Photo courtesy of Corey Oakley, Flickr
At Wonderful Wednesday last week, Emory-Israel Public Affairs Committee (EIPAC) hosted an event called “Ask Me Why [I Love Israel].” Students were prompted to make signs expressing their personal love for the country; responses included “Because It’s the most free country in the Middle East,” “Because the people are diverse and united,” “Because Israel loves me,” “Because It’s the most accepting place on Earth,” “Because we value human life” and “Because why wouldn’t I?!” This event ignores many of the nuances present in the Israel-Palestine conflict and minimizes the struggles of Palestinians living in the occupied territories of West Bank and Gaza. The event promoted a blind patriotic love of a country that routinely seizes land, prevents Palestinian sovereignty and continues to commit numerous human rights violations.
In questioning this event, and Israel’s actions as a whole, we are not expressing hate for the country or its people; however, there are also many reasons to question Israel’s actions – especially in light of this summer’s most recent conflict. Israel is a country which is comprised of many opinions and perspectives on this conflict, and we refer to the nation unilaterally for the purposes of reflecting on this event in particular. We are by no means in support of the atrocities committed by Hamas, but we also feel that the Israel-Palestine conflict deserves the nuance beyond a “love” or “hate” of a country or people. The side of the Palestinians is often unheard at Emory, because events like “Ask My Why [I Love Israel]” ignore human rights violations and oppressions committed by Israel towards Palestinians.
Holding an event that lacks an educational component in regards to the Israel-Palestine conflict ignores and perpetuates support for the violent and oppressive aspects of the Israeli government. Though the conflict has been ongoing for decades, a war erupted in Gaza just a few months ago. The conflict wounded soldiers and civilians on both sides, but Palestinian casualties, particularly civilian casualties, greatly outnumbered Israeli casualties: 69 Israelis died, with 94 percent being soldiers, killed mostly during the ground assault on Gaza, while 2104 Palestinians died, with 70 percent being civilians and 495 being children. During this conflict, Israel bombed multiple United Nations (UN)-operated buildings, including a school that was filled with refugees. The attack killed at least 20 people, and led the UN to accuse Israel of violating international law. Yet beyond the setting of war, Israel has consistently expanded its own territory by occupying Palestinian land, and has systematically oppressed Palestinians by building checkpoints throughout Palestinian territory, constructing a separation wall that annexes Palestinian land, co-opting Gaza’s economy through an economic blockade, demolishing the homes of Palestinians to make way for new Israeli settlements and preventing Palestinians from accessing adequate health care. The Israeli government has also committed a myriad of other human rights violations since 1948 (the official creation and recognition of the state), including forced sterilizations, prison torture, detaining political prisoners, blocking asylum procedures for refugees and more.
Events like “Ask Me Why [I Love Israel]” create an environment in which it is acceptable to ignore and reject the nuances of the Israeli occupation and Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a whole. During the Gaza war this summer, hundreds of men, women and children died; thousands were injured; and even more suffered from hunger, illness and immense poverty. The Wonderful Wednesday event at Emory negates all of this suffering as well as the suffering of Palestinians at the hands of the state of Israel since 1948 by defaulting to a blind love of a country that perpetuated much of this conflict. The nature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is that it has many roots, including the forced displacement of Palestinians from 1948 until today, the ongoing economic siege of Gaza and the 50-plus years of Israeli occupation of UN-recognized Palestinian territory. The patriotic discourse perpetuated by events like “Ask Me Why [I Love Israel]” erases and silences the suffering that Palestinians experienced and continue to experience since 1948. In order to comply with Emory’s commitment to ethical engagement, it is important to address all sides of an issue – especially one as politically charged and ethically pressing as the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Many of the responses given by students during this activity at Wonderful Wednesday included references to Israel’s successes, including political exceptionalism (“the only free country in the Middle East”), technological innovation (“the most biotech startups per capita”) and environmental progress (“it recycles 70 percent of its waste water!”). All of these perceived “successes,” and most of Israel’s successes as a nation since 1948, are derived from its oppression and systematic displacement of Palestinians and contingent upon treating Palestinians like second-class citizens through over 50 laws that discriminate against Palestinian citizens of Israel. This event ignored the social and political oppression of Palestinians as a key factor in Israel’s accomplishments, as evident from the responses. Classifying Israel as the “only free country in the Middle East” erases Palestinian existence from the map entirely, as thousands of Palestinians have been displaced from their home and subject to systematic human rights abuses by the government of Israel since Israel’s creation in 1948. Israel’s technological innovation is a result of immense foreign investment from countries like the United States that support Israel’s economic development while simultaneously turning a blind eye to the displacement of Palestinians that gives Israel the land and resources with which to develop infrastructure. The environmental advances that Israel has made, particularly how the country recycles “70 percent of its waste water,” can be directly attributed to how Israel dumps waste into Palestinian villages and more broadly, withholds water from the occupied territories. Praise for Israel’s environmental advances also disregards the environmental harm, such as groundwater pollution, that has come from the lax regulations on Israeli companies operating within the occupied Palestinian territories.
