous analogy, between the Jewish lobby and Hitler. No it's not the Jewish lobby, Mr. Tutu, that governs American policy. American policy if anything is unduly influenced by the desire to appease the oil rich Arabs. Wrong is wrong Mr. Tutu and you are terribly horribly wrong. Karl Ericson philosopherPlus@hotmail.com

I have talked with several of my Jewish friends in an attempt to understand how Palestinian sovereignty is an anti Semitic sentiment. I understand now that in order for Palestine to be a viable state that Israel would have to give up some of the land that was given to them. And in that respect I understand the conflict. By the same token the land that was given Israel was in part taken from the Palestinians and so there is a genuine conflict, which doesn't seem to rest on prejudices but rather on the conflicts implicit in colonial redistribution of lands. One friend pointed out that being a Semite is inclusive of middle easterners and not exclusively a Jewish identification, this point seemed particularly salient in light of the conflict. I know other of my friends, who are also Jewish, agree with the sentiment that IsraelÃ?s statehood is necessarily in need of protection against Palestinian encroachment- I just donÃ?t understand what the Palestinians are supposed to do without a homeland which is also protected and respected. Natasha Williams, Educator and scientist

Natasha, no one is saying that people who believe there should be a Palestinian State are anti-semitic. What Karl is saying is that Tutu is an anti-semite because he believes an evil Jewish conspiracy akin to Hitler and Mussolini controls the United States government. If anyone who believes there should be a Palestinian state is an anti-semite than many in the Israeli government including Prime Minister Sharon are anti-semites because they believe that as well. The only requirement Sharon has is that the Palestinian Arabs stop their terrorism first. He doesn't want to reward terrorism with concessions because that will encourage more terrorism. It's important to note that there already is a Palestinian state, the state of Jordan. Jordan was cut out of the Jewish National Home and given to the Arabs. That didn't satisfy them, they want more. Cutting Israel in half again to create yet another Palestinian state won't satisfy them either they want all of it. I recommend you look at a web site called A Middle East Primer at http://www.afsi.org/primer.htm If you have an open mind it will open your eyes. Gamaliel Isaac

Maahir, I suggest you do your homework before telling me to do mine. You write regarding the Palestinian and Jordanian Arabs that though "both are known as "Arab," the two peoples have a separate history and a far different culture." Then why did Zuheir Mohsein, then a member of the supreme council of the PLO say in 1977 that: "There are no differences between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. We are all part of one nation. It is only for political reasons that we carefully underline our Palestinian identity, because it is in the interest of the Arabs to encourage a separate Palestinian identity in contrast to Zionism. Yes, the existence of a separate Palestinian identity is there only for tactical reasons. The establishment of a Palestinian state is a new expedient to continue the fight against Zionism and for Arab unity. Why did the Jordanian foreign minister say Jordan is Palestine and Palestine is Jordan, and Jordan hails every Palestinian who seeks to do his duty to his cause and his country Why did the 8th Palestinian National Congress declare Jordan is linked to Palestine by a national relationship and a national unity forged by history and culture from earliest times. The creation of one political entity in East Jordan and another in Palestine would have no basis either in legality or as to the elements universally accepted as fundamental to a political entity. These and other quotes can be found on a page called the Palestinian identity http://www.afsi.org/MEDIA/newsLinks/shockers/m100.htm Also you can find links to them and to a lot of other educational information on the Middle East Primer web site http://www.afsi.org/primer.htm What you wrote about Palestinians being shunned by Jordanians is true in regard to the Palestinian Arab refugees, the Jordanians don't give a damn about them and won't resettle them, they are much more useful as a propaganda tool against Israel. Does anyone wonder what happened to all the Jewish refugees who fled from Arab lands. Why are there no Jewish refugee camps? All the Jewish refugees were absorbed by Israel. Another aspect in regard to the Palestinians being different than the Jordanians is that Palestinians used to refer to anyone living in historic Israel including Jews. If you look at old Palestinian song books you'll find they are in Hebrew. The following is a letter submitted to the New York Times in 1975 which the New York Times did not see fit to print (Arthur Kahn and Thomas Murray, The Palestinians: A Political Masquerade, Published by Americans For A Safe Israel) Dear Sir: Your newspaper frequently uses the term "Palestinian" to describe a section