For some news watchers, it may seem as though the post-Sept. 11 world is spiraling into a new era of conflict, with the most intense strife concentrated in the Middle East.
Guardian
The heightening tension between the Israelis and Palestinians is leaving the world puzzled that such an escalation of violence is occurring with no resolution in sight. Both sides are suffering, living in fear of what tomorrow will bring.
While Israelis fear sudden attacks from suicide bombers, Palestinians face the risk of their homes being invaded, frequent checkpoints, in addition to curfews and the lack of electricity and water. The images of blood, guns, destruction, death, tears and despair flood television screens and newspapers everywhere.
Though many students get wrapped up in the university life of studying and waiting for those Friday night parties, there are students at UCSD who are greatly affected by and pay great attention to the crisis in the Middle East: the Palestinian and Jewish populations on campus.
Both groups say they are going through a difficult period and find themselves witnessing history that hits home for many of them.
Muir junior Joseline Ilian’s Palestinian family lives in Bethlehem. She said she finds her daily activities interrupted by her constant concern for them.
“”I am not giving any attention to my assignments at all,”” she said. “”I am always glued to the TV.
“”It has been so overwhelming lately. My parents are always calling my relatives. We found out that my cousin’s mother and brother-in-laws were buried alive and now we just learned that there are tanks outside of my family’s home, and they are all confined to their living room. They cannot leave.””
Ilian, who also said she feels “”humiliation”” as a Palestinian, concluded by saying, “”It’s been real hard.””
Warren junior Uthman Salah, a Palestinian who used to live in Bethlehem, said all his cousins have been arrested.
“”My only remaining family right now are the elderly, like my grandparents,”” he said.
Jewish student Josh Shupack, a Revelle College sophomore, described how the conflict has affected him at a very “”personal level.””
“”I spent nine months in Israel last year,”” Shupack said. “”Four [months] out of the nine, I lived at a kibbutz, a social communal. I just learned that someone I had met there was recently killed in a suicide bombing.””
Shupack added that it has been an extremely hard time for him.
“”It is difficult understanding why this is all happening,”” he said.
Thurgood Marshall College senior David Weisberg, president of the Union of Jewish Students, said that all his friends either know someone living in the Middle East or know of someone who knows someone living there.
Weisberg’s aunt lives in Jerusalem with her family of six children.
“”Seldom does a moment go by where they are not on my mind,”” he said.
Palestinian graduate student Alaa Elabad said that he is “”very much distracted.””
“”I will spend seven to eight hours in front of the TV and maybe two hours to study,”” Elabad said, adding that he is worried for his family, who, he said, is “”managing”” right now.
John Muir College senior Noah Levin, a Jewish student, believes that the Middle East conflict could escalate into World War III.
“”I keep hearing of friends who are losing family and friends in Israel. It is just ballooning out of control,”” he said.
Levin called the experience “”terrible.””
The conflict in the Middle East stems from ancient disagreements and hatreds. This is reflected in the opinions of some UCSD students, which can be hostile to the opposing side.
Becka Andrews, a Marshall sophomore who is Jewish, said her “”heart reaches out to those killed by suicide bombers.”” When presented with the statistics of the deaths of the Palestinians in Israeli incursions, she said she feels “”no sympathy for them.””
She explained that the victims of suicide bombers, were killed “”not by choice,”” whereas Palestinians “”disrupt security”” and heighten tension.
The Palestinians, however, argue that they are an oppressed people.
“”The whole Palestinian infrastructure has been devastated because the Israelis are trying to erase our history,”” Ilian said. She added that the suicide bombers are “”people that are willing to die for their country and are not attached to life as much.””
Salah added that under international law, the Israelis have broken every resolution and denied human rights to the Palestinians.
Yet despite the different viewpoints on the crisis in the Middle East, some nonetheless have sympathy for both sides. Even though both groups stand by their own claim and perspective, some address the human side of such a political situation.
Weisberg said of the deaths of the Palestinians, “”[It] completely tears me up.””
