UNITY, N.H.-If the "Zionist Project" is fair game according to Kate Casa, then so is Hamas's "Islamist Project" - that of the Muslim Brotherhood.
It's less about Palestinian statehood and more about establishing a repressive Islamic state ruled by sharia law. If Casa is OK with that, then I'm speechless.
I hate the Israeli occupation just like most everyone else does, and I understand that the Palestinian Authority is weak and marginalized. Israel is responsible for that.
Israel is also responsible for propping up Hamas in hopes that both entities fight each other out of existence.
That still doesn't mean we can bury the fact that Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood have their own unsuitable goals for Palestine that also compromise peace - just read through the revised Hamas charter, for starters.
Israel shouldn't be let off the hook for anything, but Hamas is not a red herring in the broader Israel–Palestine conflict.
Hamas is most certainly not off the hook for killing nearly 1,200 people - including Israelis, Americans, Arab Bedouins, and migrant workers from Asia - and taking over 100 hostages in order to preserve themselves and gain worldwide sympathy. That's a sick way to get attention.
I invite her to, in her words, "change the facts."
As for SIT Professor John Ungerleider, I admire the work he's done in promoting peace in the Middle East and I know the programs he's run have made a difference. I encourage The Commons to cover the great results he's achieved (and still does).
Casa's remarks about Ungerleider were unnecessary and borderline libelous. Reasonable people can disagree, but please, rise above.
Christian Avard
Unity, N.H.
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