of the Middle East population which is Arab, to differentiate it from Israeli Jews. As the holder of a Palestinian Identity Card and a Certificate of Discharge from a Palestinian Unit of the British army, I find this practice annoying and certainly untrue... We Palestinian Jews wore the uniform of the British Army, and on our shoulder epaulettes the single word, "Palestine" in English. We tried to get permission to wear Hebrew insignia, fly the Jewish flag and be recognized as Palestinian Jews, but-no, Palestinian meant Jew and Arab, and who cared if there were fewer than 3000 Arabs as compared to 36,000 Jews in khaki? In British army nomenclature, the equivalent of a GI is BOR, meaning British Other Rank. We were formally known as POR , Palestinian Other Ranks. So we fought the war as Palestinians, set up the Jewish Brigade as Palestinians, and I'll be damned if I agree that only Arafat and his assassins are Palestinians. As a Palestinian, I was arrested by the British on suspicion of smuggling immigrants into the country. As a Palestinian, I had the honor of commanding the 329th Palestinian Companyof the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (all Jews). There were no equivalent Arab units. Once a British general said to me, "Migawd| I have so many things to dislike you for, for being a Jew, American born, a Palestinian-and you don't even know how to handle a knife and fork! So cut it out, please. Call them what you will, but not Palestinians. Yours truly, Joe Criden Gamaliel Isaac

Arabs shun Palestinians for a reason. The Palestinian Arabs were kicked out of Kuwait after aiding the Iraqis during their occupation of Kuwait. They were thrown out of Jordan because of their violent murderous attempts to take control of Jordan. Lebanon took them in when they were kicked out of Jordan. Here is a list of some of the atrocities they then committed in Lebanon The massacre of the town of Chekka, in northern Lebanon, by Arafat forces, dozens of civilians, mostly Christians, were murdered and tortured by Arafat's hoodlums. In the massacre of the town of Damour, South of Beirut, dozens of Christians civilians were slaughtered, along with numerous rapes of young girls, were done by forces that came from those same Palestinian camps that you are defending. The massacre of the towns of Aintoura and Mtein, where groups of Palestinians murdered innocent Christian civilians solely because they were Christians . The daily assaults by the PLO forces against the Christian towns of Hadath, Ain-el Remmaneh, Jisr el Bacha, Dekaouneh, Beirut, and the Southern Metn, that resulted in hundred of Christian casualties murdered for defending their hometowns and existence. This was at a time when the Lebanese Government was paralyzed and could not send the Lebanese Army to halt the Palestinian atrocities due to Arab intervention in internal Lebanese affairs by the "Cairo" accords. The above list was compiled by the Lebanese Foundation For Peace http://www.free-lebanon.com/LFPNews/Witnesses/witnesses.html Here is what David Shipler of the New York Times wrote about the Palestinians in Lebanon The PLO, "whose major tool of persuasion was the gun," ruled over a large part of Lebanon, terrifying and terrorizing the local populace, Christian and Muslim alike. It took over land and houses, it confiscated automobiles, it stole at will from the shops, and anyone who complained was likely to be shot. Operating as a state within a state, the PLO humiliated local Lebanese officials and displaced them with its own police and "people's committees." On top of this, writes Shipler, the PLO "brought mercenaries in from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and North African countries. By all accounts the outsiders were crude undisciplined thugs." "Before the PLO," one Lebanese woman told Shipler, "we used to be pro-Palestinian...[But] when we saw the Palestinians were killing us and threatening us and having barricades and shooting innocent people, then came the hatred. Suleiman Franjieh, Lebanon's president in the mid-1970s, in his farewell radio address to the nation on September 19 1976 said: They (the Palestinian Arabs) came to us as guests. We awarded them every possible hospitality but eventually they turned into savage wolves. They sought to kill their hosts and become masters of Lebanon. Indeed, our guests have already sabotaged Lebanon's executive, legislative and judicial authorities, as well as the nation's regular army... Dr. Khalil Torbey was quoted by Frank Gervasi in "The Media's War Against Israel as saying (p242) I know of cases of people being thrown into acid tanks and reduced to unrecognizable masses of porous bone. Many young girls came to me for abortions after being raped by PLO gangsters. Very often, mine was the only car circulating the perilous streets of West Beirut after dark to help some unfortunate victim or other of PLO or Syrian violence. I treated persons with armssevered by shelling, and men whose testicles had been crushed by torturers. I saw men-live men, mind you- dragged through the streets from fast-moving cars to which they were tied by their feet... In time, the Lebanese nad nothing