To the Editor:

Re: “Race, Empire and Palestine: A World View,” Opinion, Oct. 22

We are former Sun columnists who have written in the past about the Arab-Israeli conflict, and understand that the issue is fraught with complexity. While we are proud that The Sun publishes a range of viewpoints, rambling columns that feature demonstrably false “facts” undermine the credibility of the Sun as a whole.

This column is rife with false statements, which can easily be verified with just a modicum of research. For instance, the claim that the United States provides no financial aid to Palestinians (over $400 million in 2008), or that the Israeli High Court has ruled the West Bank security fence illegal (it has not), or that the protests in Bil’in are purely peaceful (one Israeli soldier has lost an eye as a result of stone throwing, for example) could easily be disproven with a simple search on Google.

All three of us believe that the author has a right to express his viewpoint, no matter how laughably absurd, distorted and incomplete that viewpoint may be (e.g., “This conflict does not have to do with security”). We further believe that The Sun should continue to publish opinion columns that represent a diversity of thought. But The Sun must not allow itself to be used as a platform to pass off lies as fact.

Elliott Davis ’04, former Sun Columnist

Jamie Weinstein ’06, former Sun Columnist

Justin Weitz ’07, former Sun Columnist