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November 20, 2009
Campus event misleads
UBC student activists allege Israeli rights abuses.
JONATHON VAN MAREN
Student activists held a protest against Israel’s security barrier at the University of British Columbia last week. This event, which took place in the Student Union Building, was part of I Am Palestine week, organized by Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR).
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has emerged as a hot-button issue on campuses across North America in recent years, with Jewish students facing down a panorama of criticism against Israel. On this occasion, students from UBC Hillel’s Israel Awareness Club erected a “response tent,” providing information in the face of the allegations against Israel. Representatives of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University were also on site, to promote study-abroad opportunities.
The SPHR exhibit consisted of a display of maps of the Palestinian territories, a large Palestinian flag, copies of various United Nations’ resolutions condemning Israel and a series of posters depicting distressed children with the caption, “I Am Palestine.” Video footage from the recent war in Gaza ran continuously and brochures included, “Everything You Need to Know about Israeli Apartheid” and “The Apartheid Wall.” The atmosphere was punctuated by background music that ranged from the Black-Eyed Peas to Arabic pop.
SPHR wrapped the display in chicken wire and posted a sign that said “Checkpoint” and a poster with the slogan, “Expel the Arab Enemy,” without the disclaimer that it’s a slogan used by the illegal radical Kach movement, and did not represent Israeli consensus or mainstream opinion. Likewise, a picture of yeshiva students carried the title, “Teaching Hatred.”
Two of the student organizers, Abdur Raham and Salah Bustami, explained that their intention was not to promote a political solution, such as a separate Palestinian state, but rather to point out human rights abuses allegedly occurring due to the security fence. Their main concern, they explained, is the curtailing of mobility rights, citing examples such as pregnant women giving birth at checkpoints after failing to get through in time to make it to a hospital. The wall, they pointed out, divides farmland belonging to Palestinians at some junctures, and does not follow the internationally recognized Green Line. They also expressed anger at the Arab League, accusing Egypt of being as responsible as Israel for the siege on Gaza, and charged that the Arab League seemed to care little for the plight of Palestinian refugees. When asked whether the barrier had any security value, they dismissed the question as irrelevant and said that it violated international law by its very existence and, overall, makes life difficult for the Palestinian people.
Just outside the building, the Israel Awareness Club erected a tent and display intended to defend the security fence. The club posted signs stating, “Israel wants peace” and “There can be no peace without security.” The students staffing the table pointed out that although the Palestinian supporters were correct in stating that the security fence made life harder for the Palestinian people, it was still necessary. Student Rael Katz said it was a case of “lives versus livelihood,” stating that Israel had erected the barrier to protect its citizens from terrorists and to save lives – and while this undoubtedly had a negative effect on Palestinian quality of life, saving lives was the imperative objective.
Despite concerns that the event would cause an atmosphere of intimidation, as it has on other campuses, Hillel executive director Eyal Lichtmann expressed gratitude to the university and to the Alma Mater Society for ensuring that students were not harassed by the “checkpoint” and that the potential for conflicts was reduced. As well, the incident provided the opportunity, he said, for the university and the AMS to develop a policy precedent preventing obstruction of movement by groups making political or other points.
Jonathon Van Maren is a contributor to The Peak, Simon Fraser University’s student paper, and a member of Hillel.
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