with which to defend themselves and no one to help them so that it was easy for the terrorists to take over homes, shops, garages, apartment houses- anything they wanted. Our children were growing up in terror and our people, robbed of their homes and belongings, were reduced to living like Bedouins, moving from place to place, seeking refuge from the terror. The lucky ones were received by friends or relatives in the hills and mountains to the north or south. The less fortunate lived like hunted animals. Mr. Frederick El-Murr a Lebanese civil engineer described the situation in Lebanon as follows (Quoted by Frank Gervasi in "The Media's War Against Israel as saying p244) The terrorists, virtually destroyed with artillery and Katyusha rocket fire such Christian cities as Damour and Tyre, and badly damaged mostly Moslem Sidon. In West Beirut, hardly a building remains untouched. In 1978, the apartment building in which we lived in East Beirut was hit by PLO rockets 16 times. And we have seen mutilations and rape. I know a worker in my factory whose mother was raped by PLO terrorists. A favorite method of ridding themselves of political opponents was to tie the feet of the male victims to separate cars speeding off in opposite directions. One such incident was witnessed by my 17-year old daughter, Nada. The Arabs shun the Palestinians for good reason yet hypocritically demand that Israel take them in. Karl Ericson

Gamaliel, I think you would do well to actually read another view of the Middle Eastern conflict. The Middle Eastern Primer is one person's take on the conflict, and should by no means be considered gospel. This is precisely my point: you believe that there is one answer to a conflict that has claimed many thousands of people. I believe that that is disrespectful in the least. Like I said, do some homework, read something else, and then you won't be able to ignore the fact that everyone has a different take, and that any group wants to make an argument for their view can _easily_ find a quote to support their side. Now, Karl, I think that it is a little simplistic/irresponsible for you to suggest that the views and acts of the PLO, one of the most radical of the Palestinian groups [and least religious], are in any way indicative of the sentiments of the [by and large] religious Palestinian people. This is like suggesting that all Americans can be represented by the Ku Klux Klan. Do you identify with them? Maahir Haque, Student Florida maahir@sas.upenn.edu

Truth comes from many sources... Vigilantes take up arms, vow to expel 'Muslim filth' By Jack Kelley USA TODAY (Page 1A) HEBRON, West Bank -- After a quick prayer, Avi Shapiro and 12 other Jewish settlers put on their religious skullcaps, grabbed their semiautomatic rifles and headed toward Highway 60. There, they pushed boulders, stretched barbed wire and set tires afire to form a barricade that, they said, would stop even the biggest of Palestinian taxis. Then they waited for a vehicle to arrive. As they crouched in a ditch beside the road, Shapiro, the leader of the group, gave the settlers orders: Surround any taxi, ''open fire'' and kill as many of the ''blood-sucking Arab'' passengers as possible. ''We are doing what (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon promised but has failed to do: drive these sons of Arab whores from the Land of Israel,'' said Shapiro, 42, who moved here with his wife and four children 3 years ago from Brooklyn. ''If he won't get rid of the Muslim filth, then we will.'' Claiming they have been abandoned by Israel's government and determined to rid the West Bank of Arabs, vigilante Jewish settlers are shooting and beating Palestinians, stealing and destroying their property and poisoning and diverting their water supplies, Israeli and Palestinian officials say. Though Jewish extremists have lashed out before -- most notoriously in 1994 when a U.S. settler, Baruch Goldstein, gunned down 29 Arabs in a nearby mosque -- never before have they struck with such frequency, Israeli officials say. And nowhere has the violence been as intense as in this disputed city, believed to be the burial place of the Biblical prophet Abraham. Nearly 450 right-wing Jews, all of whom are armed and claim a Biblical right to the land, live here among 120,000 Palestinians. Many, like Shapiro and his colleagues, are ready to strike at any time. Israeli and U.S. officials have warned Sharon that if the violence against Palestinian civilians increases, it could enflame already high emotions and lead the entire region into war. ''It only takes a spark to light a very big fire here,'' says Yossi Sarid, a left-wing Israeli opposition leader. ''This is a city that is cursed.'' 