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Tuesday • October 25? 1994
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The Battalion • Page 11 “•<
&
Palestinians should abandon PLO
Terrorist tactics invalidate organization, destroy chance for lasting peace
I!
MA&2VI.IPS
JOSEF
ELCHANAN
have always felt fortu
nate to have been born
to parents who cared so
much for me. One of there
greatest gifts was their con
stant education concerning
the heritage we have as
Jews and our ties to my
family in Israel.
When the date for my bar-
mitzvah approached, my parents decided that we would all
travel to Israel and have the service at the Wall in
Jerusalem, a holy site for Jews.
In this foreign land I met many relatives from my father’s
side of the family, wonderful people who had a strong work
ethic and great intellectual capacity.
Two subjects dominated my experiences in the country, a
fear that I was unprepared for my bar-mitzvah,which my god
mother efficiently helped me through, and the signs of war.
In Israel, everyone over 18 years old, with the exception of
conscientious objectors, are required to enter the military. My
cousin had just returned from Israel’s campaign to pacify
Lebanon, distressed that peace had not come, even though he
had served his country honorably.
His friends still in the army came over in their fatigues,
weapons slung across their bodies. F-15s flew over the house
constantly, and the beaches were patrolled by combat heli
copters, waiting for the next attack, the next war.
Two years ago, I returned to my uncle’s home. My education
allowed me to ask questions that I had not been able to voice
when I was 13. I sat with my cousin and his wife often, grilling
them over their political positions and the possibilities of peace
with the Arabs. They both expressed the sincerest wish to make
a country of peace, but both were skeptical that Jews and Arabs
could move beyond the blood spilled in the senseless wars
fought during the decades since Israel’s creation.
In fact, if anyone in my family could be considered hawk
ish concerning Israeli policy, it was probably me.
I had always felt that the Arabs had been given the oppor
tunity to have peace and failed miserably. When Prime Min
ister Yitzhak Rabin signed the peace accord with Yassar
Arafat this year, I firmly believed that the government had
gone too far. Arafat was a known terrorist and had a record
of telling the world community what it wanted to hear, while
still promising PLO supporters that they would one day push
the Jews into the sea.
Unfortunately, I seem to have been right. The PLO was
about to be given free reign in the occupied territories and be
allowed to determine the destiny of the Palestinian people
when Hamas, the militant PLO-aligned organization, decided
to bomb innocent civilians on a bus in the highly-populated
city of Tel Aviv. Unlike Bernard Goldstein, a Jew who mur
dered Muslim worshippers earlier this year, this was an or
ganized terrorist attack.
All the talk in the press has dealt with whether the peace
process will go forward. The media neglects to discuss the
justice due to the families of the 22 innocents who were
slaughtered by the same group that just a few days prior had
kidnapped an Israeli soldier — and murdered him when com
mandos stole in to free him.
The tradition of the PLO as a terrorist organization and
Arafat as the backer of two separate strategies is not new.
One strategy promotes words of peace while the other is the
active sponsor and supporter of attacks against Israeli sover
eignty. Rabin, as well as most Israelis, wanted peace so badly
that he stooped to greeting Arafat and working with him for
peaceful coexistence.
The rocket attacks of the last week show that this position
is riddled with holes. Arab extremists will never allow peace
to settle in this area. The local Israeli students with whom I
talked recently were disenchanted with these developments,
stating they had become more conservative in their views on
peace and were hoping that Rabin would properly address
the issues before continuing his push toward a future
vforought with dangers.
Can justice be ignored any longer? Can the PLO contin
ue to be the political power for the Palestinian people,
when it has become so obvious that it is unable to do the
job adequately?
It is time for the Palestinian people to stand up and decide
a future for themselves without the continued support of the
PLO. Israel has already gone far in accepting many condi
tions that threaten its security in the name of peace. Now the
world community must demand the same from the Palestini
ans. Hamas members must be hunted down and removed
from the area in a joint Israeli-Palestinian move.
