Opinion: Let those people go...

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Israel’s brilliant idea of needlessly embittering Palestinians by refusing to let them leave Gaza to study abroad came to light last month when the U.S. state department yanked the Fulbright Scholarships of seven students. The Fulbright is the government’s flagship international education scholarship, and even though the students had been fully vetted by the U.S., the grants were withdrawn because they couldn’t leave Gaza. After much hue and outcry, Israel was embarrassed into changing the policy, the U.S. restored the scholarships and reason seemed to prevail.

Last week things were looking good. Israel permitted four of the seven to travel to Jerusalem to obtain U.S. visas while the others awaited security checks. But now the New York Times is reporting that Israel has deemed the other three to be threats to Israel and won’t allow them to leave.

If, in fact, Israel really does believe that they are security risks, what better way to minimize radical influence than by removing them from Hamas’ stronghold and allowing them to pursue their graduate studies at universities promoting Western ideas and values? Their intended destinations are the University of Utah, the University of Connecticut and Colombia University.

This is ridiculous. If Israel doesn’t want them, we do. Escort them to the airport, put them on planes and send them to us.