'A time bomb' Since the start of the latest surge of violence in Israel a year ago this month, at least 119 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli civilians in the West Bank and Gaza, according to B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights group that has been critical of both sides. Hundreds have been hospitalized, it says. During the same time, at least 30 settlers have been killed by Palestinian gunmen. In July, Jewish vigilantes killed three Palestinians, including a 3-month-old boy, in Nablus. The State Department condemned the attack as a ''barbaric act'' of ''unconscionable vigilantism.'' No one has been charged in the attack. ''These people are a time bomb,'' says Hanna Nasser, Palestinian mayor of the West Bank city of Bethlehem. ''No one is safe.'' The almost daily attacks have been condemned by nearly all Israelis, including most settlers. Politicians, who fear the extremists will spoil Israel's attempt to portray itself as the victim rather than the aggressor in this conflict, have been the most vocal. ''These Jewish terrorists are criminals,'' Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres says. ''They've gone too far.'' Yet, the attacks are expected to increase, Israeli officials say. A group of Jewish vigilantes who possess bomb-making materials has formed in Hebron, the officials say. The group, which claimed responsibility for three recent Palestinian deaths, has been distributing fliers in the West Bank that read: ''Revenge is holy. It should be up to the government to do it, but unfortunately, the government does not care about the murder of Jews. There are people whose patience has run out.'' Security officials also say they fear that the extremists are widening their targets to include Israeli police and soldiers sent to protect the settlers, as well as Western diplomats and European peace monitors. All have recently been attacked. The settlers accuse them of not doing enough to protect them or of favoring the Palestinians. On Aug. 21, 85 European Community monitors who had patrolled Hebron since 1994 withdrew after complaining of weeks of verbal and physical abuse by the settlers. ''Every day, we were kicked, dragged and beaten by the settlers,'' says Karl-Henrik Sjursen of Norway, chief of the observer mission. ''They made life impossible for us.'' Shots at a taxi On a recent Sunday, Shapiro and the 12 other extremists spotted their first target: a white Palestinian taxi that had turned the corner and begun to rumble toward them. From a hill 50 yards away, the Jewish men could be seen removing the safety locks from the weapons. Their wives were grabbing extra ammunition clips. Their children, all of them younger than 12, were picking up rocks. But the Palestinian driver, upon seeing the settlers, brought his Mercedes stretch taxi to a sudden stop 50 yards from the checkpoint. He quickly turned the car around. Cursing aloud, Shapiro ordered the men to open fire. The shooting lasted for 10 seconds. At least two bullets hit the car. One shattered its back window. Several women wearing white Islamic headscarves could be heard screaming and seen ducking. It wasn't known whether anyone was injured. ''We'll keep this up until we eliminate all the Muslim filth,'' Shapiro said before the confrontation. ''We have to: It's our Jewish duty.'' 'God's land given to us' Analysts such as Elisha Efrat of Tel Aviv University estimate that 10% of the 177,000 settlers in the West Bank and Gaza are extremists, people who are willing to die before giving up their land. Many of them live behind 25-foot tall stone fences and bulletproof windows in Hebron. The 450 settlers here, and the 7,000 others who live down the road in Israeli-controlled territory, see themselves as the guardians of Hebron, which is considered Judaism's second holiest city after Jerusalem. All are protected by several thousand Israeli soldiers and police. ''This is God's land given to us, the Israeli people,'' says settler Ariel Fischer, 38, citing Biblical passages that support Israel's claim of the land. Like most of the extremists, he's Israeli-born. ''If you don't wear a yarmulke (skullcap), get out.'' Hebron is also home to 120,000 Palestinians, many of whom live in the hilltop area of Abu Sneineh. For centuries, Arabs and Jews coexisted peacefully in Hebron. Then a riot in 1929 resulted in the deaths of more than 60 Jews. The British, who governed what was then Palestine, resettled the remaining Jews elsewhere. In 1967, after Israel captured the West Bank of the Jordan River, some Jews returned. But those who came were the most ideologically extreme of Israelis. Backed by government policies that encouraged them to move into the West Bank, the Israelis claimed a Biblical right to the city and demanded that the Arabs leave. Then in 1997, the Israeli army, which had controlled Hebron since the war 30 years ago, withdrew from 80% of the city and ceded control to the Palestinian Authority. The remaining 20% was left for the settlers. That was a recipe for disaster, settlers say. Almost daily since last September, there have been shots fired into their settlement by Palestinian snipers. In response, Israel put 30,000 Palestinians, whose homes surround the settlement, under a 24-hour curfew. It prohibits them from leaving their homes, even to go to a doctor or attend school, and jails them if they do. Twice a week, the curfew is lifted for a few hours to allow the residents to shop. The rest of the time, they are in their homes. Last week, hundreds of Israeli troops, backed by dozens of tanks and bulldozers, swept into Hebron for several hours