What does it mean to stand up for Palestine on this campus? It’s not the easiest of issues to uphold. We are told that Palestine does not exist, that we are misinformed or just don’t get it and most offensively, that we are anti-Semitic. Then, our flyers get ripped down. So why, in such an environment, do a group of Penn students from all ethnic, religious and social backgrounds come together every week to passionately discuss Palestine, Israel and the occupation?
Because for us, this issue is not black and white. Despite what American media propagates, Palestine is not the antithesis to the good and pure Israel. When we think of this conflict, we see the gross humanitarian crisis and disregard for the international legal system that is supposed to regulate countries. Our ongoing goal is simply to raise awareness on our campus, through events like documentary screenings, lectures, memorials or (as recently done) co-sponsoring a panel event with Penn Israel Coalition and the Philomathean Society that centered on creative and bold solutions to ending the conflict. We want people to hear the voice of the silenced majority — the Palestinians.
For us, the humanitarian conflict transcends any of the politics that cloud this issue. This is a real and pressing concern that affects the four million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem. The situation in Gaza is the most acute, so allow us to use this as an example. Karen Koning AbuZayd, the commissioner general for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, said “Gaza is on the threshold of becoming the first territory to be intentionally reduced to a state of abject destitution.” Amnesty International has called the blockade “suffocating” and a “form of collective punishment.”
In our opinion, the Israeli land and maritime blockade on Gaza has a systematic and direct effect on the well being of these Palestinians, both physically and psychologically. Dov Weissglas, adviser to the Prime Minster at the time, Ehud Olmert, eloquently described the siege as a measure to “put Palestinians on a diet, but not make them die of hunger.” Israel has recently edited the list of items that cannot enter Gaza, and while this is a step in the right direction, it is still not enough. According to The New York Times, at least 80 percent of Gazans live in poverty. This ongoing civilian suffering both in and out of refugee camps for the past 70 years further blurs this proposed line of good and evil between the two sides.
We ground our opinions in the international legal system that was created to ensure that crises like the one in Gaza cease to exist. International law is crystal clear on two basic principles meant to prevent expansionism and colonization of occupied territories: the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war, and the prohibition of the transfer of civilians of the occupying power to the occupied territory. These laws complement the right of peoples to self-determination. Israel has systematically and aggressively breached international law and has illegally occupied Palestinian territory for 43 years. Through the use of land confiscation, settlement building, population transfer and the direct contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, Israel has committed itself to illegally subjugating an entire people.
Nelson Mandela once said that “only free men can negotiate.” In a country such as ours, where the mainstream media purposely portrays one side of the issue, and where our tax dollars, even in a recession, are used to directly and negatively impact lives in Palestine and Israel, we have a responsibility to stand up. We have a responsibility to educate. We have a responsibility to help change the world — to help free the Palestinians, so that they can negotiate. We encourage you attend our events, as they will offer a perspective you do not hear often.
Penn for Palestine members wrote this column. Its president is Engineering senior Dara Elass. PFP members can be reached at pennforpalestine@gmail.com.
