Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Hits Campus

As President Mahmoud Abbas bid for Palestinian membership status at the United Nations last week, GW hosted two events to promote on-campus dialogue about the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.

Last Tuesday night, OneVoice, an organization with headquarters in New York, advocating for a two-state solution to the conflict, made a presentation at the Elliot School of International Affairs. The group aims to have two parallel movements led by young adults ages 18-35. One group is comprised of Israelis, and one of Palestinians, with different campaigns focused to help each side identify with OneVoice and come together around the idea of finding a peaceful solution.

The presentation consisted of two of the youth leaders from each side. Speakers Eyal Shapira, 25, and Obada Shtaya, 20, spent the evening telling the audience about their experiences living through the conflict and why it should be resolved with a two state-solution. Shapira is a youth leader in the Israeli OneVoice group, while Shtaya is a youth leader in the Palestinian OneVoice group.

Shapira told the audience about growing up in Jerusalem during the second intifada, a time of uprising from Palestinians and assassinations of leaders from both sides of the conflict. Shapira then talked about his experiences serving as a soldier in the Israeli Army where he came face-to-face with Palestinians while serving as a combat soldier in the West Bank region. That experience led Shapira to come to an important conclusion.

"Both Israelis and Palestinians are victims of the situation and conflict. We should take the situation into our own hands," Shapira said.

For Shapira, this meant that he became involved with OneVoice while in college as the coordinator of the OneVoice at Hebrew University in Jersualem where he spoke to Israeli college students about how they viewed the conflict and their ideas to resolve it.

Shtaya also experienced the second intifada first hand when his father was put in prison during this stage of the conflict. Shtaya became involved with OneVoice when he went to one of the organization's Palestinian Town meetings.

Shapira and Shtaya both agree that neither of the bills proposed by the United States Congress are good for either side. One plan would annex the West Bank to Israel, and the other would cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority.

"The U.S. leaders annexing the West Bank will move the area to a different stage and a much worse situation," Shtaya said.

Instead, Shapira, Shtaya and the entire OneVoice organization hope that the Palestinian bid at the UN will be an opportunity for both sides to go back to the negotiating table.

Many student organizations sponsored the event. J Street U@GW, the International Affairs Society, The Institute for Middle East Studies, Amnesty International, GW Acting Politically for Israel, the GW Hillel, GW Roosevelt Institution, the Student Alliance for Israel and GW Interfaith Action all helped bring OneVoice to campus.

J Street U@GW President Rory Silver said the event was successful at clarifying for students that the majority of people on both sides of the conflict are for peace and prosperity.

"We felt that it was important for students to understand that being Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian are not mutually-exclusive," Silver explained.

"One of the members of the audience stated that he thought the event would be a debate. This is unfortunately the way that most students view the conflict, particularly in a time of heightened rhetoric surrounding the upcoming UN Vote. The speakers helped dispel these notions by proving that because the fates of Israelis and Palestinians are so intertwined, it's actually 'pro-Israel' to be 'pro-Palestinian,' and vice versa," he added.

Meanwhile, on Thursday GW students were again able to discuss the conflict with an event that took place at University Yard called "Talk Israel." Taking place under a big white tent, the event brought in different speakers to talk about the different aspects of the conflict, including: religion, the histories of both sides, the current day-to day situation, the effect of the Arab Spring, the debate over Palestinian statehood and the United States government's stance on the conflict.

Speakers ranged from current GW professors to former Jerusalem Post Editor-In-Chief David Horovitz.

Former Assistant Secretary of State Michael Singh spoke about U.S. foreign policy in the region and how it would be affected by the Palestinian bid at the U.N.

Student organizations sponsoring "Talk Israel" included the Students Alliance for Israel, GW students Acting Politically for Israel, Hillel, and the fraternities ZBT, AEPI and AEPHI.

"The goals [of the event] were to bring to campus an opportunity for civil and respectful dialogue and education about the current issues between Israel and the Palestinians to really listen and to bridge [the gap] between students," said Noam Archia, an Israeli fellow who works at Hillel.