to destroy buildings they say had been used by Palestinian snipers. Settlers want Israel to reestablish control of the area by permanently reoccupying all of Hebron. Until that happens, settlers say, they're forced to take ''pre-emptive actions'' to stop the Palestinian gunfire. ''People here are extremely upset,'' says David Wilder, a spokesman for Jewish settlers here. ''We're upset by the daily shooting, killings and harassment by Palestinians. People feel abandoned (by Israel's government) and so some people are going to take up guns.'' Says another settler spokesman Noam Federman, ''If we don't take up guns, we'll be ducks in a shooting range.'' But Israeli officials say the settlers often provoke the violence. Unlike the Palestinians, the settlers are free to leave their homes at will. They regularly attack Palestinian shops while the Palestinians, who are forced to stay indoors because of the curfew, can only watch, according to human rights groups. Ahmad Abu Neni, 55, is blind and a Palestinian. His small kiosk of cleaning supplies has been ransacked three times since last September by settlers, human rights officials say. He also has been beaten in the back with a brick and punched repeatedly, they add. Neni says Israeli soldiers tried to break up one of the attacks by firing a concussion grenade at the attackers, only to set his clothes on fire. He suffered third-degree burns. His shop now closed, he survives on handouts of food and money. ''If I had money and could see, I would leave,'' Neni says. ''It's just a matter of time before they beat me again.'' Nearby, Nafez Bani Jaber, 45, was burying all 123 of his sheep. He says they were poisoned last week after 10 Jewish extremists chased him off his fields. Israeli police say they have found needles dipped in poison that they believe the settlers used on the sheep. Police say poison also was dumped down a nearby well that Palestinians use. ''First they poisoned the sheep. Next will be the children,'' Jaber says. ''These are war crimes.'' Often, the violence directed at the Palestinians is aimed at their Muslim faith. Settlers have spray painted graffiti reading ''Mohammed is a homosexual,'' referring to the Islamic prophet, and painted Jewish Stars of David on the walls of the local Arab market. They also have surrounded Muslim women and tried to rip off their Islamic headscarves and body veils, human rights groups say. Samar Abdul-Shafti, 36, a Palestinian mother of two, was photographed last month trying to escape several settlers who were beating her as they tried to remove her headscarf. It has happened two other times since then, she says, revealing bruises on her arms, legs and forehead. ''The Jews are trying to do to us what was done to them during the Holocaust,'' Shafti says. ''They must not be allowed to drive us from our homes. Someone must help.'' 'Ashamed to be a Jew' Palestinian police say they don't have the means to defend the Arab residents. Israeli soldiers seem unwilling or unable to help. Noam Tivon, Israeli Defense Forces brigade commander for Hebron, says his soldiers are in Hebron to protect the settlers, not the Palestinians. Tivon says his soldiers and police officers often are ambushed by settlers whom he calls ''hooligans.'' The settlers accuse the police of failing to stop the Arab violence. ''They throw rocks at us, curse at us and vandalize our police cars,'' says Israeli policeman Shahar Mahsomi, 25. He suffered a concussion in March after a settler struck him on the head with a rock. Another settler tried to stab two police officers in the same scuttle. ''I never thought I'd be fighting Jews,'' Mahsomi says. The situation is just as dangerous at the nearby settlements of Kiryat Arba and Givat Harsina where nearly 7,000 settlers, many of whom are hard-liners, regularly attack neighboring Palestinians. ''I can't believe we are risking our lives to defend these fanatics,'' says Sgt. Avi Alamm, 28, as he watches a settler boy, dressed as the late Goldstein, walked by with an Israeli flag. Goldstein, who gunned down the 29 Muslims, is revered among some settlers as a prophet. They encourage their children to dress like him on occasion. ''The people make me ashamed to be a Jew,'' Alamm says. Now, many Israelis are calling on the government to dismantle extremist settlements such as the one here. ''The Jewish settlement in Hebron is a major nuisance, and the lawless behavior by Jews there in recent days leads to one conclusion,'' the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz recently editorialized. ''Hebron must be evacuated.'' Maahir Haque, Student Florida maahir@sas.upenn.edu

