Yes, Israel has done terrible things and continues to treat Palestinians terribly. But why do people have to be so black-and-white about it? The letter said the students “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence” and “The apartheid regime is the only one to blame.” They’re saying that the men with guns had no part of the responsibility for going house to house murdering hundreds of civilian men, women and children as they tried to hide, no responsibility for attacking a music festival and gunning down everyone they could as they tried to run, no responsibility for the reported rape-murders. It’s absurd to say these Hamas gunmen had no responsibility for what they did. Nothing forces a person to rape and murder civilians, even in impossible circumstances, and if someone chooses to do so, they are responsible for their actions, no matter what the circumstances. Sure, Israel is responsible for the conditions it created, but the letter goes too far in saying it’s the only responsible party.

We have to recognize that this is a terrible situation in which multiple parties are responsible for atrocities. To assign all the responsibility to one group is simplistic.