In front of a diverse crowd last night, Palestinian author and lawyer Raja Shehadeh brought the Israel-Palestinian conflict to Penn.
Shehadeh came to College Hall to present his new book Stranger in the House: Coming of Age in Occupied Palestine. However, instead of focusing on his work -- a personal account of his relationship with his father and the culture of Palestine -- the author spent time addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, providing insight into the experience of the Palestinian people.
Before an audience of roughly 100 people, Shehadeh read excerpts from his new book, discussed the current situation in the Middle East and then opened the floor for questions.
Shehadeh noted that today's Palestinian youth has less interaction with Israeli youth compared with previous generations.
"There was more interaction with Israel," Shehadeh said. "Many [current Palestinian youth] have been to prison and experienced Israelis as oppressors."
Shehadeh outlined some of the most important events in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, commenting extensively on the Camp David Accords and the Oslo Agreement. He presented the opposing views of the Palestinians and the Israelis, noting that the main contradiction lies in the ways that the conflicting sides view disputed territory.
According to Shehadeh, Israelis view such territories as "part of [a] greater Israeli land with a minority Palestinian population," while the vast majority of Palestinians still refer to it as "occupied territory."
"The Israeli position of asking the Palestinians to forego the right of return before the peace talks is unrealistic," Shehadeh said.
Commenting on the current situation in Israel, Shehadeh referred to it as an "expression of desperation of [Palestinian] people as the result of the Oslo agreement."
According to Shehadeh, Palestinians expected to be able to "carry on with their daily life," but instead were faced with Israelis not fulfilling the terms of the Oslo Agreement, which includes accelerating the construction of Israeli settlements in occupied territories.
"Israel's present government is testing how far it can go violating the agreement to see if there is going to be any world reaction," he said.
Shehadeh painted the constantly-battling governments as the main obstruction to peace.
"Peaceful solution is not a question of the majority of people," Shehadeh claimed. "No Israeli government could be strong enough to say that they are going to withdraw."
Many people who attended Shehadeh's lecture said it showed them a side of the Middle East conflict that does not often draw much attention in the American media.
According to Political Science graduate student Amel Ahmed, the event was an "opportunity to hear an alternative point of view on the conflict" that was presented with a "thoughtful approach."
Middle East Center Associate Director Nubar Hovespian said he believes the event provided "very useful insight for students and [the] public which usually don't hear this point of view."