Gamaliel, I would suggest that you do a little homework before suggesting that the Palestinians who want a home state already have one. Yes, Jordan is an Arab state. And yes, many Palestinians claim Jordanian citizenship. But, this is not by choice. The fact is, the ethnic Palestinians are shunned in Jordan. They never will be, because even though they are neighbors and both are known as "Arab," the two peoples have a separate history and a far different culture. Suggesting that Palestinians just settle in Jordan is like suggesting that people from Estonia can settle in Russia, without cultural ostracism. The Jordanians are not Palestinian, and the Palestinians are not Jordanian. So I plead you: please bother yourself a little and ask a Palestinian or a Jordanian to explain the situation. I'm sure that they will tell you the same. Like I said, do some homework, and then maybe you will see that many of the things which you allow yourself to believe are not quite as simple as they seem. They are certainly not as simple and one-sided as any 'Middle Eastern Primer' would suggest. Open your eyes. Maahir Haque, Student Florida maahir@sas.upenn.edu

Judy Rodin knew Tutu is anti-American and anti-Bush. Unfortunately, when a university like Penn has a President who is left of Hillary Clinton then we got problems. Is it time to ask Rodin to step down? Sean Lee

So Palestinians don't support the PLO, Maahir? That may be true in regard to the corruption of the PLO but when it comes to supporting the goals of the PLO vis a vis Israel I beg to differ. It's true that many Palestinians support Hamas and Islamic Jihad instead of the PLO but that is hardly reassuring. A poll shows (http://www.likud.nl/extr251.html) that 63% of the Palestinians support suicide bombings against Jews. There is also widespread hatred of the United States among the Palestinian Arabs and many rejoiced when the World Trade Center was destroyed. Regarding the behavior of Avi Shapiro and his cohorts although we may not approve of his behavior we need to understand that after years of Palestinian Arabs shooting and killing his friends, relatives and family members, he has decided to get revenge and give the Palestinian Arabs a taste of their own medicine. Karl Ericson

An Open Rebuttal and Response to USA Today Article "Israeli extremists take revenge on Palestinians" To: Mr. Tom Curley, President and Publisher, USA Today Karen Jurgensen, Editor Bob Dubill, Executive Editor Jeff Webber, Senior Vice President and Publisher Kinsey Wilson, Vice President and Editor in Chief Chet Czarniak, Managing Editor Sept. 5, 2001 An Open Rebuttal and Response to USA Today Article "Israeli extremists take revenge on Palestinians" By Jack Kelley, USA TODAY Published Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2001. Dear Sirs, Jack Kelley's article is an example of anti-Israel, anti-Semitic propaganda. The article is so full of lies, and is so inaccurate, that it is almost not worth relating to. However, due to the wide circulation of USA Today, I have no choice but to refute the charges, and correct the inaccuracies. 1. Kelley begins, "After a quick prayer, Avi Shapiro and 12 other Jewish settlers put on their religious skullcaps," This is ridiculous. A religious Jew wears his skullcap all hours of the day, and most especially during prayer. We do not "put on our skullcaps" before going out. 2. "..and headed toward Highway 60. There, they pushed boulders, stretched barbed wire and set tires afire to form a barricade that, they said, would stop even the biggest of Palestinian taxis. Then they waited for a vehicle to arrive. As they crouched in a ditch beside the road, Shapiro, the leader of the group, gave the settlers orders: Surround any taxi, "open fire" and kill as many of the "blood-sucking Arab" passengers as possible. "We are doing what (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon promised but has failed to do: drive these sons of Arab whores from the land of Israel," said Shapiro, 42, who moved here with his wife and four children three years ago from Brooklyn. "If he won't get rid of the Muslim filth, then we will." There is no one with the name Avi Shapiro who lives in Hebron, Kiryat Arba, Gush Etzion or Efrat. I spent much of the day searching for this person, who, to the best of my knowledge, does not really exist. Avi Shapiro seems to be a figment of Kelley's imagination. Or perhaps he does exist, but does not live anywhere in this area. 3. There were periods of time, particularly during the winter, when people from Hebron, Kiryat Arba and other communities, participated in road blocks, especially in the early morning and late evening. It must be remembered that scores of Jews were being murdered by Arab terrorists in 'drive-by shootings,' whereby terrorists opened fire on moving vehicles on the road. There was an attempt made to hinder Arab traffic, so as to save Jewish lives. However, at no time were any 'order' every given to "open fire and kill." Were this to be true, many many Arabs would have been killed by civilians. (This point will be discussed more specifically below). The goal of roadblocks was solely to hinder Arab traffic, and not to come into any violent contact with Arab drivers. 