Generally, Israel bolsters its own economic development by treating Palestinian economic autonomy as a negative externality of its own advancement. However, it is important not only to focus on Israel’s advances, but also on how Israel has systematically destroyed the foundation for Palestinian quality of life since 1948. Measures that Israel has imposed for its own political and economic benefit have put Palestinians at an immense social, political and economic disadvantage. For example, Israel’s closing of the border between itself and Gaza, and subsequent prevention of exports from Gaza to the world, has completely shut down Gaza’s economy. Israel has facilitated the destruction of basic infrastructure – including hospitals, schools and roads – which directly affect any basis of Palestinian self-sufficiency and the possibility of any distribution of humanitarian aid. The agreement implemented on the Aug. 26 ceasefire brought nothing new to the table to help the humanitarian crisis in Gaza – containing nearly identical terms as the 2012 ceasefire agreement, it has opened border crossings with Israel to distribute humanitarian aid, extended fishing zones to six miles off of Gaza’s coast and opened the Rafah border with Egypt. Yet further Palestinian demands were not addressed, such as providing assistance to rebuild Gaza’s international airport (which opened in 1998, and was destroyed by Israel in 2002 during the second intifada), or helping to build a seaport which has been in planning for 20 years (and would bolster Gaza’s trade-based economy). The satisfaction of these two demands alone would create thousands of jobs for Palestinians, helping to address the over 40 percent unemployment rate in Gaza today.
In addressing any sort of conflict or contentious issue, an educational component is key, and that component must shed light on all sides of the issue. Bias is inevitable, but events like “Ask me why [I Love Israel]” silence oppositional voices on a campus where supporting the human rights of Palestinians is already taboo and spread misinformation on the occupation and Israel’s actions in general. One of the responses, “There’s no reason not to love Israel,” clearly demonstrates the naive and historically blind nature of the event as a whole. There are numerous reasons to question and critique the Israeli government’s actions and policies, and events like “Ask me why [I Love Israel]” prevent students from understanding basic facts regarding the conflict, limiting public and ethical engagement with America’s support for Israel. We ask that the Emory community, and EIPAC specifically, make a more conscious effort to engage with all facets of the Israel-Palestine issue in order to create a campus that is increasingly inquiry driven, ethically engaged and welcoming to people of all backgrounds.
Anusha Ravi is a College senior from Chamblee, Georgia. Ben Crais is a College junior from Atlanta, Georgia.
The Emory Wheel was founded in 1919 and is currently the only independent, student-run newspaper of Emory University. The Wheel publishes weekly on Wednesdays during the academic year, except during University holidays and scheduled publication intermissions.
The Wheel is financially and editorially independent from the University. All of its content is generated by the Wheel’s more than 100 student staff members and contributing writers, and its printing costs are covered by profits from self-generated advertising sales.
I agree with your evaluation of EIPAC’s program on Asbury circle, though this article paints Israel in an entirely negative light as if Israel’s sole purpose as a nation is to wipe Arab Palestinians off the map and push Gazan residents into the sea…
I would like to question some of the things you state regarding the facts of the matter, not necessarily what and how EIPAC conducts its pro-Israel advocacy.
Typical of those reporting on this conflict, you fail to mention the REASONING behind certain disputed Israeli actions. For example, do you know WHY the Gaza seaport remains blockaded? The reason is because time and time again, Iranians and others have attempted to smuggle weapons into Gaza. Which, as we have seen time and again, would be used to attack innocent Israeli citizens (Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, etc.) Thankfully, the Israeli Navy was successful in intercepting. (http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/05/world/meast/israel-intercepted-weapons/)
Before the founding of Israel in 1948, starting in the 1870s, Palestinian nobility, following the issuing of title deeds by the Ottoman Empire, had begun selling PALESTINIAN LAND to Zionists coming over from Eastern Europe. This lasted up until the establishment of Israel. There was a number of innocent Palestinian Arabs who were forcibly removed from its land, either by Jews or its own leadership encouraging abandonment. However, in comparison to the way the United States forcibly removed American Indians form its native land, the Israeli-Palestinian process was far less brutal. I wish to know the source for this claim: “The Israeli government has also committed a myriad of other human rights violations since 1948 (the official creation and recognition of the state), including forced sterilizations, prison torture, detaining political prisoners, blocking asylum procedures for refugees and more.”
