Controversy at Saddleback College Paper

I was appalled by the offensive “Happy Holocaust” cartoon and article by Michael S. Boren published in the Saddleback College Lariat on Dec. 7. The issue is not about the First Amendment right of the Lariat to print controversial articles; most people would agree that it has the legal right to do so. The real question is the moral responsibility of the paper to the student body and the general public to publish opinions that have at least some basis in fact, and to avoid distorted discourse built upon prejudice and ignorance.

Boren unwittingly discloses his anti-Semitic bias by referring to the Jewish state as Palestine, the very term employed by Arabs who refuse to recognize the right of Israel to exist.

In a rebuttal, Boren claims that he intended to point out the dangers of nuclear weapons; however, this critical world issue has absolutely no connection to the last paragraph of his article, which states, “God might have made a better choice” than to choose Israelis as His chosen people. If Boren would read the Bible, he would learn that God chose the Jews, not the modern political state of Israel, to be His chosen people!

And perhaps Boren has not read much international news for a while either. He says “Israel finally has launched itself into the nuclear age.” The fact is that Israel acquired nuclear arms a long time ago.

Publishing libelous opinions about Jews or any other religious or ethnic group will not reduce the threat of nuclear war. It might help, however, if the Lariat showed more moral responsibility in choosing articles for publication.

MELVIN S. GARBER

Rancho Santa Margarita