Photograph was insensitive and unprofessional

Editor:

Today, like many students around the world, I woke up, brushed my teeth, took a shower, got dressed and put on my shoes, one foot at a time. I made sure to leave for class with plenty of time to spare, carrying my portable coffee mug filled with steaming liquid. I am a student at Temple, and I am a Jew. A Zionist.

And yesterday, Jan. 30, 2008, your newspaper confronted me with a statement that I resent thoroughly. You called me a racist. This appalled and disturbed me for many reasons. While I understand that every image submitted to The Temple News has an inherent right for print, this image came out of nowhere, in the News section, with no explanation in the newspaper or otherwise. Not even on your Web site, which I visited immediately hoping for some sort of an answer as to why a newspaper serving the most diverse campus in the nation would print such an obscene image.

Zionists believe that Jews belong in the homeland of Israel. They do not believe that Israel exists as a state only for Jews, nor does Zionism suggest that a Palestine should never be established. In fact, while I am a zealous and adamant Zionist, I am also a firm believer in the idea that Palestinians deserve a homeland of their own, and I hope that I will see its establishment in a country near Israel so that these brother religions can finally live in peace.

Let me ask you, editor, do her words sound racist to you? As a Jewish Zionist student attending Temple, I demand a formal apology and explanation as to why your newspaper would blatantly ignore and deface the ideology of such organizations on campus such as Temple Students for Israel and OWLPac. I deserve to feel included in Temple’s community as a student, Jew and Zionist. No one should experience the blatant and utter defamation you have rewarded all of Temple’s Zionists.

Carly Feldman
Cultural Vice President,
Temple Students for Israel
Class of 2011