In actuality, you ought to place the blame for a lack of Palestinian autonomy on Jordan, Egypt, and the Arab world who never intended on solving this issue when Jordan and Egypt occupied the West Bank and Gaza respectively before Israel came to in 1967. But that’s a discussion for another time. (http://www.meforum.org/3831/palestinians-reject-statehood)
Construction materials and funds which have been sent to Gaza for its reconstruction were found this past summer to be used as materials for building cross-border TERRORIST INFILTRATION TUNNELS. (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/29/world/middleeast/tunnels-lead-right-to-heart-of-israeli-fear.html?_r=0)
Do you know WHY UNWRA schools and facilities were bombed? That’s because on multiple occasions, weapons and other tools for attacking INNOCENT ISRAELIS were found to be stored in such facilities. (http://www.timesofisrael.com/rockets-found-in-unrwa-school-for-third-time)
The reason for physical blockades being built between Israel and the Palestinian territories is because of the 2nd Intifada, which resulted in cross-boarder attacks, suicide bombings, and other attempts to murder Israelis. (http://www.meforum.org/652/is-israels-security-barrier-unique#_ftn5)
Also, you make many far-fetched claims without providing sources, such as this one: “Generally, Israel bolsters its own economic development by treating Palestinian economic autonomy as a negative externality of its own advancement.”
Let me be clear: I do not wish to see innocent people suffering and dying of starvation. Also, while much of where Netanyahu authorizes settlement building would in theory be part of Israeli land in any future peace settlement (such as in Gilo and elsewhere), it does not help move the peace process forward and brings about much scrutiny from the international community.
You fail to mention that Hamas, the terrorist regime in Gaza, was ELECTED INTO OFFICE by the people in 2006 following the Israeli withdrawal from the region in 2005. Most of what Israel does is reactionary – Hamas’ terrorist actions and suppression of its own people from the Gaza strip as a clear case-and-point.
This article is blatantly anti-Israel. How can you possibly say a student event where Jewish and Israeli students were allowed to express their cultural and national pride allows people to “ignore the nuances” of the Israel-Palestine conflict, then post an article that does nothing but use a small and selective sample of facts to push your personal beliefs regarding the conflict? If you’re really so concerned about educating people about this conflict that this one harmless display of pride drove you to post this, maybe doing research and presenting both sides of the argument would be a good idea instead of using a campus newspaper to push anti-Israel propaganda.
How does this editorial in any way fit into the category of propaganda?
Because it is the essence of propaganda:
Definition: information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, use to promote or publicize a political cause or point of view.
If you actually read the article and the reply comments–which point out the article’s hypocritical, one-sided posture and factually misleading arguments–it should be apparent that this is propaganda. The author did not endeavor to write a neutral, objective article. She wrote a one-sided piece intended to arouse emotions and lead readers towards her subjective conclusion.
Consider this sentence: “most of Israel’s successes as a nation since 1948 are derived from its oppression and systematic displacement of Palestinians.” That is claptrap.
Events like “Ask Me Why [I Love Israel]” create an environment in which it is acceptable to ignore and reject the nuances of the Israeli occupation and Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a whole.
How does an event called “Ask Me Why I Love Israel” give students a platform to express their opinions about Israel in any way?
I think a more appropriate platform/question for EIPAC to be presenting should be “Ask me why I support Israel” Or even Better “Ask me what I think about Israel”, But if semantically we want to level a playing field then a more complicated question may be in order, “Ask me how I feel about the Israel-Palestine conflict”. It is true there needs to be a space for conversation, but I think that is hard to say that either side is ignorant, or poorly informed considering that there do not seem to be any fallacies in the information presented in the article, or the comments I have read, just a bias, but there is a bias inherent in any argument.
“Bias is inevitable, but events like ‘Ask me why [I Love Israel]’ silence oppositional voices on a campus where supporting the human rights of Palestinians is already taboo and spread misinformation on the occupation and Israel’s actions in general.” — Very interesting comment–is this article not EXTREMELY biased towards the plight of the Palestinian people and completely condemning of the state of Israel? Are Jews (and many persecuted Middle Eastern Christians), who have no home besides a shrinking piece of land barely the size of New Jersey, not allowed to have pride in their [United Nations granted] land? Did anyone say “I love Israel because it makes no mistakes and is a symbol of perfection?” I don’t remember seeing that. Sadly, “Because It’s the most free country in the Middle East,” is a true fact for many people because not one constituency living in the Middle East is truly free, but in Israel, the government, though imperfect, allows its people the closest thing to freedom that they can attain in the Middle East–or at the very least it VALUES its citizens.
An incredibly hateful article, presented as fact, but in fact a whining rant rather than an informed and judicious discussion starter.