4. ".vigilante Jewish settlers are shooting.Palestinians" There have been several attacks on Palestinian civilians. As of yet, Israeli authorities have not arrested any Jews for have perpetrated the attacks. The Yesha council has condemned the attacks and called on the Israeli security forces to apprehend the culprits. In one particular case, a group of Arabs were shot at, and some killed, near Idna, in the Southern Hebron hills. It was widely assumed that the attackers were Jews. However, it has since been learned that the family had strong ties to Israeli intelligence, and that one the family's brothers was murdered by Arabs in Hebron because of his connections to Israeli intelligence forces. It was also learned that following the attack, no bullet casings were discovered at the scene of the crime. However, several hours later Arabs came forth with 'evidence' in the form of bullet casings they claimed were from the shooting attack. In other words, a large question mark looms over this entire episode. No one has yet been apprehended or charged with the crime. 5. ".Baruch Goldstein, gunned down 29 Arabs in a nearby mosque." It is interesting to note that Kelley mentions Baruch Goldstein 3 times in his article, but neglects to mention such terrorist murderers as Yechi Iash, who was responsible for the deaths of over 50 Jews, and trained his successors to carry on in his footsteps. 6. "Nearly 450 right-wing Jews, all of whom are armed and claim a biblical right to the land, live here among 120,000 Palestinians. Many, like Shapiro and his colleagues, are ready to strike at any time." Today there are 700 Jews living in Hebron. Hebron's Jewish community has been under fire for the past year. Day after day, night after night, we have been shot at in the street, in our homes and in our cars, at all hours of the day and night. Civilians have been wounded, and a 10 month old baby shot and killed by terrorists from the nearby hills which surround the community. Our security is in the hands of the Israeli army. True, many of us are armed for reasons of self-defense. We have not, during the past year, used our weapons for offensive, or rarely ever for defensive purposes. 7. ".says Yossi Sarid, a left-wing Israeli opposition leader. "This is a city that is cursed." Yossi Sarid has no appreciation for Jewish heritage or tradition. He is virulently left-wing, and has always been anti-Hebron. Hebron, the first capital of Israel, home of our Patriarchs, home of King David, represents the roots of the Jewish people. Why doesn't Kelley quote Israeli leaders, such as former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who in a letter to the community dated 9.8.00 said, "The Jewish community in Hebron will continue to exist for another 2,000 years." Or the President of Israel, Moshe Katzav, who on 9.8.00 said on Israeli radio, "Can you imagine that Jews would not be living in the city of Hebron?" 8. "Since the start of the latest surge of violence in Israel a year ago this month, at least 119 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli civilians in the West Bank and Gaza, according to B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights group ." According to the B'Tselem website "Eleven Palestinian civilians were killed by Israeli civilians, including One Two month- old baby girl." (http://www.btselem.org/Files/site/english/data/Violent_Events_Fatalities.as p) 9. "During the same time, at least 30 settlers have been killed by Palestinian gunmen." According to the B'Tselem web site: "In the territories" 60 Israeli civilians were killed by Palestinians, Five of them were minors under the age of 17: One boy age 16, two boys age 14, a 10 month-old baby girl and a 5 month-old baby boy. One was a minor aged 17. At least Six of them were allegedly killed by persons affiliated with the pna. "Within Israel" "residents of the Occupied Territories. 21 of them were minors under the age of 17. Of them: Six were age 16, Five were age 15, Four were age 14, One was age 13, One was age 10, One was age 8, One was age 4 and One was age 2. One was age 17. According to the Israel Defense Forces Spokesman , in the past year, 120 civilians have been killed , and 1,153 have been wounded. (http://www.idf.il/english/news/nifg.stm) 10. "In July, Jewish vigilantes killed three Palestinians, including a 3-month-old boy, in Nablus. This is a lie. 11."Yet, the attacks are expected to increase, Israeli officials say. A group of Jewish vigilantes who possess bomb-making materials has formed in Hebron, they say." Who is the "they" quoted. Why are all the sources quoted anonymous? 12. "Last week, 85 European Community monitors who had patrolled Hebron since 1994 withdrew after complaining of weeks of verbal and physical abuse by the settlers." Israel security forces, as reported on Israeli radio, have proof that the TIPH forces in Hebron have been spying on civilian and military positions in the city, and passing this information on to Arafat's armed forces. For more about TIPH see: http://www.hebron.org.il/tiph.htm 13. "On a recent Sunday, Shapiro and the 12 other extremists spotted their first target: a white Palestinian taxi that had turned the corner and begun to rumble toward them. From a hill 50 yards away, the men could be seen removing the safety locks from the weapons. Their wives were grabbing extra ammunition clips. Their children, all of them under age 12, were picking up rocks." As stated above, Avi Shapira does not exist. Nor did this event ever occur. Where is Kelley's proof? Where are the pictures? Why wasn't anyone arrested? A report of "wives grabbing extra ammunition clips" is total nonsense, a total fabrication. 