Editor:

I am writing in response to the article “Student group’s wall denounces Israeli actions” printed in the March 23 edition of The Daily Utah Chronicle. The University Not In Our Name group’s $375 wall underscores its own ignorance of the core issues in the Middle East conflict and is, to me, a contradiction of purposes.

Its purpose as a group (by title) is to make sure that the government is not fighting an already finished war in its name. Maybe it could invest all those leftover, ultraliberal greenbacks in actually improving the lives of some of the people it claims to be defending, rather than overpaying for cardboard in a sad attempt to propagandize an impressionable student body.

I also find it rather ironic that the purpose of the wall on campus is to stand as a symbol of “getting the Israeli military out of the everyday lives of Palestinians…” when in fact Israeli attacks on Palestinians, with few undisputed exceptions, are directed at specifically targeted terrorists. This contrasts wildly with the practices of the Palestinian extremist groups that target random citizens, with the goal of a maximum body count. Hence, the Israeli military isn’t involved in the lives of everyday Palestinians-tear down the wall and have yourselves a victory kegger!

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a highly contested issue, and has been fought over in the media since the creation of Israel more than 50 years ago.

Although I do believe it is noble and good to stand up for what you believe in, I’ve found that in situations where I don’t know enough about an issue to take center stage, it’s best to either do research or not say anything at all. Perhaps UNION would be better suited to mediate the differences between jocks and nerds and then gradually rise toward bigger issues.

Nate Wyne

Senior, International Studies