A Palestinian and an Israeli came to campus Wednesday to call for the creation of a Palestinian state and to end the Israeli occupation.
Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek is a Palestinian Anglican priest and founder of Sabeel, an ecumenical Palestinian liberation theology institute of Christians.
Jeff Halper is an Israeli and a professor of anthropology at Ben Gurion University. Halper is the Coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions in Jerusalem.
The two speakers were in the East Union Ballroom to address the current state of the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis and to further understanding of the Palestinian cause.
Although Halper is an Israeli and Ateek is a Palestinian, both claimed similar stances on the issue-blaming Israelis for not making proper efforts and necessary concessions to end the contention in that region.
“Seventy-eight percent of the country is Israel, which the Palestinians have recognized…and the Palestinians have said we will make peace with Israel if we can receive the other 22 percent-the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza-as a state of our own. Israel essentially said no,” Halper said.
Ateek agreed.
“The occupation of Israel must come to an end. It is illegal under international law,” Ateek said. “A Palestinian state must be established on the whole West Bank and the whole Gaza Strip. If there are Jews who would like to live and become Palestinian citizens, they can come or they can stay there, but they have to become part of Palestine. If they don’t like it, they can go back to Israel,” Ateek continued.
Halper said he believes the Israelis rationalize their harsh actions by claiming that they are the victims in the conflict.
“A Palestinian kid throwing a stone is seen as the aggressor while an Israeli behind a tank is being persecuted,” Halper said. “This type of terrorism is convenient-you can do anything when you’re the victim.”
Both speakers placed part of the blame for the continuing turmoil in the region on the shoulders of the United States.
The United States is creating an American empire through unilateralism and establishing a world power based on military force, according to Halper.
“Military, power and inequality are becoming the way [the United States] rules the world. The West is afraid of being held accountable by an international civil society,” Halper said.
According to both speakers, the United States plays a direct and active role in supporting Israeli occupation.
“There is not one element of the occupation that goes unapproved or unfunded by the United States,” Halper said.
Many Christian Zionists and right-wing extremists here in the United States are working toward policies of injustice and are perpetuating the occupation through the Jews, according to Ateek.
“They [Jews] are becoming the pawns for the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies,” Ateek said.
The Israelis must learn to live with Arabs over time because they are overwhelmed in terms of respective populations in the Middle East, according to Ateek.
“If, ultimately, both of us can live in one state, that would be wonderful. The most important thing at this time is ending occupation,” Ateek said. “Sharon’s wall is the beginning of the last stage of the conflict. Now the world will be able to see Israeli apartheid clearly.”