Adam Yoffie's column, "Reflections on the PSM 1 year later,''(Oct. 17, 2005) is not only inaccurate but downright slanderous. I wonder if Mr. Yoffie read any of Professor Norman Finkelstein's books before calling him a "Holocaust denier." Professor Finkelstein's main work these days is debunking the web of plagiarism and deceit that surrounds much of the so-called "pro-Israel" arguments. Suffice it to say that Israel's actions in the West Bank and Gaza have been condemned by every major human rights organization, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
The book Mr. Yoffie makes reference to, The Holocaust Industry, is a thorough investigation into the disappearance of money taken from Swiss banks and destined to Jewish Holocaust survivors. Out of $1.25 billion, only $250 million ever reached its intended targets, with the result that Jewish Holocaust survivors are now dying in poverty in Florida and in Israel, among other places. My grandparents are very much in that category. Thus Mr. Yoffie's condemnation of Professor Finkelstein touches a rather sensitive spot. A large part of the rest of the money, by the way, is going to support various Zionist causes around the world, including in illegal settlements in the West Bank. Absent from the book is any denial of the existence of the Holocaust. To be clear, the book in no way denies the existence of the Holocaust. I wonder where Mr. Yoffie got that.
As for Israeli-Palestinian activities on campus: I personally consider the Palestine Solidarity Movement conference a huge success, as it brought about a tripling of the number of Duke students visiting Israel/Palestine this year, making Duke the most represented American university in the West Bank this summer. I believe strongly that anyone who wants to be taken seriously in the debate over Israeli-Palestinian issues must at the very least visit and try to understand all sides of the conflict. All the Duke students who traveled to Israel/Palestine this past summer spent time both in the West Bank and inside Israel, getting a balanced perspective on the conflict. Mr. Yoffie, when was the last time you were in Hebron, Ramallah, Jenin or Tulkarm?
Rann Bar-On
3rd Year Graduate Student
Promoting assault awareness
As editors of "Saturday Night: Untold Stories of Sexual Assault at Duke," we would like to announce the re-release of the second edition. Originally released late in Spring 2005 , more editions have been made available, and we welcome Duke students and the community to pick up a copy in publication bins on East and West campuses.
"Saturday Night: Untold Stories of Sexual Assault at Duke" is a publication designed to share the narratives of survivors of sexual assault at Duke. In 2002, a group of students mobilized to bring a face to sexual violence. Now alumni, the originators behind the idea for the publication were moved by the many responses they received from survivors and their family and friends and decided to share the stories and the range of experiences with the rest of the Duke community.
Since the first publication was released in Spring 2003, Saturday Night has been used in various classroom and extracurricular settings to foster honest dialogue to raise awareness and ultimately aid in sexual assault prevention. The publication is meant to honor those who have been affected by sexual assault while offering a measure of healing through the sharing of stories. In this sense, "Saturday Night" is unique.
In a world where we are inundated by statistics about rape and sexual assault on a daily basis, the publication takes the issues to a human level-to a Duke level. Statistics do not change a culture, but we hope sharing stories, discussing and acting upon them will.
In the midst of Dating Violence Awareness Week sponsored by Sexual Assault Support Services, we encourage you to participate in the programming and pick up a copy of "Saturday Night." We urge you to take your experience from reading the publication to another level by considering the dynamics of the campus rape culture and taking action in breaking down notions that perpetuate sexual violence.
These issues are not just a survivors' issues. They are our own as well. Let's keep talking about them.
Nazaneen Homaifar
Erin Phillips
Trinity'06
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