14. "People here are extremely upset," says David Wilder, a spokesman for Jewish settlers here. "We're upset by the daily shooting, killings and harassment by Palestinians. People feel abandoned (by Israel's government) and so some people are going to take up guns." I never said that people "are going to take up guns." I have said that people will defend themselves if their lives are endangered. 15. "Ahmad Abu Neni, 55, is blind and a Palestinian. His small kiosk of cleaning supplies has been ransacked three times since last September by settlers, human rights officials say. He's also been beaten in the back with a brick and punched repeatedly, they add. Neni says Israeli soldiers tried to break up one of the attacks by firing a concussion grenade at the attackers, only to set his clothes on fire. He suffered third-degree burns." In his audio report, Kelley accuses 'settler teenagers, many of whom are from Brooklyn" of beating this man and then setting him on fire. In this written report, Kelley says otherwise. Why does Kelley contradict himself in the two reports? How does he know that the supposed 'attackers' are from Brooklyn? 16. "Nearby, Nafez Bani Jaber, 45, was burying 123 of his sheep. He says they were poisoned last week after 10 Jewish extremists chased him off his fields. Israeli police say they have found needles dipped in poison that they believe the settlers used on the sheep. Police say poison also was dumped down a nearby well used by Palestinians." There was a report of sheep poisoned, but not in Hebron, rather in the Shomron, in northern Israel. It has not been proven that any Jews had responsibility for the act. 17. ".Tivon says his soldiers and police officers often are ambushed by the settlers, whom he calls "hooligans." The settlers accuse the police of failing to stop the Arab violence." Former Brigade commander Noam Tivon did not say that his soldiers are ambushed by settlers. He had words of praise for Hebron's Jewish Community. He did say that there are a few "hooligans" here, but that they are the exception to the rule. 18. "I can't believe we are risking our lives to defend these fanatics," says Sgt. Avi Alamm, 28 as he watches a settler boy, dressed as the late Goldstein, walk by with an Israeli flag. Goldstein, who gunned down the 29 Muslims, is revered among some settlers as a prophet. They encourage their children to dress like him on occasion. "The people make me ashamed to be a Jew," Alamm says." Children in Hebron do not walk around dressed up as Baruch Goldstein. Five years ago a child, not from Hebron, dressed up on the Purim holiday, as a doctor. Hebron residents requested that he remove the costume, so as not to be mistaken as having dressed up as Goldstein. The child complied with the request. As for the purported remarks of the Sgt. Alamm, there are soldiers in Hebron who, being of a left-wing political persuasion, are willing to defame us to the media. However, for every soldier who portrays us negatively, there are scores of others who have only warm words of praise and appreciation for Hebron's Jewish community and Hebron's Jewish residents. However, obviously, these kinds of statements have no place in Kelley's article. 19. "Now, many Israelis are calling on the government to dismantle extremist settlements such as the one here. "The Jewish settlement in Hebron is a major nuisance, and the lawless behavior by Jews there in recent days leads to one conclusion," the Israeli newspaper "Ha'aretz" recently editorialized. "Hebron must be evacuated." Ha'aretz newspaper is the most left-wing newspaper in Israel. Their views are well known. They are, however, not representative of Israel's public. "Many Israelis" are, in truth, a handful of people whose views are not new. They have been calling for uprooting of communities in Judea, Samaria and Gazza, including Hebron, for decades. Israeli public opinion is opposed to the dismantling of Yesha, as can be proven by Ariel Sharon's overwhelming landslide victory a few months ago. In conclusion, Jack Kelley's article is an intentional attempt to besmirch the good name of the Jewish Community of Hebron, using fabrication, distortion and inaccuracy. It is unfortunate that a publication such as USA Today should see fit to publish such trash. We expect that Kelley's tenure with the newspaper will be terminated immediately and that USA TODAY will not only publish this rebuttal, but will also print an apology for slandering our community. Sincerely, David Wilder Spokesman The Jewish Community of Hebron hebron@h... -------------------------------------------- IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis Website: www.imra.org.il For free regular subscription: Subscribe at no charge: imra-subscribe@i... Unsubscribe: imra-unsubscribe@i... For free daily digest subscription: Subscribe at no charge: imra-digest-subscribe@i... Unsubscribe: imra-digest-unsubscribe@i... For a copy of all reports distributed for a given day please send a message to: monday@i... tuesday@i... wednesday@i... thursday@i... friday@i... saturday@i... sunday@i Gamaliel Isaac

Karl, Gamaliel: THANKS! Eugene, Student Philly