Gaza has a border with Egypt that is not blocked by Israel. However, because Hamas has killed Egyptian troops, Egypt has cracked down by destroying houses and relocating Palestinians from the border position. I have always found it interesting how liberals like Ravi and Crais support a homophobic and misogynistic society like Gaza, because dislike of Israel overrides their distaste for homphobia and misogynism. The Muslim Student Association has the right to be on campus, despite the fact that some Muslims committed the atrocities of 9/11 and routinely behead western journalists
That’s like saying 4th of July celebrations shouldn’t exist because they fail to educate the public about the U.S. Army’s actions in Iraq.
Articles like this, written by clearly biased and mis-informed students, show that our university system is failing to teach students to do their own research.
Perfect timing on the part of Anusha and Ben for their article on the same day a synagogue in Israel was attacked by their friends. Will they be passing out candy on campus to celebrate?
Hi
herbcaen, this article was written on Saturday and submitted to The Wheel on Sunday. The Wheel is always published on a Tuesday. There was no, nor could there be any, link between its publishing and today’s attack. Today’s violence is nothing less than a tragedy and we do not support it in any way, shape or form.
One of the constants of Palestinian terror is one can count on it happening with regularity. While I know that the Wheel staff had no foreknowledge of todays attack, the article by you and Anusha emboldens the Palestinians to do these types of attacks. If I were a Palestinian, I would never make peace with Israel and I would applaud these attacks, as is happening in most Palestinian neighborhoods. One of the reasons I would not make peace with Jews is knowing that I could rely on the support of the Emory Community who questions Israel and legions like you all over the world. Every nation in the world, including the US, is built upon the remains of prior peoples, but somehow it is the Jewish state that remains alone about whose existence should be questioned. Not Turkey, who committed genocide against the Armenians, not Germany who committed genocide against the Jews, not Pakistan, the most likely site of nuclear war, not Iran who commits unspeakable atrocities against gays and Bahais, not the US who obliterated scores of native American tribes. That is why I am wondering whether candy will be handed out on campus because there are 5 less Jews in the world today
The fact that liberals oppose Israel more than homophobic and misogynistic regimes indicates that Jews are seen as more evil than homophobes and misogynists
Herbcaen you should be absolutely ashamed of yourself. To insinuate that the authors of this article are “friends” with murderers and will be celebrating the death of those rabbis is complete and utter garbage. I hope you know much better than this. Imploring people to take a different perspective on such a complicated issue should NOT be conflated with anti-semitism. You are absolutely disgusting, and I’m ashamed that we will someday share a degree from the same institution.
How do you know that we are at the same institution? You, Ben and Anousha should do a lot of self examination to see if you can come up with a different perspective than “You Jews of all people should know better” and then hold them to an impossibly high standards that are not demanded of any humans
While you condemn the event for lacking educational component, you fail to have properly educated yourself on this issue. Part of the reason for the gap in casualties and deaths in the war this summer had to do with that Palestinians place their people in the way of war. When Israelis make phone calls, hand out leaflets, and go knocking on doors to tell people to leave their homes because it will be bombed, the Palestinian leaders tell their people to stay right where they are. They want them to die for their cause because they believe it will better support their cause, which is exactly what it does because people like you who are not educated on this issue hear the numbers and think that the side with the larger casualties are the victims. While death is not desirable on either side, it could be prevented in Gaza and the West Bank.
When Israel gives the Palestinians money to build schools, hospitals, or bomb shelters, they use this money to build rockets and to use the Israeli money to then harm the Israelis. Although it is sad that children died in the UN school bombing, you fail to recognize that the Palestinians were storing rockets in that school and purposely put children in harm’s way deliberately so that people like you could condemn Israel and win this “PR war” that has been ongoing.
It is frightening that students at my school, clearly bright and educated, fail to see both sides of this issue and fail to recognize that although death is not desirable, it is not acceptable to condemn an entire nation.
Please do not misconstrue being critical of Israel as being anti-Semitic or believing that the state should not exist entirely. That is literally the definition of a straw man argument. No country on earth is perfect, and therefore none are or should be immune to criticism. Israel is not perfect. The U.S. is not perfect. And as Americans, none of us are uncritical of our country’s past and present (at least I hope not). It’s the refusal to accept any criticism of Israel in the larger Emory community that Ben and Anusha are primarily targeting–and I wholeheartedly agree. Kudos to them!