With the Jordanian peace process in full swing, the time
has come for the Middle East to come to terms with its bloody
past and treat all threats to this process as enemies.
mm Mr-- "
Josef Elchanan is a senior
business management major
< extra. |
-J
mm ,
The Battalion
Editorial Board
Belinda Blancarte, Editor in chief
Mark Evans, Managing editor
Jay Robbins, Opinion editor
Jenny Magee, Assistant opinion editor
Editorials appearing in The 8atta
...
reflect the views of the editorial boar
do not necessarily reflect the opinions
other B.attalion staff members, the Texas
A&M student body, regents, administration,
faculty or staff.
Columns, guest columns, cartoons and
letters express the opinions of the authors.
Contact the opinion editor for information
on submitting guest columns.
O.J. and Nicole
Halloween costumes disregard good taste
Halloween costumes depicting O.J.
Simpson and his murdered ex-wife,
Nicole Brown Simpson, are among the
best selling costumes this holiday.
The manufacturers and purchasers of
these costumes are taking advantage
of a tragedy, and should reconsider
their actions.
Those who choose
to portray O.J. Simp
son, will be donning a
trimmed Afro wig, a
football jersey, bloody
gloves and a fake
knife this Halloween.
And those portraying
Nicole Brown Simp
son will include a
blond wig, a slashed
prosthesis that fits
around the neck and a
bloody knife.
These costumes
are neither witty nor
funny, but sickening
and possibly damag
ing to society.
O.J. Simpson’s trial
has been highly publi
cized and at times im
personal, but we need to remember
that there are families involved who
will be affected by those who choose to
capitalize on the tragedy.
Denise Brown, Nicole Brown
Simpson’s sister has asked that the
manufacturers of the costumes not
to exploit Nicole’s death. However,
O.J. Simpson
current fabricators of the costumes
are unlikely to back down, leaving
the consumers responsible to grant
her requests.
Aside from insulting the members
of families associated with the
tragedy, such costumes degrade do
mestic violence and have the potential
to insult victims of
such violence, women
in particular.
Those who choose
to dress as the Simp
sons should also con
sider the impact it
may have on children.
Children are the
largest participators
in Halloween festivi
ties and such cos
tumes could distort
their view of violence
and crime.
Halloween is a holi
day which allows us to
be someone or some
thing else, and all
should have the oppor
tunity to enjoy it.
However, costumes
say something more about ourselves
than just providing a shield to hide
behind at parties. They are reflec
tive of who or what we would choose
to be, should we ever have the op
portunity. This Halloween, we
should consider the effects our cos
tumes may have on others.
:N2
■'■vS*
business turns bad when profit outweighs principle
ERIN
HILL
P prhaps it was the pile of aluminum
cans in the trash instead of the re
cycling container where they
should have been that heightened my
awareness. Whatever the reason, when
: I made my daily stop for something to
[ drink I was in a mood to save the world,
I to better humanity and improve life as
I we know it.
I saw it on the second shelf from the top, fifth
candy bar in. The label was made with recycled pa
per and printed with vegetable inks. It was “All
Natural” — no refined sugar and no dairy products.
I The raisins and currants in it were “organically
! grown and processed in accordance with the Cali-
| fomia Food Act of 1990.” It even had tofu as one of
! the ingredients.
Plus, the company donated 10 percent of its
profits to “assist local communities, tribes and or
ganizations.” This meant that 20 cents (this eco-
treat was a pricey 2 dollars) of my money would go
to a worthy cause.
The label promised “incomparable flavor” and
they were kind of right. There was no compari
son to any other chocolate bar I had ever tasted.
I am afraid that this candy bar company is going
to lose return business; one of these strange con
coctions is enough.
It is unfortunate that so many good causes aren’t
enough to make this candy bar worth buying, but
when people buy chocolate they
want it to taste like something
other than fruity wax.
On the bright side, at least
this candy company is trying to
do the right thing. In such
competitive economic times,
other businesses are putting
some of their good intentions
by the wayside. Companies once labeled “progres
sive” are now practicing business like the rest of
the good oT boys.
For example, Ben and Jerry’s, the makers of
gourmet ice cream were long held up as an exam
ple of corporate do-gooding. Their highly touted
pay scale did not allow any member of the compa
ny to make more than 7 times the amount any oth
er employee made, which prevented CEOs from ex
ploiting their labor. But now that progressive pay
scale has been abandoned in the name of capital
ism and business.
