Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Faculty Experts Hold Teach-In On Mid-East

A distinguished group of panelists gathered with Georgetown students in the Leavey Center Club Room yesterday evening for a teach-in entitled “The Crisis in the West Bank: How did we arrive at this point?”

The teach-in was sponsored by the Georgetown University Lecture Fund and featured a diverse, five-person panel of experts. The panel included Fr. Drew Christensen, Professor Yossi Shain, Imam Yahya Hendi, Isis Nusair and Professor Judith Tucker.

Each panelist offered a presentation of the many issues surrounding the ongoing violence and animosity in the Middle East, both past and present. They addressed the historical, social and political contexts of the conflict and shared many of their own first-hand experiences in the region. Following these individual presentations, students were invited to ask questions and facilitate further discussion between themselves and the panelists.

Christensen is a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center and former director of the Office of International Justice and Peace of the United States Catholic Conference. He continues to advise U.S. bishops on Middle East policy. Shain is the Goldman Visiting Israeli Professor in the Georgetown government department and the former political science department chair at Tel Aviv University. Imam Hendi is Georgetown’s Muslim chaplain and Imam and director of religious affairs at the Islamic Center of Charlotte. Nusair is a researcher of the Middle East and North Africa for the Women’s Rights division of Human Rights Watch, and Tucker is the director of Georgetown’s Arts in Arab Studies Program.

Tucker began the discussion with an examination of the historical backdrop of the current hostilities in the West Bank. She noted the situation is a classic illustration of what historians refer to as conflicting narratives. According to Tucker, the Israeli version of the story is one of nation-building and creating a refuge for a persecuted people that continues to be threatened by outside forces. The Palestinian narrative is far different. Their account bemoans the founding of Israel as a disaster and speaks of aspirations for independence dashed and families forced to flee their homes.

Tucker emphasized that designating the various narratives as right or wrong is problematic. “We have two very different ways of looking at things,” she said. “It’s important for people to understand that there is no one true story.”

Tucker also explained that there are many different time periods that people use to frame the conflicts. Many Israelis, for instance, view the proper time frame as beginning with the founding of Israel in 1948 and focus on the problems that have occurred since then. Others look to the Old Testament and its prescription of Palestine as a land given by God to a chosen people. The Palestinians, according to Tucker, recognize a different scope that begins in the 19th century. They point to a time where imperialism stifled a third-world nationalism in which Great Britain helped Israel to defeat Palestinian independence.

She emphasized that understanding each point of view is crucial if the conflict is ever to be solved. “To make baby steps toward understanding and hopefully resolving [the conflict] I think we have to understand how the people involved understand their own history,” she said.

Nusair presented data and recommendations from a Human Rights Watch report on violence in the West Bank region. The report found a repeated pattern of excessive force by Israeli soldiers against unarmed Palestinians who posed no threat of death or serious injury. This practice, according to Nusair, is in violation of international law. She also noted that the study identified a pattern of Israeli soldiers firing on Palestinian medical personnel. Nusair emphasized that Israelis are committing most of the human rights violations but conceded that the Palestinian side is not without fault.

“The Israeli security service has been responsible for the majority of serious human rights violations but this does not excuse the Palestinian security service from [fully upholding human rights],” he said.

Christensen stressed the failed mediation on the part of the United States, particularly in recent meetings at Camp David. He criticized President William Jefferson Clinton (SFS ’68)for simply being a spokesman for Ehud Barak and conducting uneven negotiations with the Palestinians. He said that the Palestinians were the side expected to make compromises even though they have far fewer resources than Israel.

“If you look at the situation objectively,” Christensen said, “the people who have the resources to make compromises are not the Palestinians. The Israelis are the ones who have the capacity to yield land and other services . The Palestinians are the weaker partner by far and they’re weakened by this ongoing process and the unilateral action of the U.S.”

Christensen also faulted Israel for the use of undue force against unarmed Palestinian civilians. He suggested that the Israelis bias the western media by perpetuating images of Palestinian violence while masking their own more numerous and more serious transgressions. According to Christensen, “the Israeli attitude has always been to dominate by the use of force.”

Shain described a sense siege among Israelis, both from Arab threats of violence and from international powers seen as sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. This “internationalizing” of the conflict has created an atmosphere where Israel is prone to overreact to Palestinian uprisings.

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