Palestinian-Lebenese author Saree Makdisi was invited by the Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies (JIMES) department on Nov. 4 to give his presentation “Tolerance is Wasteland: Palestine and the Culture of Denial” on his work about Western denial of Palestinian oppression and genocide.

When the press agitates for another bloody Middle East war, remember Thousand Oaks, California. Remember that the people of Iran, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq will not bleed alone.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley discussed and highlighted their two-pronged approach to conflicts in the Middle East yesterday.

Ezra Schwartz was just a boy. He was a boy who started food fights at camp and organized cabin mischief. A boy who sought to make others happy and brighten the lives of those around him. He was just a boy—an 18-year-old boy shot dead in his car by Palestinian terrorists on his way home from bringing food to Israeli soldiers.

Although I do not personally identify with the progressive political movement, I firmly believe in the advancement of LGBT rights in America and around the world. I’ve found common ground with progressives on my belief in equal rights for all people regardless of their sexual orientation.

Earlier this week, an opinion—“To Be Middle Eastern at Wash. U.”—was published in Student Life. The letter begins by announcing the start of a smear campaign, but it was the false, unclear and misleading allegations that appeared within the letter itself that were both offensive and deeply disturbing.

Do we know we are falling into a trap? Do we have some alternate, possibly profitable, scheme of which I am unaware? Or are we simply backed too far into this corner of exceptionalism that demands we continue our pursuit to police the world?

This year, Washington University didn’t have a remembrance service for Sept. 11. Why, you might ask? Was this not a tragic event? Was this not a period of grief completely unmatched by any other in our short lifetimes? Yes, it was that and so much more, but Wash. U.

It is misguided to make any comparison between red lines and green lines when discussing the important issues facing America with respect to the Middle East. To suggest that green lines ought to garner the same attention as red lines in American presidential races is to not fully understand American issues and policies.

Russ Carnahan, Democratic Congressman for Missouri’s third district—which contains Washington University, spoke to students and community members Wednesday night as part of an event organized by Wash. U. Students for Israel.