Paul Snodgrass Guest columnist

Given that I am a student of the modern Middle East, nothing seems more natural than to travel to the place that I study. I was prevented from realizing this most basic of goals when Israeli officials invented the idea that I represent a security risk. The reality of the situation is that Israel prevented an American student from studying at a Palestinian university simply because it could.

Some very misleading statements about my character have graced the pages of the Wildcat in the past month. Invocations of tragic events in the Middle East generate powerful feelings but have nothing to do with my story. My sympathy for the suffering of innocent people everywhere is great, and I was wounded when I read assertions that the deplorable events in the Middle East could justify my deportation.

Israel is in a situation where the security of its people must be of the highest priority. It is for this reason that I was not annoyed over my lengthy detention by airport security. I cooperated fully throughout the process and was honest and forthcoming in response to all of their questions. However, unwarranted security resources were wasted on my case and ultimately, an unacceptable conclusion was reached when a most unfriendly Israeli official informed me that I am "not welcome here."

Accusations of violent intentions on my part would cause disbelief amongst any who know me. I refuse to believe that the highly trained and professional Israeli authorities actually considered me a threat. Furthermore, it is outrageous that the Los Angeles Israeli consulate should claim that only terrorists study at Bir Zeit University when they had told me days before my departure that there were no restrictions on students studying in the West Bank and at Bir Zeit is an internationally recognized institution and valuable contributor to higher education.

Although my deportation has severely disrupted my academic plans and caused a significant inconvenience, I recognize it is a small indication of a much larger problem. As a student, I join with international aid workers, U.N. monitors, journalists and many others who are not allowed into the territories occupied by Israel. I am in good company in this regard; however, many prefer to falsely place me into the category of terrorist sympathizers.

I am proud of my association with the UA Alliance for Peace and Justice in the Middle East, a group that consistently supports human rights and gives a voice to many underrepresented perspectives. They have never wavered in their commitment to condemn violence in all its forms. Like APJME, I am devoted to honesty as it is a precursor to both peace and justice.

I am fundamentally opposed to violent methods of resisting the occupation. Palestinians deserve to be free from this unjust and brutal occupation, but I recognize how violence forever transforms a society. The future generations of the Middle East must come to terms with the bloody spectacle that they are inheriting.

The current reasoning that both Palestinian militants and the Israeli military employ to justify violence is especially dangerous, because they are trying to purchase the security of their children with the blood of their enemies. It is painfully obvious for an outside observer that suicide bombings make Palestinians less safe and Israeli strikes make Israelis less safe. Each violent action demands and ensures reciprocation. Regardless of what side you are on, to condemn one form of violence and not the other is a contradiction. All people deserve to live in security.

It was with a mind toward security that I recently visited Berlin. The paintings, filled with hope for the future, adorn a preserved segment of the Berlin Wall and invoke powerful emotions in all who see them. I, however, was filled with a special concern due to the new wall of division that is being erected to surround Palestinians. This wall is being built in the name of security but will do nothing to provide security for the Palestinians on whose land it is being built. House demolitions, targeted assassinations and checkpoints will not be the least bit impeded by this barrier.

I was inconvenienced in the name of Israeli security, yet Israel is not safer because I am not there. The measures employed by Israel against the Palestinians cause nothing but death and suffering, and they do not make Israel safer. These heavy-handed tactics have fully failed to achieve their stated objective of security, and increase the level of militarization on both sides.

Paul Snodgrass is a history senior. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.