Thursday, October 3, 2002

by Jeremy Schifeling
Co-Managing Editor

A group of three Israeli twenty-somethings spoke with students here
yesterday, discussing their lives in the wake of renewed violence between
Israelis and Palestinians and conducting an occasionally-heated dialogue on
the conflict.  The panel was sponsored by Im Tirtzu: Zionists for a Two
State Solution.

Yishai Goldslam, 26, Sharon Tuzvieli, 25, and Tal Lessner, 23, opened their
talk with brief autobiographies.

Lessner began the introduction by noting that she and her compatriots were
only voicing their own opinions, and not speaking on the behalf of all
Israelis or any particular movement.  She then went on to relate the moment
that she first became fully aware of the immediacy of the conflict.

“Imagine yourself reading a book, watching the television, and then having a
police officer come to your door and tell you that your whole family is
gone,” said Lessner, referring to a close friend who lost her parents and
grandparents in the Park Hotel suicide bombing in Netanya this spring.  “It
was like waking to a nightmare,” she said.  “And that was the turning-point
for me.  It wasn’t just on TV anymore.”

Tuzvieli, who attended UCal but returned to Israel to be with her brother
before his mandatory military service, spoke about the day-to-day paranoia
created by the conflict.  “Your head can’t be buried in a book because
you’re looking all around the bus,” she said, referencing the string of bus
bombings across the nation.

The conflict’s reach stretched all the way into the classroom said Tuzvieli,
where “half of your friends aren’t there, missing class, missing life,
because they got called up for reserve duty.”  However she did note that
life goes on for her and her friends, even with the constant sense of
danger: “We still go out.  It’s almost a matter of principle.”

Goldslam, for his part, discussed serving as a reserve soldier in the
Israeli armed forces, recalling his assignment to the West Bank while a
student at Bar-Ilan University: “I had papers to write, exams to do… and
all of a sudden, I get this phonecall…”  He also told students of his
disgust with Western media coverage of the events in that area, labeling
reports of an alleged Israeli massacre in Jenin “bulls–t.”

“The last thing any of us want to do is hurt a civilian,” said Goldslam.  “I
don’t know of any more moral army than the Israeli army.”

Upon the conclusion of their remarks, the Israelis opened up the floor for a
question-and-answer session.

Initially, the audience and the panelists carried on an easy-going
conversation.

For instance, when asked what he thought the best policies were to achieve
peace, Goldslam turned the question around and responded, “What would you
do?”  Furthermore, the panelists seemed reluctant to take sides early on,
with Tuzvieli saying, “everyone’s confused.  Sharon’s confused, Arafat’s
confused.  It’s a big mess.”

Still, the panelists seemed fairly supportive of current Israeli policy,
with Goldslam articulating a long-term vision of peace regardless of the
policy used to reach it: “I’m always going to defend myself, but as soon as
it [the violence] ends, I’ll be the first one there with my hand out.”

And eventually, when challenged on the specific details of the current
conflict, the Israelis engaged a few vocal students in a vigorous and
lengthy debate on the topic.

One issue of much contention was Israel’s treatment of Arab and Muslim
Israelis, who a number of questioners felt were being categorized as
“second-class citizens.”  While the panelists agreed that these populations
had been shortchanged in the past, they did not appear to be overly
sympathetic to the concerns voiced by the audience.

Lessner suggested that Arab-Israelis have a higher standard of living than
any of the other peoples of the Middle East and that their voices are
represented within the Israeli government.  Meanwhile, all of the panelists
were unabashed in stating that Israel was and should be a Jewish nation,
regardless of the consequences for non-Jews.  “There is something good about
the state being Jewish,” said Tuzvieli.  “Even walking in New York, I’m
afraid [to display my Jewishness]…  Israel is my home.”

Another major area of debate surrounded the current Israeli presence in
Palestinian-controlled areas, which Saed Atshan ’06 labelled an “illegal
military occupation.”  Atshan, who lived in one of these areas, claimed that
it was the pervasive characteristics of the occupation, from widespread
roadblocks to the invasion of “right-wing fanatic” settlers that had driven
Palestinians to the desperation of suicide attacks.

The panelists, however, saw it differently, blaming Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat for walking away from former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Barak’s “generous offer” of land return at Camp David two years ago.  While
Atshan and the Israelis quibbled over the nature of the proposal, the latter
maintained that such an agreement would have prevented the violence and
bloodshed that has ensued.

Ultimately though, Goldslam saw hope for a resolution through a mutual
recognition of each side’s right to exist.  “I don’t see one reason why
violence should be used… We should sit down like two civilized nations at
the negotiating table.”

And as Lessner put it, to close the discussion, “I want peace.  I want to
live in my country feeling safe.  I want to live a normal life just like
you.”

*****

by Nelson Pavlosky
Gazette News Reporter

On Tuesday night, Sanjeev Gupta, Assistant Director of the Fiscal Affairs
Department of the International Monetary Fund, gave a talk about the impact
of the IMF on the world’s poor.  Gupta’s lecture was very well-attended,
partially because it was sponsored by the Department of Economics and
partially due to the controversy surrounding the issue.

Gupta began with a PowerPoint presentation, explaining the mission of the
fund and the details of its operation, as well as defending the IMF from
common accusations made by its critics.

In his lecture, Gupta stated that the mandate of the IMF is “to facilitate
the expansion and balanced growth of international trade,” and to help its
member countries with their macroeconomic policies.  The IMF fulfills this
mandate by lending to low-income countries and offering technical assistance
in building an infrastructure.