This article claims to take no sides but is so clearly anti-Israel. Sorry you feel that EIPAC’s event was only showing “one side of the story” but keep in mind that the name of the organization is the Emory-ISRAEL Public Affairs Committee. Why shouldn’t students be allowed to show support for a country that they love? Jews all over the world consider Israel to be a second home to them, myself included. I am not saying Israel is perfect, because it isn’t. What I am saying is that students should be free to express love for a country without being accused of ignoring Palestinian suffering. The name of the event was not “Ask me why I love Israel and Hate Palestine.” For you to claim that students that participated are showing “blind patriotism” is completely unjustified. As Israel supporters we are not blind to Israel’s actions, both good and bad. If anything you are. Everything Israel does, it does with the purpose of defending itself and maintaining sovereignty. When Palestine send over thousands of rockets do you expect Israel to just sit around and do nothing??? Israel has done everything in it’s power to reduce civilian deaths. It sends warnings through leaflets and phone calls to give people time to leave an area before it is bombed. The reason civilians continue to die is because Hamas is using them as human shields. Pulling out the fact that more Palestinian civilians died than Israeli civilians does nothing for your argument. Palestinian civilians die because Hamas lets them die. Israeli citizens die less often not because Hamas isn’t targeting them. It’s because of the Iron Dome which shoots down the rockets before they can cause any deaths. Learn your facts. I will continue to show my love for Israel every damn day and I will not feel guilty about it.
1. I love the United States. It is my homeland. Does that mean I approve of my country’s dark past of slavery or slaughtering of innocent Vietnamese civilians overseas? NO! Israel is a safe house to oppressed Jewish people worldwide. One can love Israel patriotically and emotionally without condoning the ways in which the Israeli government and military fail and have failed from a human rights standpoint.
2. While this editorial slams EIPAC for perpetuating ignorance and lack of education on the Middle East, this article is so utterly biased. There is NOTHING black and white about the Arab-Israeli conflict. Anusha, Ben, it would behoove you to take a few more MESAS classes concerning the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Learn the whole story, dating back to B.C. Learn both sides. Learn the thought process behind Israel’s military decisions. While I know you are both highly educated, your editorial is lacking key information.
3. Most of us at Emory are aware of the past and current human rights violations committed and currently being committed by both Israel and Hamas. I am positive that EIPAC is aware of these violations as well. This does not mean EIPAC will abandon its love of what Israel was birthed to stand for. Love is complicated. No one is perfect. Additionally, any sane proponent of Israel is willing to criticize the country for its questionable actions. Maybe a radical would not be willing to have discussion about Israel’s flaws, but radicals in general cannot be taken seriously.
4. The event was hosted by Emory-Israel Public Affairs Committee. By the organization’s name, one would assume one the main objectives of this organization is to publicly advocate for Israel on Emory’s campus. This was not an educational event to explore the ways in which Israel is failing from a human rights standpoint, nor point out the mistakes Israel has made in the past. This event was the equivalent of a 4th of July Parade. No one would expect a critique of America’s military flaws at a 4th of July Parade. This event was NOT hosted by Emory as a whole. By all means, the Emory-[insert Arab nation here] Public Affairs Committee should feel free to hold a light-hearted event to demonstrate patriotism and love for said country. If we want to question the country from a more serious point of view, let’s hold an entirely different event with that intention in mind.
As an alumna who sympathizes with the Palestinian cause and who felt extremely disenfranchised on Emory’s campus whenever the issue of Israel/Palestine came up, I applaud both Ravi and Crais for their courageous and interesting article in the Emory Wheel. Whenever I talked about the other side of the issue or even tried to broach the subject I was often met with hostility, blatant ignorance, Islamophobia, and the worst– being labeled “anti-Semitic.” As someone who studied the Middle East, comparative religions, Arabic, and Hebrew intensively, this was deeply offensive to me both on an academic and personal level. I am not an anti-Semite. I’m not anti-Israel. I am all for the Israeli state’s existence. I just have serious problems with how it conducts itself not only towards Palestinians but towards the rest of the world in general. I also have serious problems with Hamas and the PA’s governance of the Palestinian territories. There is no “right” side in this conflict. However, there’s already plenty of focus in the US on what the Palestinians are doing wrong, and so I choose to at least attempt to level the playing field in my participation in dialogue by turning the spotlight on Israel. I think that it’s my right and duty as a critically thinking student of international relations to evaluate a country’s actions, and to speak when I think they are wrong and unjust. This is necessarily a subjective exercise and everyone will fall on issues differently according to their own lens, their own inherent biases. Given those provisions, I shouldn’t be afraid of being labeled an “anti-Semite” if I am critical of the Israeli government.
