Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Letter Submitted by Rachel Berger ’16, Caleb Jones ’14 and Rachel Flaherman ’16 on behalf of J Street U Swarthmore.
This week, Swarthmore’s Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine installed an exhibit in the Science Center quad which brings to light various barriers to education that Palestinian children in the occupied territories face on a daily basis. Foremost, as an organization of students committed to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a two-state solution, J Street U supports efforts to raise campus awareness of this important issue. This is an opportunity to educate ourselves, to improve our understanding of another’s viewpoint, and to engage in constructive discussion about human rights in the Palestinian territories. Disagreement with another perspective is all the more reason to seriously engage it.
The timing of SPJP’s installation has struck a challenging nerve for many on campus. Because it was installed the day following Holocaust Remembrance Day, some have interpreted the exhibit as related to this critical and personal commemoration. Anonymous commenters on SPJP’s op-ed criticized the installation as “sickening.” The timing is coincidental and making connections between the two is inappropriate. Likewise, in public comments on Facebook, SPJP’s exhibit has been called “anti-Israel” and alluded to as an example of anti-Semitism. Exploring the harsh realities of the occupation – which threaten the daily lives of Palestinians and the democratic character of Israel – is necessary for those of us who care deeply about Israel and its future as both a homeland for the Jewish people and a democratic state. While these types of comments are not uncommon, they reveal a presumption of ill-will in others and too often have the effect of silencing disagreement and preventing productive discussion. Rather than assuming the worst of an exhibit that had not yet been set up at the time that those comments were made, we hope members of the Swarthmore community will determine their opinions based on their interpretation of the actual content. This would be no less true with an exhibit by a traditional pro-Israel group. We also encourage all, whatever their feelings about the installation, to bring their thoughts, questions, and assumptions of good faith to this Friday’s discussion of the exhibit in the Kohlberg Coffee Bar. The discussion will be co-hosted by SPJP and J Street U, and is open to all community members of all viewpoints.
At J Street U Swarthmore, we reject the idea that supporting Israel or Palestine comes at the expense of the other. As a group that supports a two-state solution to secure Israel’s future and a future state of Palestine, it is both possible and necessary to support the aspirations and dignity of both peoples, as the future of one is tied to that of the other. Furthermore, advocating for Palestinians’ human rights or criticizing some of the policies of Israel is neither anti-Israel nor anti-Semitic; indeed, many Jews and patriotic Israelis do so every day in their families, in their synagogues, and in the Israeli Knesset (parliament). Many do so because of their commitment to Israel, democracy, and Jewish values. Being pro-Israel does not preclude dissent, but demands it.
A two-state solution, including an independent Palestinian state, is the only way to ensure both a lasting peace and Israel’s long-term interests, which includes the protection of Israel’s identity as a Jewish homeland and democratic state. A long-term occupation of another people is incompatible with those interests. We act for two states and oppose the occupation as an expression of our commitment to Israel and our understanding of Jewish values. Palestinian human rights and Jewish human rights cannot be separated.
We hope, then, that one would not presume SPJP’s exhibit is anti-Semitic knowing only that it supports Palestinian human rights and opposes an occupation that necessarily limits them. Whether you find it objectionable, challenging, intriguing, informative, or all of the above, we hope that you will bring it up at the community discussion so that we can try to understand and learn from your perspective, just as we are currently trying to understand and learn from SPJP’s perspective. The discussion, co-hosted by SPJP and J Street U Swarthmore, will be at 1:30 p.m. this Friday, in the Kohlberg Coffee Bar.
Sincerely,
J Street U at Swarthmore
This J St U letter is magnificent in philosophy, reasoning and tone. As a senior in Boston’s Jewish commuity fluent in Hebrew and involved with Israel and peacemaking, I applaud the students who formulated and wrote this! And those in SPJP who have put up the exhibit and joined to hold the discussion. It’s tragic that so many of your elders in both communities — my generation — are prisoners of their fear, anger and self-righteousness and cannot respect, let alone support what you are trying to do. I hope you can stand fast against pushback and keep up your work for mutual understanding and respect and for a just, secure peace.
To write an entire letter about human rights violations in the Palestinian territories without mentioning the word “Hamas” once is pretty incredible. Glad the issue is getting a balanced take.
It would be difficult to find anything remotely accurate in this unintentionally-hilarious, anti-Israel editorial that puts George Orwell to shame, but I will restrict myself to the following point:
The myth of Arab Muslim victimhood is cheap propaganda stemming from the failed Arab attempts to destroy Israel and throw its Jewish population “into the sea.”
The anti-Israel left continues to pander to the irrational, bigoted demands of the Middle East’s Arab Muslim majority to suppress the region’s only non-Muslim state in favor of yet another Arab Muslim country.
That blatant disregard for the rights of anyone who is not an Arab Muslim is precisely the reason why the Jews of Israel had to fight for national independence.
The mere existence of Israel proclaims the national rights of the Jewish INDIGENOUS population of Israel; a country and a people that predate Arab colonialism and will outlive it as well.