Sometimes the public doesn’t care about good
causes and the businesses must cater to what peo
ple want. Take Randall’s for instance. They have
removed their ban on selling alcohol and have no
ticed “a great increase in business” since they
started selling beer and wine. This is not surpris
ing since 79 percent of Randall’s customers sur
veyed wanted the grocery store to sell those items.
In fact, the grocery store had noticed a decrease in
business because of the absence of alcohol.
“A good percent of people are pleased with our
decisions,” said Cindy Garbs, corporate vice pres
ident of public relations for Randall’s.
“There are people who have been disappointed
in the decision, but they understand the business
reasons for it.”
Because people were having to go to other
stores to pick up their liquor, they ended up pur
chasing their groceries elsewhere too. Most were
not patient enough or did not have the time to go
to several different stores. Convenience became
most important.
Shame on us.
Let's make cutthroat business
practices optional^ not manda
tory for participation in the
Great American Dream.
Many people thought that the Onstead family,
owners of the Randall’s chain, refused to sell al
cohol for religious reasons. Not true. The On-
steads had a close relative who developed a prob
lem with alcohol while working in the grocery
business and decided they did not want to facili
tate those kind of problems. Consequently, they
didn’t sell alcohol.
Now the Randall’s in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth
and College Station are all selling it. The Houston
stores soon will be. Randall’s is now no different
than any other store.
It is a shame that the Onsteads couldn’t practice
business the way they wanted to. They were doing
something they thought was right — namely not con
tributing to the problem of alcoholism or alcohol
abuse. Now their liquor aisle is the nicest one in
town. I walked through it on Thursday night and
was amazed by what they offered. It is as if they de
cided since they couldn’t make money not selling it
they would make as much money possible selling it.
Many people will disagree that businesses should
try to be socially responsible. They feel that compa
nies need to do whatever it takes to make money:
step on whomever you want, exploit whomever you
can and take whatever you can, right?
We certainly can’t force companies to do good (too
idealistic), but it would be nice if the business envi
ronment in America was kind to those companies
who wanted to. Let’s make cutthroat practices op
tional, not mandatory for participation in the Great
American Dream.
And let’s find a way to make tofu and currants
taste good. /
Erin Hill is a junior English major
awag | ;
: v % ™ g
Cartoon's stance wrong
This letter is written in response to
the Oct. 21 “Adventures in Aggieland”
comic strip. It wrongly portrays the
man who drives around professing his
faith in Christ. I have never seen him
push his beliefs on anyone or judge any
one as shown in the strip. I see him
quietly sit, allowing people to come to
him. I hope Greg sees the offense of his
drawing. Though it may have been un
intentional, it is offensive to some. Isn’t
there enough degradation of personal
beliefs in the world?
Sharayn Wright
Class of ’95
More on Bonfire site ...
In response to L. Michelle Baggett’s
Oct. 20 letter: Bonfire is a fine tradition.
I love the feeling to has always given
mg mmm
me on that magical night before ‘The
Big Game.’ PLEASE don’t let the 45
jerks you ran into at bonfire site com
pletely ruin the positive feelings you may
have had about bonfire in the past.
My advice: Try to blow-off whatever
obscenities were shouted at you (I realize
this is probably easier said than done giv
en your situation) because those (Ag
gies?) aren’t worth it. Bonfire should give
all Aggies a great feeling inside.
To the 45 bad guys: Bonfire has
been getting a bad rap lately. Being
nasty to fellow Aggies or ajiybody is
not going to help the image of this
great tradition that you are working so
hard to get built. Please try to remem
ber, Bonfire is supposed to make peo-
pie feel good about themselves,
fire should unite, not alienate.
Bon-
Clint D. Stephenson
Class of ’94
Regarding A&M, racism
I have been attending this school for
the past four and a half months and have
never been exposed to such vulgarity be
fore in my life. I have been exposed to,
seen and heard more about racial situa
tions and stereotyping here at A&M than
ever before in my life.
Most people at A&M don’t take time to
accept individuals for whom they are,
and they are the ones missing out. It’s
hard to convince people you are no differ
ent from anyone else. The more I am ex
posed to this type of environment on cam
pus, the more I realize I am not proud or
happy attending this University.
Melissa Coronado
Class of ’98
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