The comments below illustrate the very problem with Emory’s current community and its hostility to free open speech. Every time someone says anything that shows the Palestinian side of the issue or asks people to at least try and think objectively and critically about Israel and its actions, the immediate response is extremely defensive and often offensive arguments that are circular and replete with illogical reasoning and accusations. It’s really an insult to anyone’s intelligence to make such arguments that are so clearly based in bias, misinformation, and flamboyant hate/distrust of Palestinians. I APPLAUD you Ravi and Crais for writing this editorial. If Emory is to ever become the truly open, diverse, and safe community it purports to be and so desperately wants to be, then people should feel like they can write these kinds of editorials that clearly go so against the grain of Israel/Palestine dialogue at Emory–without fear of being called ignorant, or biased, or anti-Semitic, or whatever other baseless insults your peers lob at you. Keep up the good work.
Author,
In your nuanced assessment of the conflict, you happened to overlook the CONTEXT of EIPAC’s support for Israel. Let me fill you in:
Any honest reading of the news shows that much of the world is unequivocally opposed to Israel. Iran, ISIS, and Hezbollah call for Israel’s annihilation. In Europe, tens of thousands came out in multiple cities publicly denouncing Israel, yelling “gas the Jews” with impunity. Even in the United States, anti-Israel rhetoric proceeds at a fervent pitch, with many student organizations and faculty across the US denouncing Israel for war crimes, calling for divestment and sanctions on Israel, and calling for the academic boycott of Israeli institutions. Shit, there was a SWASTIKA graffitied on a Jewish fraternity at Emory just a few months ago!!!!
As you know, a major battle in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict takes place on the scales of public opinion. With this rally, Emory students were merely showing THE WORLD that they support Israel, putting their weight onto the scales of public opinion. They did not call for sanctions or genocide or hatred, they just made a public expression of solidarity. And in the face of the widespread Israel-hatred seen around the world and at many US academic institutions, is it not justified for those who are pro-Israel to show support? And furthermore, can’t Emory have a pro-Israel rally without YOU, AUTHOR, shitting on it and needing to reassert played out, near ubiquitous anti-Israel rhetoric.
The worst thing, AUTHOR, is that the premise of your article is disingenuous. You write:
“events like “Ask me why [I Love Israel]” prevent students from understanding basic facts regarding the conflict.”
ARE YOU SERIOUS? THESE ARE EMORY STUDENTS: SMART, LEARNED, THOUGHTFUL, NOT SOME PARROTS OR SHLUBS!!! You write this invective article because you are concerned that this rally will prevent top-tier students from exercising their critical faculties?!? GET OUT OF HERE….. Do you imagine that Emory students need YOU to correct their ignorance, to lay out “the basic facts regarding the conflict?”…. LOL!!!!! You are going to have a hard time walking around campus!!!!!!
Elsewhere, you write: “In order to comply with Emory’s commitment to ethical engagement, it is important to address all sides of an issue.”
WELL ARE YOU FULFILLING THAT ETHICAL COMMITMENT? The only thing you say that is critical of Palestine is: “We are by no means in support of the atrocities committed by Hamas.” That’s all you have to say….. But, when criticizing Israel, YOU ARE SO ONE SIDED THAT YOU GO SO FAR AS TO SAY that
“most of Israel’s successes as a nation since 1948 are derived from its oppression and systematic displacement of Palestinians.”
Hmmm… A more nuanced statement would be that “most of Israel’s successes occurred DESPITE the fact that it was constantly beset by violence and hatred emanating from Palestine, the Arab world, and many in the west. But YOU make Israel seem like a national plantation full of slave owners. Way to fulfill your duties to represent both sides of an issue. So nuanced…..
….
Hey Anusha, here is a good idea for an article to write: do a statistical study at Atlanta Universities, polling Muslim, Hindu, Christian and Atheist students about their opinions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I reckon that one of those groups is dramatically more opposed to Israel than the others…. At least your article’s conclusion will be bolstered by objective facts and not shallow and hateful opinion.
ACriticalAmerican,
I think the comments below more address the hypocritical and biased nature of the editorial, not the content of the editorial itself. It gives great facts pertaining to why we should not spout out senseless reasons as to why we love Israel without first questioning Israel and what its government and military stand for, but it fails to sympathize with Israel and why the country makes the decisions it does. I Think Ravi and Crais were justified in calling out the critical flaws of EIPAC’s event, but while the event itself told one side to the story, so does this editorial, which I think is a bit hypocritical. If we’re going to talk conflict, let’s talk about all view points at once. Both EIPAC’s event and this editorial were unsuccessful in that sense.
Obviously the Israel-Palestine conflict is complicated and full of emotion on both sides. However, I know that when I was an Emory student just a few years ago, it was difficult to have open dialogue that respected difference. This is reinforced by the comments down below that are automatically casting this opinion out even though the nature of an editorial is to share an opinion. If we are to truly learn at Emory, we must be open to discussing multiple perspectives, and I think this critique is much more than the event that inspired it. I am guessing that the event was just the catalyst that pushed the authors of this editorial to finally share their thoughts. Thank you, Ravi and Crais, for having the courage to do just that.
