Point/CounterpointDebate newsworthy and other 'hot-button' topics here. If it can be debated, this is the forum for it. Can't be thin skinned - people will disagree with you. No flaming or personal attacks.
I think the opposition is afraid that people in this country will see the horrible impact and damage that the suicide bombers cause. It will undermine their attempts to rationalize the evil away.
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Exhibit of Bombed Bus Draws Opposition
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BERKELEY, Calif. - A traveling exhibit of the bombed-out remains of a Jerusalem bus is sparking opposition from critics who call it a politically charged and one-sided statement.
The twisted wreckage of Bus 19, which has been displayed in several cities in the United States, is what remains of a bus that was struck by a suicide bomber a year ago. Eleven people were killed and 45 injured.
Organizers of the exhibit, which will be the focus of an anti-terrorism rally at a Berkeley park on Sunday, said the point is to show the devastating effects of terrorism.
"We're bringing it around the country to heighten the awareness of the cruelty, the godless brutality of terrorism," said James Hutchens, president of the Washington, D.C.-based group The Jerusalem Connection, formerly known as Christians for Israel.
Critics see the exhibit in a different way, and they are planning a counter-demonstration in opposition of Israeli policy.
Barbara Lubin, executive director of the Berkeley group Middle East Children's Alliance, which provides aid to Iraqi and Palestinian families, [i/sees the real purpose of the exhibit as "perpetuating the idea that Palestinians are terrorists."[/i] This would be funny if it wasn't so outrageous. Just what society is rewarding and honoring the families of the suicide bombers? The Israelis have to build a wall to keep them out and stop them from killing innocent civilians that includes children. Where is the outrage for that? Sometimes, looking in the mirror sucks.
Lubin is organizing a silent "Vigil for Global Justice," to be held across the street from the Sunday rally.
Famous for its long history of dissent, Berkeley has been the site of a number of protests centered on Palestinian-Israeli issues.
At UC Berkeley, pro-Palestinian demonstrators have staged mock "Israeli checkpoints," stopping some students and trying to search their bags. In 2002, protesters took over a campus building during midterms to demonstrate in favor of Palestinian rights, an act that led to 79 arrests. I wonder how many students they will find who have explosives? Those checkpoints would be gone if they would stop the violence.
Chris Cantor, a member of the group Students for Justice in Palestine, said he doesn't expect many students to attend the Sunday rally. Spring classes at UC Berkeley do not start until next Tuesday.
He had heard about the exhibit and, like Lubin, thought it was one-sided.
"It's focusing on something that I think everybody agrees is a tragedy," he said. "It doesn't address any of the root causes of violence." Of course it is one-sided. It is the Palestinians who are doing that. The root causes? Well, a big one is that Israeli dares to exist. If they have a beef with that, they need to go to the UN because it was a UN resolution that created Israeli.
Hutchens said the bus exhibit has been met with protests in other cities since the tour began last May. But the Berkeley stop feels "like I'm going into the belly of the beast," he said with a laugh.
The bus is scheduled to be on exhibit in San Francisco on Monday, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The tour began May 6 in Washington, D.C.
Susanne DeWitt, who organized the Berkeley rally and is the founder of the Israel Action Committee of the East Bay, said she wanted to bring the bus to the city because it's portable, unlike the sites of other terrorist attacks. She said the rally is about global terrorism, not just one country.
Lubin said demonstrators will hold pictures of Palestinians killed in the conflict but will not try to confront the anti-terrorism rally.
"We will be respectful and we understand that the bus represents a tragedy for all the victims' families and friends," Lubin said. "We mourn the loss of all children, whether they're Israeli or Palestinian."
I think the opposition is afraid that people in this country will see the horrible impact and damage that the suicide bombers cause. It will undermine their attempts to rationalize the evil away.
Exactly!
Unfortunately some need a reminder since they have forgotten the New York Trade Center, Oklahoma City, the Pentagon, Pennsylvania, the USS Cole, Beirut...
Unfortunately some need a reminder since they have forgotten the New York Trade Center, Oklahoma City, the Pentagon, Pennsylvania, the USS Cole, Beirut...
I agree it is sad but at times this is what you have to do to remind people of the losses we suffered due to all these tragic events.
Point/Counterpoint
01-14-2005, 19:37
Exhibit of Bombed Bus Draws Opposition 
