Middle East forum draws full house

Although the conflict looms thousands of miles away, the effects of the recent Israeli-Palestinian skirmishes were felt in Stiteler Hall last night during a heated dialogue on Middle East affairs. The debate was sponsored by Amnesty International, Hillel and the Penn Arab Student Society. Beginning the evening with a moment of silence, University Chaplain William Gipson, the moderator of the event, said, "It will take cool heads to take us beyond the accusations that could further inflame this issue on campus." A panel of six students was given up to 10 minutes to present its interpretation of the recent events and their historical context. Questions and answers from the approximately 200 members of the audience followed. Supporters of both sides of the conflict were present, and most of the audience struggled to hold their opinions in check until the open session following the panel. It was then that the divisive feelings manifested themselves. The audience and panel members were most clearly split about which side is responsible for starting the violence. The Arab students argued that the Israelis have been combatting rocks with guns, while pro-Israel students argued that the Palestinians have been equally militant in their attacks. The visit by Israeli right-winger Ariel Sharon, the leader of the government's opposition party, two weeks ago to a contested holy site is said by many Palestinians to be the instigation for their uprising. "The visit was not a benign one. It was not a mutual one," said panelist Amel Ahmed, a graduate student in the School of Arts and Sciences. But Wharton junior Ryan Emmer countered by saying: "Suppose that David Duke walked though West Philly. Do we have the right to go out and shoot and riot?" Emmer argued that Sharon went to the holy site the Jews call the Temple Mount and Arabs know as Haram al-Sharif to maintain Israeli sovereignty over the site. Sharon's visit remained unresolved by the panelists and the audience. Several audience members continued the argument even after the debate had ended. "Everything that needs to be said won't happen tonight," Gipson said. Both sides did, however, come together in acknowledging that the deaths of over 80 Palestinians and Arabs was an unfortunate result of the tensions. "Do not take these deaths lightly," Medical School student Kareem Zaghloul told the crowd. "These are husband, brothers -- real people with real lives. This is an issue of human rights... people demanding to be treated as human beings. Added College sophomore Jonah Lowenfeld: "I'm horrified by the daily reports of injuries from both Israel and Palestine. I think of my 13-year-old brother and my grandfather and myself -- how different are we from them?" One of the more striking images captured by the media was a photograph of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy who was killed in a hail of gunfire from Israeli soldiers. The violence, the worst since the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993, has so far killed about 90 people and injured nearly 2,000, mostly Palestinians. The audience had no doubts of this evening's importance to the Penn community. "I work with many Jewish and Arabic students on campus, and I wanted to be part of a constructive forum that helped them discuss these issues," said Valerie DeCruz, director of the Greenfield Intercultural Center. Toward the end of the talk, panel member Daniel Marcus, a Wharton and Engineering sophomore, pointedly addressed the audience. "The fact that we are not in Israel does not change the fact that this conflict hurts each of us," Marcus said. "I implore each of you in this room to stand up now if you want to see the violence and hatred end." Everyone in the audience rose.