Thank you for your thoughtful article. As an American reader, I get tired of the clearly one-sided rhetoric and it is important to get perspective. Anyone who dismisses these questions with the same rhetoric rather than addressing them is buying into propaganda and not considering the complexities of this issue.
Well said. Courageous article.
I’m not sure if this is a fair analysis. The Israelis are culpable on many fronts as the article correctly points out. For example, bombing UN designated hospitals. This is unacceptable. The article doesn’t qualify this statement, however, and acknowledge that Hamas made a strategic calculation to stockpile weapons and launching attacks in close proximity to civilian health centers, knowing they would be targeted and tempt Israel to strike these locations. This is an equally unacceptable act by Hamas. Yet the authors didn’t mention that detail. The writers either simply do not know enough or did not research enough — or simply neglected the facts for the sake of furthering what is a one-dimensional argument.
Here as elsewhere in the paper, the writers fails to account for both sides
The title is a misnomer. Israel is not questioned. No. Rather the authors make a show trial of them a la Stalin. The argument lacks depth, self-reflection, and nuance. Despite two people writing this article, they failed to take an even handed approach. For an article that demands more questioning of Israel, it is quite ironic that it cannot be self-critical nor raise robust counter points instead of straw men within the paper. This kind of reductive thinking perpetuates the polarization of the PI conflict.
Ugh.
>Though the conflict has been ongoing for decades, a war erupted in Gaza just a few months ago.
Yes, a war that Hamas started. Nice omission.
>During this conflict, Israel bombed multiple United Nations
(UN)-operated buildings, including a school that was filled with
refugees.
Yes, because Hamas was either shooting rockets from it, or from the vicinity.
> 2104 Palestinians died, with 70 percent being civilians and 495 being children.
Because Hamas infiltrates civilian population centers to carry out its militant activities. Additionally, Israel gave advance warning any time it bombed a house – ’cause, you know, they belonged to Hamas leadership – which frequently resulted in Palestinians crowding to the location in question.
>For example, Israel’s closing of the border between itself and Gaza, and
subsequent prevention of exports from Gaza to the world, has completely
shut down Gaza’s economy.
Ima’ go out on a limb and say if I asked you why Israel did this, or what happened in the Palestinian elections of 2006, you wouldn’t be able to answer. Do you even know what Fatah is? Abbas? Barghouti? Where is Khaled Meshaal? Who is he?
But I digress. Israel blockaded the Gaza Strip following the legislative victory of Hamas in 2006, subsequent infighting between Hamas and Fatah, and the unilateral assumption of control of the Gaza Strip by Hamas (which, it’s worth noting, is an internationally-recognized terrorist group). Because terrorists who are dedicated to the destruction of Israel seized control of Gaza, Israel and Egypt promptly blockaded it. Obviously.
As an aside, Israel had unilaterally withdrawn from the Gaza Strip in 2005, paving the way for the 2006 Palestinian elections that saw Hamas swept into power.
>Bias is inevitable
You’re absolutely right, and I see that you didn’t permit your own ignorance to get in the way of publishing a fallacious and stridently anti-Israel article. For the record, I’m frequently appalled by the actions of Israel vis a vis Palestine, but that doesn’t mean that I blind myself to key facts about the situation, or vocally represent my inaccurate views. The authors of this article ought to be embarrassed for attaching their names to this.
As an American having actually lived in Israel, I feel the need to point out some of the more egregious omissions and misrepresentations in this “article”:
(1) The borders of Israel increased in the taking of land in DEFENSIVE wars.
(2) When you speak of disproportionate casualties – you seem to omit that Gaza is the most densely populated piece of land on the planet. When Hamas places its weapons directly in homes, schools, hospitals, etc – there are bound to be civilian casualties. Unlike Israel, Hamas and Fatah openly celebrate the deaths of innocent people by terrorist attacks against Israelis. They pass out candy on the streets and “honor” the “hero martyrs” who slaughter children and rabbis. What is proportionate? If Al Qaeda killed 3000 Americans, are we limited in killing only 3000 Al Qaeda members? What bunk!!! Gazans ELECTED a group of terrorists committed NOT to peace or a side-by-side existence. Their very CONSTITUTION calls for the destruction of Israel.
The ignorance of the authors becomes even more apparent after the recent conflict. Instead of developing infrastructure, Hamas built concrete weapons tunnels with their construction equipment and concrete.
(3) The UN opinion of international law violation has lost all credibility since it equated zionism with racism in 1979. How many resolutions against Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, and every Arab regime have their been? Criticizing Israel is one thing, but attempting to hold it to a DIFFERENT standard is morally repugnant, coming from an impotent organization which appointed Quadaffi’s Libya on the “Human Rights Commission”.
