During Israel Apartheid Week, which begins in Canada on March 3, the Israel-Palestinian conflict will take university campuses by storm.
Unfortunately, this time won’t be marked by students attempting to engage in dialogue towards realizable solutions to this extended conflict. Rather, it will be defined by hatred, vitriol, aggression, and alienation.
While it is a political conflict, it becomes profoundly personal for many of those involved and as in any personal matter, emotions and tensions run high.
However, as today’s students and tomorrow’s leaders we are embarrassing ourselves by continuing to engage in divisive campus politics, rather than co-operating towards peace, both on campus and abroad.
On Feb. 24, Odai Horani, a 2013 candidate for CUSA president, posted a video on Facebook promoting Israel Apartheid Week.
Horani prefaced his post with “Fuck Israel.”
It was an extraordinarily offensive statement. Offensive to the Carleton student body which he sought to represent, offensive to every student of Jewish or Israeli descent on campus, offensive to those Palestinian students who do not agree with him, and offensive to every student, staff, and faculty committing their time and effort to working towards feasible solutions for peace in the Middle East.
But a more important point here is that this rhetoric is not specific to Horani’s post. The rhetoric of “fuck Israel” permeates and dominates the discussion surrounding how pro-Palestine and pro-Israel students interact on campus.
The state of Israel has made incredible contributions to humanity in science, technology and innovation, medicine, the arts, and almost every other discipline imaginable.
Israel certainly isn’t perfect and like any other nation, its government has made mistakes. However, I still believe Israel to be an incredible and vibrant democracy.
Israel has become a safe haven for LGBTQ refugees from across the Middle East, and although rarely expressed publicly, Israelis work with counterparts in the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait to combat desertification and water scarcity. If Israel is able to tackle world issues with less-than-friendly neighbours, why can’t we?
I hope Carleton students see a change from the negative vitriol that normally comes around early March. I hope for a week of dialogue, mutual understanding, and respect. Surprise me.
