Israel defended at a Faculty Forum
KU prof says Jews acted in retaliation
By JULIE THATCHER
Kansan Staff Writer
In refuting the Arab viewpoint presented at the Faculty Forum last week, Zamir Bavel, said Thursday persons were accepting faulty premises about the Middle East conflict.
Bavel, associate professor of computer science and former native of Israel, told 40 faculty members at the Faculty Forum Arabs have justified their actions on the basis of cause.
"They tell the world they're bad guys." Bavel said, "and then respond to aggressive incidents by saying 'we told you we were bad guys.'
"I've seen this tactic used time and time again. After a while people look only at the distance between the premise and the facts and forget the original premise. Later they formulate a faulty premise on the basis of the completed action, accept it as fact and begin to espouse it," he said.
"As early as 1948." Bavel said. "Arabs were publicly advocating exterminating the Jews and throwing them into the sea." People have forgotten that Israeli actions are in retaliation, he added.
Another reason for misconception about the Israeli position, Bavel said, is the use of obscure quotes and partial facts about incidents. He cited the "Massacre at Dir Yassin" as an example.
Last week Fawwaz Ulaby, associate director of the center for research in engineering science said the Jews had made a vicious attack on the village, massacring 250 women and children.
Bavel said the city was being fortified by the Arabs in preparation for the 1948 war. For security reasons, the town was labeled a military objective.
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Loud Speaker Warning
Before attacking the city, Bavel said, a truck equipped with a loud speaker went through the streets and warned the citizens of the impending attack. Nearly 200 left the city and were never molested, he said.
"Loss of strategic surprise was the result of this precaution," Bavel said, "and our high casualties clearly were caused by the pre-announcement."
After the encounter, he said, casualties were taken to the Jerusalem hospital and the Israeli government expressed its regret. Arabs interpeted this statement as an expression of guilt, he added.
"Arabs ignored their own role in the slaughter," Bavel said. "They were negligent in failing to move civilians from military fortifications, yet have been making hay on the incident ever since."
Another point Bavel disputed was the statement made by Ulaby that Palestinian Commando raids were almed at "distinctly military targets."
Only Two Attempts
tion but made no response to daily attacks by Arab saboteurs that result in killing and demolishing."
the planes of Arab airlines," he said. "It was a successful attempt not to harm any person. The whole world condemned the ac-
"I can think of only two attempts to sabotage military targets and they were dismal failures. However, there have been numerous attacks on airliners, business offices, supermarkets, bus and train terminals and apartment houses, all 'distinctly military targets'," he said.
small amphibian force into a hostile country.
These raids with the Israeli response to attacks against her airline can be contrasted, Bavel said. Instead of sending planes in to bomb the airport, Israel sent a
"We removed every living person from the vicinity and isolated
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