To the Editor:
It seems like Michael Mello (May 22, "What if Dartmouth were in Tel Aviv") was a little too occupied fantasizing about blood and guts in Dartmouth Hall to pay attention to the excellent speech being delivered in front of him by Chris Hedges.
Mr. Hedges did not say that "Israelis are racist" (he said that settlers building settlements in violation of the Oslo accords are racist -- a hard claim to disagree with). Mr. Hedges did not say that "Israel should not exist." Instead he claimed that Israel's and Jewish history should not be a blank check for violence and repression -- again, I doubt Mr. Mello would disagree.
Lastly, Mr. Mello seemed to miss Mr. Hedges' most powerful point. Mr Hedges did not justify suicide bombers. Rather, he suggested that suicide bombers are the inevitable result of the poverty, misery and poor leadership of the occupied territories -- all a product of Israel's occupation. Suicide bombers aren't "right" -- but that won't make them go away. If Israel hopes to end its own torment, it will have to listen to the voices of Palestinian suffering -- which Mr. Mello doesn't seem to hear.
