As I opened my news tab on my Internet browser, it came as no surprise to see the page filled with intolerable hatred toward Israel. For a country with a population of less than eight million, it does seem to attract disproportionate media attention. Of course, the most inflammatory news reports come from publications from Arab countries in the Middle East. However, the mainstream news sources in the United States and even our own government seem to throw in their fair share of Israel-bashing now and then.

CNN.com’s recent headline, “U.S. to Israel: Ease up on Arab-Americans,” caught my eye. According to the report published on Oct. 19, the U.S. Department of State made a complaint to the Israeli government in regard to its treatment of Arab-Americans that were traveling to Palestine. While fair treatment of American citizens is a concern, how can we be sure that these people are not a security threat? The fact is we don’t know, and neither does Israel.

Take, for example, the tragic case of Rachel Corrie. According to an initial report from honestreporting.com, she was an American college student and peace activist recruited by the International Solidarity Movement to actively stand against Israel’s demolition of the Rafah area. Before her trip to Israel, she was already passionately anti-American and anti-Israel. In fact, one of her most notorious pictures is one of her burning an American flag.

Her trip to the Gaza Strip in March 2003 proved to be fatal. According to information found on honestreporting.com, she was crushed by an Israel Defense Forces bulldozer.

While Corrie was not an Arab, she was an American who went to Israel to actively disrupt Israeli anti-terrorist operations. Perhaps if rules were stricter, she wouldn’t have met an untimely death. However, the question is whether or not liberty should be traded for safety.

As I read the CNN article, I wondered how they could so easily forget the urgency of Israel’s security issues. How can we criticize a nation that is perpetually attacked? Israel has a right to defend itself, and tighter security is a vital part of fighting terrorism. For the safety of individuals and society, some people should not be allowed to travel in certain areas.

Interestingly enough, Condoleezza Rice seems overly zealous in protecting everyone but Israeli citizens. In her keynote address on Oct. 11 at the American Task Force on Palestine Inaugural Gala, Rice said, “I will continue to do everything in my power ,,, to ensure that all American travelers receive fair and equal treatment.” She might as well have said she will do anything to ensure all American travelers receive the right to interfere with Israeli national security. While very few people who travel to Israel have ill intent, it only takes a single person to start an international incident.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Freedom in the Middle East is at a premium and complaining to Israel is hardly a solution. For the time being, everyone is going to have to sacrifice some freedom to maintain a safer and better world. Maybe some day, when we no longer have take up arms to defend ourselves from terrorists and tyrants, we will be able to have a truly free society.