Spring Break
New Palestinian club hosts first event
by Claire Moses
News | 4/1/08
Posted online at 2:10 AM EST on 4/1/08
No solution was reached for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but an event sponsored by Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine did reach one of its goals: engaging in dialogue.
The event held last Friday featured a documentary followed by two speakers, one Palestinian and one Israeli Jew, on the conflict. The speakers mainly focused on "the right of return" and what happened in 1948 after Israel's declaration of independence.
Approximately 20 students gathered in a Heller School for Social Policy and Management auditorium to listen to the views of Mohammad Jaradat, a Palestinian activist and co-founder of the Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, and Eitan Bronstein, Director of the Israeli organization Zochrot.
Zochrot, which means "remembering," is "a group of Israeli citizens working to raise awareness of the Nakba, the Palestinian catastrophe of 1948," according to the organization's Web site.
"Zochrot organizes tours through Israel to villages that used to be Palestinian but have been destroyed," Bronstein said. "During these tours," he continued, "participants put back the original street signs. This is often met by anger and results in removal of the signs." He showed an example of this on a short video.
Chelsey Berlin '08, an organizer of the event and a co-founder of the newly chartered club, said she was "blown away" when she saw Bronstein speak about his organization at a conference in London. "This is something I have to bring to Brandeis," she said.
An important issue at stake during the event was the concept of "right of return," which means the return of the Palestinian people to what is now Israel. This term has several different meanings and is frequently debated.
"The right of return is granted by international law," Jaradat said.
"Home is not for sale," he said when a student from the audience asked him for his description of the term.
Jaradat argued for a one-state solution, with the Palestinians returning to Israel. "Judaism is part of me as a Palestinian," he said.
"[We need to think of] creative ways to implement return of refugees. … There is no study about it," Bronstein said. "Zochrot is organizing a conference in June to think of how the right of return can be implemented," he said.
"Israel needs to recognize what it did in 1948 to make reconciliation between Palestinians and Jews possible," he said.
Bronstein said that most Israelis don't really know what happened in 1948, which is one of Zochrot's goals is to educate people. "The target audience of the organization is Israeli Jews," Bronstein said.
"The main motivation is to change our society," he said.
The event held last Friday featured a documentary followed by two speakers, one Palestinian and one Israeli Jew, on the conflict. The speakers mainly focused on "the right of return" and what happened in 1948 after Israel's declaration of independence.
Approximately 20 students gathered in a Heller School for Social Policy and Management auditorium to listen to the views of Mohammad Jaradat, a Palestinian activist and co-founder of the Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, and Eitan Bronstein, Director of the Israeli organization Zochrot.
Zochrot, which means "remembering," is "a group of Israeli citizens working to raise awareness of the Nakba, the Palestinian catastrophe of 1948," according to the organization's Web site.
"Zochrot organizes tours through Israel to villages that used to be Palestinian but have been destroyed," Bronstein said. "During these tours," he continued, "participants put back the original street signs. This is often met by anger and results in removal of the signs." He showed an example of this on a short video.
Chelsey Berlin '08, an organizer of the event and a co-founder of the newly chartered club, said she was "blown away" when she saw Bronstein speak about his organization at a conference in London. "This is something I have to bring to Brandeis," she said.
An important issue at stake during the event was the concept of "right of return," which means the return of the Palestinian people to what is now Israel. This term has several different meanings and is frequently debated.
"The right of return is granted by international law," Jaradat said.
"Home is not for sale," he said when a student from the audience asked him for his description of the term.
Jaradat argued for a one-state solution, with the Palestinians returning to Israel. "Judaism is part of me as a Palestinian," he said.
"[We need to think of] creative ways to implement return of refugees. … There is no study about it," Bronstein said. "Zochrot is organizing a conference in June to think of how the right of return can be implemented," he said.
"Israel needs to recognize what it did in 1948 to make reconciliation between Palestinians and Jews possible," he said.
Bronstein said that most Israelis don't really know what happened in 1948, which is one of Zochrot's goals is to educate people. "The target audience of the organization is Israeli Jews," Bronstein said.
"The main motivation is to change our society," he said.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
Jim Shane
posted 4/01/08 @ 6:16 AM EST
If there is to be true "dialogue" between the two sides, why was there noone representing opposing views?? Is this not necessary and healthy for open discussion? My expectation is that Brandeisians in all venues would expect if not demand "equal time". (Continued…)
Sam Gross
posted 4/01/08 @ 7:10 PM EST
When there is a Bir Zeit (or American University of Cairo or Beirut, or Tehran University, etc) Students for Justice with Israel formed, then there will be a hope for peace in the mideast. (Continued…)
Response to Jim Shane
posted 4/01/08 @ 10:19 PM EST
I do not understand what you mean by "equal time". It was an open event and there were opposing views but they listened. Engaging in a dialogue doesn't come with quantity of time available to sides but the quality of those participating in these dialogues. (Continued…)
Ian Zwerling
posted 4/03/08 @ 10:32 AM EST
Its a shame that the Palestinians didn't realize that when they killed the first innocent woman and child in a barbaric act of terror they lost all rights to be considered civilized enough to ever return to Israel. (Continued…)
Ian Zwerling
posted 4/03/08 @ 10:59 AM EST
The Palestinians lost their right to return the first time they murdered innocent women and children in terrorist attacks. Civilized behavior and justice triumph against the forces of barbarism every time. (Continued…)
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