He added, “”It doesn’t matter what side; what matters is that people are dying.””
Shupack said that for both sides, “”It is difficult to watch, and difficult to read.””
Salah admitted that he disagrees with the Palestinian attacks on the Israeli population, saying, “”They should not be purposefully targeting civilians. That is not right.””
While on the world scene, hostilities between Israelis and Palestinians are at an all-time high, many students at UCSD have yet to sense unease between Jewish and Palestinian individuals or groups on campus.
Levin said he feels no tension at all with Palestinian students. Eleanor Roosevelt College freshman Tanya Dughman said she feels no hate as a Palestinian on campus.
They can be friends with one another and get along just fine when relating to each other, Weisberg said, “”as students wanting good grades and going through college.””
Roosevelt sophomore Manal Hafez, a Palestinian student, said one of her good friends is Jewish. But in these relationships, students have noted, any mention of Middle East politics can ruin the friendly atmosphere.
“”We have to keep politics out of it,”” Hafez said.
But for some, politics or no politics, they refuse to associate with one another.
Ilian said that she avoids Jewish students and does not want to talk to them.
“”I know this may sound biased, but I automatically classify them,”” Ilian said. “”It is because of them that I can never go back to my homeland.””
Shupack said he has no Palestinian friends because the “”opportunity never came up,”” and he is not sure if it ever will, given such grave political differences.
When it comes to turning feelings of helplessness into action, both Palestinian and Jewish students are experienced at keeping busy.
In the past, UJS, the Muslim Student Association and the Arab Student Union have had information tables on Library Walk in order to raise awareness to other students and present many perspectives on the conflict. There have been rallies in the Price Center and awareness weeks by both the MSA and the UJS.
Last year, the MSA hosted Anti-Zionism Week, a week meant to “”expand the understanding of Zionism by bringing up awareness of oppression,”” according to MSA president and Marshall senior Ahmed Salem.
“”It has nothing to do with religion or with ethnicity,”” Salem said. “”We respect the Jews. It was strictly political.””
Despite respectful intentions, the week was characterized by anger and arguments raised on campus between the two groups. Jewish students immediately responded with information tables, and UCSD administration tried to intervene to calm the situation. Andrews said that during that week she felt targeted.
According to Salem, both groups managed to create some dialogue in A.S. Council meetings, but other than arguing on Library Walk, nothing formal was ever done to reconcil tensions.
Last week, both student groups brought guest speakers in order to learn more about the situation in Israel and Palestine. And both are preparing to have information tables on Library Walk within the next few weeks.
Levin said that these days, UCSD students tend to “”be more informational when it comes to political differences than confrontational.””
Of course, when the organizations have tables out, it is common for students to get into political debates with one another, but Andrews said, “”We approach them so we can see what they are saying and learn.””
Some Palestinian students feel the same way. For example, Elabad made it a point to go to the Israel table during UJS’s Awareness Week last quarter and see what they had on display and share his opinions, and the story of his family’s history there.
Hafez said educating others through rallies and information tables is very important.
“”It is so easy to feel overwhelmed, and coming together for this purpose makes me proud to be a Palestinian,”” Hafez said. “”I am more proud now than ever, because of this sense of nationalism.””
Despite the current apparent peace between Jewish and Palestinian students, UCSD’s Student Office of Human Relations is preparing to react to any possible tension in a proactive way.
Elizabeth Urtecho, the director of SOHR, hopes to start group discussions or forums that would be mediated by experts. This way, she hopes to provide a place where students can discuss their opinions and frustrations in a constructive manner.
Individually, many students feel that a dialogue would be great idea, but say they think others would be reluctant to take part.
“”Everyone is set on their views,”” Dughman said. “”We’ll never accept their claim, just like they will never accept ours.””
Similarly, Weisberg said that people he knows usually leave these forums “”with a bad taste in their mouth.””
He said, however, “”It can’t hurt, because I think we should work on bringing our communities together to emphasize what we have in common. It’s tough because both sides have so much to say.””