According to Gupta, the controversy surrounding the IMF stems from the fact
that “the IMF extends loans to countries facing balance-of-payment
difficulties,” and in order for a country to meet the requirements for
receiving such a loan, the country must make adjustments in its spending
habits so as to generate public savings.

Apparently, many people believe that this can often result in cuts to social
programs necessary for the well-being of the poor, such as education and
healthcare, while the military and other less immediately relevant
institutions remain bloated.

Gupta contended that:
* Over the years, the IMF has become more concerned about the consequences
of its advice on the poor and vulnerable of borrowing nations.
* Increasingly, programs are integrating measures to shield these
populations from the adverse effects of reforms.
* Today, there is an explicit focus on poverty reduction in IMF lending to
low-income countries.

Gupta then opened the floor to questions, taking several questions at once
and answering them in batches.

When a student asked if he thought that protests had played a role in
changing the IMF’s policy towards poverty, Gupta responded that progress
made by many different groups in Washington were behind the reforms. “We
have to take into account what our members want,” said Gupta.

Another student stated that many economists feel that the IMF’s policies are
not working in some countries, and asked whether Gupta thought that the IMF’
s policies needed to be reconsidered.  Gupta responded that the IMF is
constantly reassessing its policies, and cited serveral recent examples
where the IMF had changed its mind. For instance, during the Asian economic
crisis of 1997, the IMF initially responsed by proposing greater fiscal
restraint, then reversed the policy a few months later when evidence
suggested that the policy was not working.

One issue that repeatedly came up was the role of geopolitical
considerations in the actions of the IMF.

One student stated that, during the Cold War, lending countries would
frequently violate institutional rules to satisfy their geopolitical
objectives.  While the end of the Cold War allowed countries to question the
IMF’s actions in a way that was not possible before, our post-September 11th
world seems likely to return to the Cold War climate, according to the
questioner.  The student cited Kenya as an example, since it seems to be
“back on board” despite its much-reported problems with corruption.

“Are we back to the same old business?” the student asked.

Gupta, in response, claimed that everything was business as usual at the IMF
despite last year’s terrorist attacks, and that the US had not been imposing
its will on the organization.  However, he made sure to note the
impossibility of fully excluding “geopolitical considerations from the
decision-making process.”

Pete Mohanty ’05 also questioned whether countries with left-wing leaders
received a lower credit rating from the IMF, since such leaders are
generally against the globalization/free market ideals of the IMF.  Gupta
responded that the IMF is a credit union, and that “unless funds are repaid
we cannot lend to someone else.”  Thus, the IMF will impose certain
conditions that will ensure that they get their money back.

This query was directly related to a later question about how the IMF
resolves a strong internal tension between efficiency and distribution, to
which Gupta responded, “in reality, efficiency will prevail, I don’t think
[we] worry about distribution.”

*****

* Eight of the twelve youths implicated in the beating of Charles Young
confessed to the crime on Wednesday. Mr. Young, a thirty-six year old
handyman, was severely beaten to death by the group of boys in an
economically-depressed Milwaukee neighborhood Sunday night. The boys range
in age from 10 to 18, and the state intends to charge them with first-degree
intentional homicide. It is still unclear whether they will be tried as
adults.

* Richard Reid has decided to plead guilty to the charges levied against
him. Reid is accused of carrying homemade explosives in his shoe during a
trans-atlantic flight from Paris to Miami in December. When Reid agreed to
plead guilty on Wednesday, he asked that language be removed from his
indictement that dealt with the training he allegedly received from
al-Qaeda. The prosecution has denied that they will allow the language to be
removed, and have set the trial date for November 4th.

* Hurricane Lilli has started to bore down on Lousiana and Texas. Reaching
winds of 145 mph, the storm has been classified as a Category 4 storm, which
is the second to worst type. About 75,000 people have been advised to
evacuate their homes. Most of these residents are along the coasts,
particularly the central coast of Lousiana, though it is expected the storm
could cause flooding as much as 25 miles inland.

*****

Art Lecture: Carmen Lomas Garza
LPAC Cinema, 4:30 p.m.

College Bowl Meeting
Kohlberg 202, 7:00 p.m.

“Land Privatization, Banana Workers, Paramilitary Killings and Impunity of
Global Workers”
Discussion with Aparicio Perez Guzman, CUC, and Marie Manrique, Rights
Action
Kohlberg 115, 7:00 p.m.

Aikido Club Practice
Wrestling Room – Lamb-Miller Field House, 7:00 p.m.

Thomas B. McCabe Memorial Lecture: Michael Dukakis
Pearson-Hall Theatre – LPAC, 7:00 p.m.

Film: “Black Cat”
SCCS Lounge – Tarble, 7:30 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Despite outshooting their opponents 16-7 yesterday, the men’s soccer team
fell to Ursinus, 1-0.  Frosh goalie Reuben Heyman-Kantor posted four saves
in the loss, which drops the squad’s record to 4-6-1 overall and 0-3 in the
Centennial.  The Garnet will next return to the turf in Saturday’s contest
against Dickinson.

*****

The women’s soccer team was defeated by Muhlenberg 2-1 Wednesday.  Katie
McCaffrey ’04 notched the contest at 1-1 early in the second half, but the
Mules responded with the game-winner just a few minutes later.  Catherine
Salussolia ’04, who faced a barrage of shots in net (the Mules outshot Swat
21-3), made nine saves to keep the game close.  The sqaud is now an even 6-6
on the season and 2-3 in the Centennial.  Their next game will be at
Washington this Saturday.

*****

There are no contests scheduled for today or tomorrow.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”
–Douglas Adams

*****
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