Violence rages on a small sliver of land in the Middle East. These days are trying, arguably crucial, for Israel's survival. I am petrified that these days are also dire for the future of the democratic free world.
So let's get a few things straight.
To be pro-Israel is not to be anti-Palestinian. Arguing for the State of Israel's continued existence does not mean in any way that the Palestinians should not have a state of their own. Truth be told, to be philosophically pro-Israel, to advocate the existence of a Jewish democratic state, implies that the Palestinians should not be subjugated.
Unfortunately, peaceful Palestinian visions of a state in the West Bank and Gaza are overshadowed by waves of suicidal violence. I am not pointing to elementary school children throwing rocks; rather, I refer to young men and women strapping bombs on their chests. This suggests that suicide bombers care about terrorizing the Jews, with no regard to their own lives.
Suicide bombers do not seem to be working toward the creation of a democratic Palestinian state. If they did, why would they be sacrificing the possibility of real peace or the commencement of a dialogue for the glory of death? Democracy is a means as well as an end. Suicide missions have no process; they are only an end. Suicide bombers not only contradict the democratic process, they downright reject it, refusing to acknowledge that discourse could lead to a solution.
These "martyrs" suggest that suicide missions are the only avenue to create their own state. I don't buy it. Every past nationalist political movement, no matter how desperate, has somehow managed to fulfill its aims without resorting to suicidal tactics.
How can we, as Americans who value the principle of life and liberty above all else, begin a dialogue with a group who is willing to destruct both themselves and unassuming civilians in order to send a political message? How can we fathom a reciprocal relationship with groups who send messages in death and not in life?
We need only a single commonality to begin peace talks: a mutual respect for human life. If we do not share this basic principle, then how can any viable peace plan survive long enough to be implemented?
These are the issues that trouble me. They must trouble us collectively. We are Americans, citizens of the first country to espouse every individual's right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This issue transcends the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While the suicide bombers of recent days may care only about influencing the Israeli government, there are others with different political aims who use similar tactics. The 18 men who killed themselves on Sept. 11, destroying the World Trade Center and damaging the Pentagon, were also on a suicide mission. Not only were they rejecting life, they were mocking our commitment to it.
If the Palestinians succeed in the midst of suicide attacks, then world powers are allowing suicidal missions to become legitimate forms of protest. A statement will be sent to the rest of the world that reads: "Kill yourself, kill others, and get what you want." This message is terrifying. What if suicide bombings become an accepted form of protest? What if, instead of holding rallies, sit-ins or other organized protests, dissatisfied citizens decide to annihilate themselves and the innocent civilians against whom they are protesting?
Our world rests on a delicate political balance in which democracy is preserved when people use their voices to incur change, because only then is negotiation granted the respect that it deserves. If words, however, are transformed into suicidal violence, discussion and democracy are in danger of losing all credibility.
Our shared struggle against suicide missions connects the United States and Israel. Right now, the battle in the Middle East is not just a battle for borders. It is a fight to retain our love of life.
The awe that we are alive, that we are cognizant beings who inhabit a world filled with natural wonder and human connections, has enabled us to survive and to prosper as a human race. To sit passively while a small but vocal group tries to convince us that life is not sacred is to lose the legacy of which we are all a part.
The current situation in Israel is relevant to each and every one of us, as college students, as Americans and as citizens of the world. We must not become ignorant about the events in Israel. We must keep ourselves informed. The suicide bombers challenge not only Israeli democracy but the very fabric of global civilization.
