Mr. Horowitz’s full-page ad in The Hatchet (Sept. 28, page 6) is an unwelcome addition to the campus discourse on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and is far from representative of the views of Jewish and pro-Israel students on campus.
The advertisement, which appeared in many other campus and national newspapers across the country, does not explicitly go against the rules that govern The Hatchet’s advertising policies. The uproar that this advertisement caused among its chief readership, namely students, as well as the insulting and denigrating words used by Horowitz to describe an entire nation of people, begs this newspaper to think more carefully before publishing an advertisement of this nature.
The most disappointing aspect of this advertisement for me is not The Hatchet’s decision to run it, but the fact that Horowitz’s statement seeks to represent, or may be taken as somehow representative, of the broader Jewish and pro-Israel community.
As a Jewish student and as a leader in the pro-Israel community at GW for many years, I know that this is false, and it must not be tolerated by our community. Various statements by Jewish and pro-Israel leaders from this school and other schools who have dealt with this advertisement reflect this notion.
Our campus has done much in such a small amount of time this semester to foster an environment that is less polarizing when it comes to discussing this conflict. When I started up a chapter of J Street U, an organization that advocates for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, chapter at GW this semester, the strong interest I received from students affirmed to me that students were tired of being asked to choose between two competing poles.
This advertisement fails to recognize the legitimacy of the Palestinian perspective or the necessity of a two-state solution, and undercuts the idea of a multilateral, negotiated two-state solution that ensures security, social justice and democracy for all residents of both Israel and the future state of Palestine.
As we seek to promote peaceful and constructive dialogue concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on our campus, we must continue the work we have done thus far and ensure that hateful messages like this don’t hinder our efforts; they should reinforce them.
Rory Silver, a senior
majoring in international affairs,
is the president of J Street U at GW.
