And Condoleeza Rice, our Secretary of State, whose own State Department canceled the seven Palestinian students' Fulbrights for this year, says she cannot understand it.“This could be interpreted as collective punishment,” complained Rabbi Michael Melchior, chairman of the Parliament’s education committee, during the hearing. "This policy is not in keeping with international standards or with the moral standards of Jews, who have been subjected to the deprivation of higher education in the past. Even in war, there are rules."
The Israeli military says that higher education might or might not be a humanitarian purpose. Whatever. The whole blockade on Gaza is against international law, from beginning to end. That the United States would enable the blockade by canceling Fulbright scholarships must be a huge miscalculation. A bureaucratic mixup. A bald-faced failure.
May the siege be lifted. May the minds and hearts of the Israelis be healed of the mistaken belief that starving a people will bring them peace. May the Palestinians live in freedom.
I was in bed with the computer turned off but that woman's picture haunted me and I had to get up and write this. Yes, it is all just a terrible, terrible mistake. Lord, heal the error. This was set up to post after midnight but it's 10:30 pm and I'm logging off for the night.
The State Department has reinstated the grants. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/02/world/middleeast/02fulbright.html
Thankfully, somebody with a brain fixed that mistake!
Posted by: Maloof | June 01, 2008 at 08:04 PM