Qaddafi's One-State Solution Misses One Thing

Today's New York Times features an OpEd by Muammer Qaddafi, the leader of Libya, titled The One State Solution.

Qaddafi completely fails to address the main reason Israelis and Jews oppose a one state solution- the fact that "Israstine," as coined by Qaddafi, will not be a Jewish state. This article never mentions the fact that because the Arab population is larger than the Jewish population of the area, the democratically elected government and subsequent legal system of the state will not be Jewish. Assimilation, according to this article, is the main barrier to a one-state solution.

I have no problem with the NYT discussing a one-state solution- hell Qaddafi makes it sound reasonably peaceful. But printing an article that will be read by millions of people without mentioning the largest issue, let alone suggesting a solution to it, is misleading. While I'm sure plenty of NYT readers could care less about whether a Jewish state exists, ignoring the fact that millions of people do care deeply about the topic is wrong, and presents a watered-down view of the issue.

-lizrick

Honestly Threatening, or Irrational Gut Reaction: You Decide

This poster is up all over campus advertising the rally at the bookstore tomorrow. I gotta admit, I've had a terrible day today because I was convinced that the sign read, "Retribution Justified" or "Retaliation Justified" instead of "Resistance Justified," and that the boy was throwing a rock at the tank in the picture. I read it as essentially justifying and supporting violence in Gaza; that somehow because the Palestinian people were occupied, throwing a rock, or any form of violence, would be an acceptable and admirable response. Instead of being an anti-Israel rally, I read into it as more of a pro-Hamas rally, and it really, really scared me.  

So technically, I let my emotions get the best of me and I misread the language and image of the sign. But nonetheless, even though it may not say "Retaliation" or "Retribution," I still feel like the word "Resistance" in this sign is inherently violent.  Even without the language and image, I still feel threatened by the message of the protest. I'm just not quite convinced that "Resistance" is separate from "Retaliation" or "Retribution" on our campus. 

Is the sign an effective tool to motivate people to attend the rally tomorrow? I honestly don't know, and really hope not. To me personally, the sign is about as pro-war and anti-dialog as a political message can get, and I feel physically threatened by it. But hey, at least it rhymes. 

-lizrick

 

 

Shalom

Hello! and welcome to Leviathan Jewish Journal Online. This is the parallel online version of the award-winning Leviathan Jewish Journal, the long standing Jewish voice of UC Santa Cruz.

Leviathan is a student-run, quarterly publication at UC Santa Cruz. We publish articles ranging from on-campus Jewish culture to national and international issues of interest to Jewish readers and all informed readers alike. It is our goal here at Leviathan to publish relevant, timely pieces in a format that can be approached by anyone. In the tradition of Jewish scholarship, Leviathan is a safe space for expression of many ideas be they: faith-based, personal, academic, or creative in nature.

Leviathan Online takes advantage of the instantaneous medium that is the internet. Here you will find articles and posts that address time-sensitive subjects of a more fluid or immediate matter.


Who are we you ask?


Michaly Bick

Matt Borden: mborden@ucsc.edu
is a third year anthropology major and the Art Director/staff writer at Leviathan. Aside from re-sizing and color profiling all the images during production weekend, he helps execute design, shoot photos, produce art and generally photoshop. Matt's interests include: ethics, art, Jewish theology, comparative religion, history of religious thought, and-of-course shawarma.



Katie Dubin-Wheeler

Darin Fryklund

Shari Geller

Alex Heifetz

Alexa Levine

Stacy Miller

Robby Pleasant

Liz Rickles
is enjoying her fourth year as a Leviathan staffer. She is interested in Israeli-Palestinian conflict resolution, Israeli society, gender studies, and Jewish identity in the 21st century. Liz studied at Tel Aviv University for five months during the Fall of 2007. She misses the language, the culture, and the bars that stay open until 4 a.m.




David Shere

Tracy Spiegelman

Charlotte Watter

Danny Zweier