A year after Operation Cast Lead–one of the deadliest attacks of the recent Gaza conflict–Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) are organizing a series of events to raise aid money and keep students informed.
A part of Gaza Commemoration Month, SJP-organized events include fund raising for a United Nations relief agency, a "justice café," and a lecture by a prominent Palestinian-American academic. "We should reflect upon this [conflict] so that we figure out a way to avoid it in the future," third-year and SJP president Nadia Ismail said.
Proceeds from this week's tabling will go to the UN's relief agency, whose headquarters were hit by Israeli artillery fire last January, Ismail said. The organization continues to provide humanitarian aid to thousands of Palestinians.
Next week, SJP will host a "justice café," featuring performances from SJP, Organization of Black Students, and Hillel members meant to start a discussion of "issues of justice and injustice," Ismail said.
Dr. Hatem Bazian, a Palestinian-American professor at the University of California-Berkley, will lead a panel at the end of the month with a representative of the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund. The event, "Beseiged Gaza: One Year Later," is set for January 29.
Ismail said the events will correct misunderstandings many have about the Gaza conflict. “A lot of people do not understand the situation and this misunderstanding has led to not caring,” she said.
Chicago Friends of Israel President and second-year Hayley Ossip agreed that few students understand the conflict, and said SJP's current program was "definitely better" than last year's controversial flash mob, where participants froze in place in Hutch Commons and Bartlett to bring attention to perceived Israeli wrongdoing. "I applaud them for doing it in such a civil way," she said.
SJP members “have all the right to be sad about the loss of human life,” Ossip said. “However, we look at the Gaza situation as something different, with a bit more focus on why it had to happen…There was value in the Gaza war."
CFI should hold an event entitled “The value in the Gaza war”, explaining that statement.
To say that there was value in Operation Cast-Lead, means that the situation has improved some. Is there any evidence what so ever to arrive at this conclusion? Letting alone the morality of collective punishment and the human rights violations, is the prospect for peace any closer, whatsoever?
Go gabe!
Benefits of the Gaza War:
* ~1000 civilians dead
* Thousands of buildings destroyed
* A (somewhat tendentious) United Nations condemnation of Israel
* Continuation of rocket attacks
* Strengthened Iranian relations in the Arab world and in Turkey
* Inflamed hatred around the world for Jews such as myself
* Hamas has become the darling of organizations that claim to stand for justice and peace
Yes I agree. I really think there should be a follow-up explaining what the statement “There was value in the Gaza war” actually means. Unfortunately, I think the ending sentiment of this article completely undermines the necessity of ongoing efforts to assist those suffering in Gaza.
What would the US do if the Canadians were firing thousands of rockets into Detroit, killing US citizens!!! Ask the Canadians to stop (Israel did that!). Threaten the Canadians if they did not stop they will try to stop it themselves (Israel did that!), and then when one has no alternative send in their forces to stop the rocket attacks!!.
What the US WOULD NOT DO is give up and commit suicide!!!. Why would one then expect the Israelis to do so!!
Losing civilian life is a travesty, but maybe the Palestinians should take a long look at their own leaders’ actions. If anyone thinks that the Hamas government is unable to stop the rocket attacks from Gaza, I have swamp land in Florida to sell to you!!.
There is no doubt that their is “value” in Israel’s Gaza actions. There is no question it severely reduced the number of rocket attacks. It sent a clear message to the Palestinian government and people that Israel will not tolerate attacks into Israel.
I fail to see the moral equivalence between the wilful murder of civilians by Hamas and Israel’s legitimate self-defense pursuant to Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. This type of thinking only encourages terrorists to persist in their attacks against civilians.
As for “value” in the Gaza war – why don’t you ask any child living in Sderot. Contrary to what some people like to believe, there has been a significant decline in rocket attacks since the war!
From what I know about the context of this interview, Ossip was horrendously misquoted. CFI does not endorse that position, nor have we ever. We understand the difficult situation in Gaza and I urge anyone who has questions about the comment to not take it in the context it is currently being portrayed in.
Some clarification of Ms. Ossip’s statement is definitely warranted. Perhaps she should issue a statement in the Maroon to make her statement clearer, and I wish the author had been more judicious in providing a context for the statement, seeing as it looks like Ms. Ossip’s statement was significantly paraphrased.
However, what most disturbs me is that Boryana found it necessary to interview the president of the Chicago Friends of Israel about an event that they are in no way involved in or ever spoke publicly about. The structure of this article hints at a diametric opposition between the upcoming event and the goals and nature of the Chicago Friends of Israel. As far as I know, I have never seen the Chicago Friends of Israel condemn this event or issue a public statement that places them in the opposition that this article suggests.
I feel that this reveals an all too common tendency to chase issues of human rights in Palestine with a serving of Israel-bashing (however subtle). Chicago Friends of Israel is a pro-Israel organization; not an anti-Palestine organization. Its events promote and celebrate the existence of the state of Israel, and rarely do they ever sponsor or host events that are in direct opposition to SJP. The event held by SJP being discussed is supposedly not primarily focused on discussing Israel, and is promoted as focusing on the issue of human rights in Palestine. Therefore, I don’t see a diametric opposition, and don’t see why the Chicago Friends of Israel had to be dragged into this, unless it is to suggest that the Chicago Friends of Israel would be opposed to a fundraiser for a Children’s Relief Fund.
Could Boryana perhaps explain why she felt the need to include the Chicago Friends of Israel in this article?