Dear Harvard College Israel Trek 2014 – #Israeltrek2014 participants,
As you well know by now, your current trip to Israel has drawn international attention and media coverage. While a group of college students traipsing through the Jewish State is probably not worthy of such focus, your visit to Ramallah and specifically your smiley group photo at the grave of Yasser Arafat, the father of modern-day terrorism, has drawn condemnation from many (myself included).
At the same time your organizers on the ground in Israel, as well as your sponsors back in Boston including Hillel and the CJP (Combined Jewish Philanthropies, under the umbrella of the US Jewish Federation system), have vociferously defended your itinerary, and have made a point to attack those who have come out against your visit, labeling them/us as fringe extremists.
I have read all of your explanations, justifications, clarifications, etc. for the smiley gravesite photo, and frankly I’m just not impressed.
While you claim to be fully aware that Arafat was behind countless Israeli deaths, I want to go over his abridged resume of mass murder just one more time to be sure you have the facts. Also, since you are representing a US institution, it’s important to note how many American citizens are dead as a result of Arafat’s murderous ways.
As chairman of the PLO, Arafat was responsible for (or linked to):
- The murder of 12 Israeli Olympians during the 1972 Munich games
- The murder of the United States ambassador to the Sudan, Cleo Noel, in 1973
- The bombing of the United States Marines barracks in Beirut in 1983 that killed 241 people
- The hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship in 1985 and the murder of hostage Leon Klinghoffer
- The Oslo War (2nd intifada) that claimed the lives of over 1,000 Israeli civilians and soldiers, including US citizens
But you probably knew all that, right? If not, you do now.
