Letters to the editor
Wounded heart
Editor:I have never been to Israel. I have never heard the
Kaddish, the
mourner’s prayer. I can only hum to "Shir L’shalom." My only
excuse is that
I am not Jewish. I am Filipino American with a strong
Catholic
background.
Yet on Nov. 4, 1995, when I learned about the assassination of
Israeli
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, I could not hide my tears. I was
lost in my
sadness. Rabin was not only the leader of Israel, he was also a
hero for
those who dreamed of peace. Although I am not Jewish, I also
feel the loss
of a leader whose love for his country and the world was
untouched by fear
and cynicism.
A couple of years ago, as I slowly started to learn about the
Middle
East, I raised my hands in confusion. The Middle Eastern affairs
seemed
hopelessly meshed with historical arguments and decades of
violence. I
almost gave up in trying to understand this complicated matter.
Then, I
heard Prime Minister Rabin speak of the possibility of a
comprehensive and
everlasting peace. For the first time, Rabin offered a vision
that neither
Israeli guns nor rockthrowing could achieve for five decades in
the Middle
East.
More than a week after I lit remembrance candles in the Simon
Wiesenthal
Center and Israeli Consulate memorials, I still feel the sorrow
in knowing
that Rabin never fully saw the fruits of his labor. Rather, the
last months
of his political career suffered tremendous invectives and
insults.
However, Rabin did not bravely struggle through the peace
process to
glorify himself, he did it for his grandchildren and for his
future
greatgrandchildren. He devoted his efforts to a goal that was
not always
popular because he was able to see a greater end, a vision of
Israel
without spilled blood and angry tears.
When Yigal Amir fired the three shots that ended Rabin’s life,
he not
only ended the life of a courageous leader, he also wounded the
hearts of
those who truly want world peace. Israel and Jews all over the
world are
not alone in mourning the loss of Prime Minister Yitzhak
Rabin.Maria Candy S. Caballero
Third-year
Biochemistry/history
Tirade does offer some hope
Editor:After Aaron Howard’s tirade, ("No apologies for
questioning American
way, Nov. 10) suggesting that the American way is nothing more
than
everything wrong that has been done in America, he concluded his
column by
essentially stating what I consider to be one of the greatest
founding
principles of the American way: "Some things have got to
change." And "We
… have to go at it alone."
It gives me hope that improvements will indeed be achieved if
two people
whose beliefs are as different as Aaron Howard’s and my own can
both be
operating on the same basic principle – a principle that will
drive each of
us not only to write and discuss, but to work and to change
ourselves –
hopefully to the extent that we are able to change the world
around us.Dena Chubbic
Graduate student
Chemistry/biochemistry