On Dec. 8, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt described the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as “a date which will live in infamy.” No less will Oct. 7, 2023, when terrorist organization Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel. Unprecedented in its magnitude and horror, nearly 1,200 Israelis were raped, tortured, murdered, and 252 Israelis were kidnapped into Gaza. What has followed is a long war to return these hostages and eradicate the genocidal Hamas.
On May 3, The Columbian published an article about the activities of pro-Palestinian students at Washington State University Vancouver, seeking to divest WSUV from Israel. I am a graduate of the WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, and part of the WSUV clinical campus. I am a Jewish alumnus, and an Israeli-American alumnus. I reject the calls of these student protesters.
Hamas chooses to conduct battle using human shields, leading to unmeasurable suffering among the Palestinian people. Israel stands as a shining beacon of Western liberalism and democracy in the Middle East. Let us stand by Israel, and stand against antisemitism and hate.
