Think about what Hamas is
First, who is buying all the tents? They are likely just Amazon knock-offs, but they aren’t free. If students now have excess cash to buy tents, then why are all the loans needed?
Why are you wearing keffiyeh? Historically, it was worn by nomadic communities or Bedouins but it was brought to fame by Yasser Arafat, a terrorist, and was worn by many, if not all, of the Oct. 7 murderers and rapists. Is this who you’re wearing the keffiyeh to honor? Because most Palestinians who are not Hamas don’t wear them. So, why? None of the 150+ hostages would wear a keffiyeh, though of course the world doubts there are that many left alive.
The Hamas principles begin with “Palestine is a land that was seized by a racist, anti-human and colonial Zionist project.” They define: “The Zionist project is a racist, aggressive, colonial and expansionist project based on seizing the properties of others; it is hostile to the Palestinian people and to their aspiration for freedom, liberation, return and self-determination. The Israeli entity is the plaything of the Zionist project and its base of aggression.”
I’d like to emphasize that Hamas believes Jews are anti-human.
Speaking of Israel, the Hamas principles state that “Hamas believes that no part of the land of Palestine shall be compromised or conceded, irrespective of the causes, the circumstances and the pressures and no matter how long the occupation lasts. Hamas rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.”
And finally: “There shall be no recognition of the legitimacy of the Zionist entity.”
So what happens to the 8.3 million Israelis, 20% of whom are Arab, who are living between the river and the sea? What happens to those with a gender identity that doesn’t match their birth gender? You could ask Ahmad Abu Murkhiyeh if he still had his head.
Israel is not perfect, but they are not sworn to take over Palestine. They are paranoid about extinction, and for good reason. At present they are engaged in a war to eliminate Hamas. Wars are dangerous and destructive. But if I had to choose a side to support, it would be Israel, not those who are sworn to destroy them as anti-humans.
All I ask is for you to think.
John Dueker
University of Notre Dame class of 1974
April 26
Where is Notre Dame’s voice?
(Editor’s Note: this letter to the editor was written before the Thursday, Apr. 25 student protests at Notre Dame)
Truly the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me (Job 3:25). Yep, that’s right — to my great dismay, I have become one of those crazy alumni who write to The Observer to complain about the current students. But I simply could not help myself.
You see, I have been following the news about pro-Palestinian protests on campuses across the country like Columbia, Harvard, our fellow Catholic, Georgetown and even our sworn enemy, USC. “I wonder where the Domers built their camp,” I said to myself (or maybe to my confused husband). So I Googled … and I could not find any evidence of such an undertaking.
I was surprised. Many of the protests are at schools with high percentages of Jewish students (such as the source of my master’s degree, UPenn) — in fact, many of the protests were actually led by Jewish students who are placing themselves at risk in many ways, including within their own communities. It seemed to me that Notre Dame was a relatively lower-risk site for an encampment because of its different religious background — one with fewer complicated ties to an attempted ethnostate that is actively committing genocide and incorrectly justifying it with religion.
So, I was rather baffled that there were no students out there on South Quad making a statement about their support for all the innocent Palestinian people being murdered (and yes, also the Israelis that have been killed). I know it’s been a while for me, but they are still teaching that being pro-life is about more than just being anti-abortion, right?
Joanna (Sullivan) Full
University of Notre Dame class of 2013
April 25