(4) This article ignores history, plain and simple. The Arabs never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity. If simply trading land for peace was needed for peace, it would have been done. The Arabs turned this down multiple times all the way through the Oslo Accords.
(5) The separation wall was built to stop the suicide bombers. It is highly successful and effective.
(6) Palestinians have great access to Israeli health care. In fact, Israeli hospitals treat the very family members of the terrorist leaders who consistently call for the annihilation of the Jewish State. I spent time in these hospitals and witnessed it myself. Remember, there are millions of Palestinian citizens in Israel who have full voting rights, political rights, etc. There are Palestinians on the Israeli Supreme Court and in the Knesset.
(7) “Adalah” whom you cite as a “source” is a leading caller for singling out Israel for boycotting, divestment, and sanctions – even though Israel is the only democracy with academic freedom in the entire Middle East and the only country which respects freedom of the press. They have never condemned a terrorist attack.
I could go on and on but it is clear that the authors of this piece have no idea what they are talking about. It isn’t “courage” – it is the demonstration of ignorance.
I want to reiterate and re-quote a phrase above as it exemplifies the article more than anything else. I too am critical of certain Israeli decisions (i.e. settlement expansion) – but that is a red herring in the current geopolitical climate:
” but that doesn’t mean that I blind myself to key facts about the
situation, or vocally represent my inaccurate views. The authors of
this article ought to be embarrassed for attaching their names to this.”
about #2, saying Gazans elected Hamas could be a bit misleading. They only voted one time, and then shortly afterwards Fatah (opposition party) members were thrown off rooftops.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatah%E2%80%93Hamas_conflict
Well, for those of you who are open enough to consider that some people in Israel may be partly responsible for the suffering and deaths of Palestinians there’s an event tonight
“Occupation 101” 6:30PM at White Hall Food will be provided
Ilise Cohen, Ph.D, Founder of the Atlanta chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, and delegate leader, board member and past board chair of Interfaith Peace-Builders, will be discussing the conflict in Israel/Palestine and the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Well, for those of you who are open enough to consider that some people in Israel may be partly responsible for the suffering and deaths of Palestinians there’s an event tonight
“Occupation 101” 6:30PM at White Hall 111. Food will be provided.
Ilise Cohen, Ph.D, Founder of the Atlanta chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, and delegate leader, board member and past board chair of Interfaith Peace-Builders, will be discussing the conflict in Israel/Palestine and the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Author,
To your point about how Israel should help to rebuild a Gazan airport and seaport: SEE THIS http://m.jpost.com/HomePage/FrontPage/Article.aspx?id=382393
While many of the facts in this article are blatantly false, the bigger issue is that the authors seem to want to completely compromise these students’ freedom of speech. The students that held up these white boards expressing why they love Israel were simply sharing their opinions. There is also nothing stopping a palestinian student association from hosting a similar event at Wonderful Wednesday.
As a graduate of Emory, I look back on my times at school with great memories. I was always proud of how our institution of learning did not publish such biased op eds against Israel like this one. It is very disappointing to see Emory students release such hateful and erroneous reports which are all too common in academia’s relationship with Israel. I sincerely hope that most Emory students are well educated enough to know how bogus many of the claims made in this article are. I won’t overanalyze this article as many comments below me did very well to disprove it, but please do better research in the future Anusha Ravi and Ben Crais.
When talking about proportionality, we should remember to discuss proportionality to a threat. In the case of attempted murder, someone can go to jail for an extremely long time even though nobody ever got hurt. Hamas’s attack tunnels play to this analogy. Yes the casualties were about 70 to 2100, but this war is a strike against attempted murder on a mass scale to Israeli communities.
What I love about Israel is that despite all its flaws, if its enemies were to put down their weapons, there would immediately be peace.
Unfortunately the other way around would be a genocide.
This is ridiculous. The existence of an event that expresses patriotism towards one country is not oppression of another country, nor does it ignore the conflict, nor does it claim that country is 100% perfect. The event had nothing to do with the Israel-Palestine conflict. That’s like saying Math is oppressing Chemistry by not being Chemistry.
Someone with a level-headed perspective on this issue would, if they really had a problem with the discrepancy of representation on the campus events, encourage a “Why I Love Palestine” event, rather than try to shout down an event where people can express their appreciation for their cultural heritage and their (possibly) home country.
It’s bizarre to me that, to you, people expressing appreciation of these things constitutes oppression or “blind patriotism”. You sound a little bigoted to be honest, because you’re not even allowing people a social event with a positive message, because it’s not the *right* country. Who are you to tell people they can’t appreciate Israel?