To the Editor:
As the teaching assistant of the first Arabic class ever taught at Dartmouth, I was happy to hear that the College is planning to offer an LSA program in Arabic and Hebrew in Jerusalem ("College plans new summer Israel LSA," May 18).
However, your characterization of the program as an "Israel LSA" is gravely incorrect, for Jerusalem is simply not part of Israel.
While many states have recognized Israel, practically none have recognized its sovereignty in Jerusalem. Virtually all countries, including the United States, have refused to locate their embassies to Israel in Jerusalem.
Palestinians and Israelis each view Jerusalem as their national capital. In addition, Jerusalem is a city of universal importance, owing to the presence in it of sites holy to Islam, Christianity and Judaism. For this reason, the city has always received keen attention from the various organs of the United Nations and from states and religious communities throughout the world.
The international community has for over 50 years firmly rejected Israel's attempts unilaterally to change the status of the city, including Israel's placement of government offices there and its attempts to proclaim Jerusalem as Israel's capital. UN Security Council Resolution 478 (1980) declared the latter move "null and void."
The parts of Jerusalem invaded by Israel in the 1967 war are occupied territory and, like the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, form part of the lands over which the Palestinian people may exercise its right to self-determination. In West Jerusalem, on the other hand, Israel exercises de facto authority, but has no title as sovereign.
The Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel are currently negotiating the status of this city in the context of the Palestinian-Israeli permanent status negotiations. It is therefore curious that Americans in Hanover are seemingly prejudging the outcome of these historic talks by implying that Jerusalem is part of Israel.
