Letter: Terrorism must stop

Tuesday morning, while waiting for class to begin, I started putting together a piece on how wonderful it was to see the Middle East was represented so well at the Olympics. The Iraqi soccer team brought hope to the war-torn country, and Israel received its first ever gold medal. There were even three athletes representing the Palestinian people. People came together from all around the globe, most putting politics aside.

However, there was still the all too familiar under-representation of women by Arab nations (even though there were more in this Olympics than past), as well as an Iranian who, though favored to win his weight class in Judo, refused to compete against an Israeli athlete. The fact

17-year-old Raad Aweisat was allowed to represent the Palestinians for the first time ever in swimming was a positive feat at Athens. I want the Palestinians to have a country of their own, so they can focus on improving their lives and not this

‘intifada.’ The Israeli and Palestinian people both want to move on, but Palestinian terrorists will not allow it.

On Monday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon released a new plan for accelerated withdrawal from the Gaza strip, which today was answered by dual suicide bombers from the terrorist group Hamas. There were 16 people brutally murdered and over 90 wounded in the first suicide attack in five months. These are the terrorists’ politics: thwart any and all attempts for peace in the most violent and gruesome manner.

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Aweisat represents the good nature of the majority of Palestinians. His family and friends worked together to extend his practice pool, and to ensure a trip to the Athens Olympics. Aweisat and the Israelis fight to stand up for what they believe in, while the terrorists fight to destroy what they don’t.

Foster Lewin

senior in engineering