Full of fulbright

Four and a half years ago three Americans were killed as they crossed into Gaza:

From the wreckage, it appeared that the explosion had occurred directly beneath the driver’s seat of the second of three American vehicles, ripping off the engine, as well as the front axle and wheels. The blast, which left a crater about 15 feet wide and 5 feet deep, threw the vehicle into the air and cast it to the ground upside down, in a tangle of crumpled steel. Debris, blood and human tissue were spread over a wide area, with the bodies of one of the Americans thrown nearly 40 feet away, according to witnesses at the scene.The Americans who were killed were identified by the State Department as John Branchizio, 37, from Texas; Mark Parson, 31, from New York State; and John Martin Linde, 30, from Missouri. The three men were employees of DynCorp, a Virginia-based defense contracting company, who were assigned to the American Embassy in Tel Aviv. The men were traveling in the same car as the wounded diplomat, who was not identified. The diplomat was taken to the Soproka University Medical Center in Beer Sheva, where hospital officials said he was in stable condition after surgery.

But these Americans were traveling in Gaza to help Palestinians:

He said the Palestinian Authority should give its prime minister control over all of its security forces to suppress further violence, but noted that a change in control was being blocked by Mr. Arafat. Ahmed Qurei, the new prime minister, threatened to resign last week over a dispute with Mr. Arafat over who would be interior minister and control the security forces.”The failure to create effective Palestinian security forces dedicated to fighting terror continues to cost lives,” Mr. Bush said. ”The failure to undertake these reforms and dismantle the terrorist organizations constitutes the greatest obstacle to achieving the Palestinian people’s dream of statehood.”

He noted that the Americans who were attacked were not on a military mission. American Embassy officials were visiting Gaza to interview young Palestinian candidates for Fulbright scholarships to study in America.

”This is another example of how the terrorists are enemies of progress and opportunity for the Palestinian people,” he said.

In the next year the Palestinians had failed to take any decisive action in the case.

The attack occurred near a manned Palestinian checkpoint. Immediately after the attack, journalists photographed Palestinian police officers standing by as onlookers cheered and roamed the crime scene, destroying critical evidence.Adding insult to injury, Musa Arafat, the head of Palestinian military intelligence in Gaza and a cousin of Mr. Arafat, announced last month that Palestinian authorities know the killers — “some Palestinian factions,” in his words — but would not arrest them because “clashing with any Palestinian party under the presence of occupation is an issue that will present many problems for us.” According to him, “the Americans have started recently to understand our position.”

A State Department spokesman called Musa Arafat’s comments “totally unacceptable and outrageous,” adding, “If it’s true that the PA knows the identities of the murderers, we expect immediate action to be taken to arrest, prosecute and convict them.”

Beyond such protestations, the United States has done little to press the PA to cooperate with the FBI in the investigation. In addition to the $5 million reward offer, the State Department banned travel to Gaza by U.S. officials and suspended funding for two water development projects there. Unfortunately, these meager actions incurred little cost for the PA — certainly not enough to compel Palestinians into action on an issue they appear keen to avoid.

To the best of my knowledge the investigation is proceeding at the same pace as OJ’s to find his wife’s killers.

Flash forward another three and a half years and the news story is: U.S. Withdraws Fulbright Grants to Gaza (via memeorandum)

The article doesn’t mention anything about the events of 2003.

The American State Department has withdrawn all Fulbright grants to Palestinian students in Gaza hoping to pursue advanced degrees at American institutions this fall because Israel has not granted them permission to leave.

And lest anyone be lulled into thinking that this isn’t Israel’s fault.

A letter was sent by e-mail to the students on Thursday telling them of the cancellation. Abdulrahman Abdullah, 30, who had been hoping to study for an M.B.A. at one of several American universities on his Fulbright, was in shock when he read it.“If we are talking about peace and mutual understanding, it means investing in people who will later contribute to Palestinian society,” he said. “I am against Hamas. Their acts and policies are wrong. Israel talks about a Palestinian state. But who will build that state if we can get no training?”

Some Israeli lawmakers, who held a hearing on the issue of student movement out of Gaza on Wednesday, expressed anger that their government was failing to promote educational and civil development in a future Palestine given the hundreds of students who had been offered grants by the United States and other Western governments.

“This could be interpreted as collective punishment,” complained Rabbi Michael Melchior, chairman of the Parliament’s education committee, during the hearing. “This policy is not in keeping with international standards or with the moral standards of Jews, who have been subjected to the deprivation of higher education in the past. Even in war, there are rules.” Rabbi Melchior is from the Meimad Party, allied with Labor.

Yes, there are rules in war. One is that a country isn’t obligated to allow its enemies free passage. Then there’s this:

But when a query about the canceled Fulbrights was made to the prime minister’s office on Thursday, senior officials expressed surprise. They said they did, in fact, consider study abroad to be a humanitarian necessity and that when cases were appealed to them, they would facilitate them.

It’s interesting that the State Department made its decision before consulting with the Israeli government. But then you wouldn’t necessarily have a conflict or an excuse for claiming that Israel was preventing the flourishing of the best and brightest from Gaza.

The article is seasoned with plenty of criticisms of how Israel is handling the situation. I’m skeptical that this was an intentional Israeli effort to stifle promising young men and women. It also appears that had the State Department bothered to consult with the Israeli government, Israel might well have allowed the Fulbright scholars safe passage. Instead it handled the issue in a way to embarrass Israel.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.