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Editor’s Desk
As the 2006-2007 academic year progresses, we are still shaken up by the war in which Israel found itself this past summer, forced to respond to attacks on Israeli civilians launched by members of Hezbollah embedded among Lebanese civilians. At the same time, rocket fire from Gaza continued apace. This violence, emanating from precisely the two places from which Israel had unilaterally retreated, sounded the death knell for Prime Minister Olmert’s plan for withdrawal from Judea and Samaria. In this issue of The College Zionist, Avi Posnick analyzes the lessons learned from the Gaza withdrawal. Ben Shapiro’s article surveys the regional record of the UN, which passed Security Council Resolution 1701 in response to the war between Hezbollah and Israel. Finally, Julie Hirsh surveys the rise of the radical ideology on which Hezbollah is based.
In his interview with Alisa Bodner, former Israel Defense Forces Chief-of-Staff Moshe Yaalon discusses the strategic ramifications of the war, and the place of the Arab-Israeli conflict in the wider world.
Back here on the college front, writes Anna Bolman, there are issues of anti-Semitism, as extremist professors and students on some campuses try to silence pro-Israel sentiment. This academic climate also has allowed a Holocaust-denier to hold tenure at Northwestern University, as Jill Sager describes.
This kind of threatening dynamic also exists outside of the university. Chaim Schutzman writes of professedly moderate groups in the United States with ties to international terrorist groups such as Hamas. The agenda of Hamas and of Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah are examined by Laura Turetsky.
Finally, Alan Meyerson discusses the central place of Zionism in the Jewish people’s heritage, reminding us of the great value of Israel, the homeland that unites us.
With best wishes for an enjoyable and productive year,
Julie Sager
Director of Campus Activities
Zionist Organization of America
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