GUEST COLUMN: Israel is inherently oppressive

Fact: The United Nations has issued more resolutions condemning the state of Israel than against every other member state — combined. Now let me ask you:

Is Zionism ethical?

Do you, the reader, know what Zionism is? I’ll help you. From the Jewish Virtual Library:

“The national movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the resumption of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel. Has come to include the development of the State of Israel and the protection of the Jewish nation in Israel.”

In lieu of the unacceptable tragedy of the Holocaust, this was the solution envisioned by the West: create a “Jewish” state.

Judaism is a religion, but there is also a Jewish ethnicity. The state of Israel was made for them. But what does this really mean?

It means the establishment of a nation wherein, by law, human beings are denied citizenship strictly because of their race; a democratic country wherein institutions are structured to cater to a single ethnic group; a highly organized and efficient society that operates on the pretense of creating an ethnically homogeneous state; a place where the members of the minority ethnic group are treated as inferior citizens and denied the rights of other people.

To be blunt, these actions are all completely logical. There is no other way to achieve the Zionist goal. It is literally an impossible task unless done by way of repression of other ethnic groups. But is it ethical?

It is true that there was never an official Palestinian state — yet neither was there ever a Jewish state. However, there were Arabs living in Palestinian for thousands of years.

Why do you suppose these people might be angry when the Western world voted to create a state meant to exclude them, on their very land? Have you really thought about why this might make people want to fight?

We are still dealing with the repercussions of the short-sighted Balfour Declaration today; we are still searching for peace. But what kind of peace?

Peace is not achievable unless supported both in action and in speech. The Zionist definition of peace in the Levant is not true peace. Their definition of peace is Jewish hegemony and a suppression of the Palestinian people to the point that they no longer have the will to fight back.

As long as Palestinians are denied the rights that Israelis enjoy, there won’t be peace. You are fooling yourself if you think otherwise.

Neither side is blameless in this conflict. Yet the United States refuses to hold Israel accountable for its transgressions. This one-sided application of accountability is completely and utterly antithetical to the pursuit of a truly just peace.

There are so many questions that you must ask yourself to truly understand what is happening — so many that the limits of this letter are wholly insufficient to properly address them all.

Why is Israel beyond reproach in the United States?

Why do U.S. presidential candidates campaign in front of the American-Israeli Political Action Committee?

Why was the United States among only nine countries to vote against recognizing Palestine as a U.N. nonmember observer state?

Why is Israel allowed to continue its program of illegal settlements despite the violation of scores of U.N. resolutions?

Why are opponents to Zionism called anti-Semites, intentionally blurring the distinction between Zionism and Judaism?

You can’t learn everything necessary from reading this letter. However, if you take the time to truly look into this unacceptable situation, it will be plain to you that something needs to change, both in Israel and in the United States.

Collin Tyler is the public relations officer for the Arab Students Association and a Middle Eastern studies senior.