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Letters to the Editor: Romirowsky

I am shocked to find Laura Eckstein’s recent piece in the “news” section and not the “opinion” section. From her first approaching me about the article, I feared Ms. Eckstein did not aim to provide objective journalism. Not a single one of her questions were about my opinions or thoughts about the talk, instead they were unrelated probes about the nature of the speaker’s background and funds fairly provided by student council. Indeed, this screed against Mr. Romirowsky seems to be most devoted to vague accusations and threats by other students, without a shred of proof, instead of the actual contents of his lecture.

If Mr. Romirowsky’s talk was indeed Islamophobic, could you care to give an example? The accusations leveled against him are not true; they are tangential and unrelated. Indeed in the audio file helpfully provided in your article, at 6:50, Mr. Romirowsky states in no uncertain terms, “I do not speak for the Middle East Forum at large; everyone has their own opinion.” Is this an article about the Middle East Forum or Asaf Romirowsky? It seems to conflate the two, a misleading conclusion.

 From what I was led to believe by the student government and other sources, his speaking fee was normal. Furthermore, the idea that because our opinion seems to be somewhat of a minority, therefore it should be stamped out flabbergasts me. This literally contradicts the very meaning of the word dialogue. It is an attempt to justify the tyranny of the majority, a salacious and dangerous lie.

I am saddened that this event, which was meant to promote dialogue about a viewpoint that has never been seen on Haverford’s campus, has instead turned into an all out war on certain opinions. It seems that a select few would deny to others the rights that they hold so dear, and instead choose to attack rather than engage.

Barak Bacharach ’15

Haverford Israel Coalition

One Comment

  1. Jeremy Steinberg November 15, 2013

    Thank you for this fine letter, Barak. I was very disappointed to see that the original article contained multiple paragraphs disparaging Mr. Romirowsky and the Middle East Forum and quoting students who disagreed with Mr. Romirowsky’s views, but presented very little material espousing the other side of the debate. In fact, it seemed to imply that other than Barak, not a single student on campus agrees even in part with Mr. Romirowsky’s views! While I cannot say for sure whether or not attendance at the lecture itself was quite so one-sided, and admittedly Mr. Romirowsky does not represent all possible expressions of support for Israel, the article implies the outrageous claim that pro-Israel sentiment at Haverford is limited to one student.

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