“The Palestinians are a dangerous people” because some individual Palestinians have committed acts of terror. Such was the generalization made by Victor Amoroso in his Jan. 20 letter defending Israel’s construction of a security barrier near Jerusalem.

Would Mr. Amoroso also believe that Colombians are “a dangerous people?” After all, some individuals of Colombian extraction are involved in the global drug trade.

Would he suggest that African-Americans are “a dangerous people” because a few young black men are gang members? Most pointedly, would he argue that Jews as a whole are “a dangerous people” because some individual soldiers have harmed innocent Palestinians in the course of the conflict?

Generalized judgment of people, based upon ethnic background rather than individual behavior, is exactly what sets the stage for conflicts like the current unrest in the Middle East. Both the hatred some Palestinians feel toward Israel (as demonstrated by the continual suicide bombings) and the oppressive activities advocated by some Israeli hard-liners (such as the demolition of entire neighborhoods because of the suspected presence of a single Hamas member) are rooted in the same destructive folly displayed in Mr. Amoroso’s letter.

Reilly Liebhard

Senior

Liberal Studies