Wednesday afternoon’s display in Bruin Plaza was a
sterling example of Israeli pride and patriotism. But, sadly, it
did little to advance the cause of campus dialogue.
The more than 200 people who gathered there had good cause to be
happy ““ Israeli supporters are, after all, celebrating their
58th year of having a state. The 35 or so protesters who showed up
also had good cause to be sad ““ they were mourning their 58th
year of not having one.
In spite of the presence of protesters, Israel advocates insist
there is nothing wrong with celebrating a birthday. And
they’re right: There is nothing wrong with celebrating a
birthday, especially Israel’s. But no one denies, or at least
no one should deny, that Israel is also a serious flash point of
contention for Israelis, Palestinians and their respective
supporters.
Therefore, to celebrate Israel’s founding without
acknowledging other people ““ namely the Palestinians ““
who also have vested interests in the region is not being entirely
honest with the campus community.
To be fair, when supporters of the Palestinians hold their week
of events later this quarter, it’s doubtful they will go out
of their way to embrace the Israeli perspective, at least based on
their previous track record.
But this willful ignoring of the other side merely compounds the
tragedy and illuminates the squandered opportunity for constructive
dialogue.
To see how Israel Independence Day has become a political event,
one need not look any further than the way it was celebrated in May
1998, the 50th anniversary of Israel’s founding. At that
event, which was sponsored by UCLA Hillel, a considerably smaller
group of students gathered in Meyerhoff Park to listen to speeches,
sing, and light candles. They concluded the event with a prayer for
peace, and no one showed up in protest.
Now, Israel Independence Day is sponsored by a group of Israeli
advocate organizations, including Bruins for Israel and the
Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles. It has expanded into a
whole festival of Israeli culture and color. And nearly every year,
supporters of the Palestinian people show up in protest.
What changed things was the Second Intifada, or Palestinian
uprising, which began in September 2000. The intifada created a
sense among advocates of both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict ““ a sense that they had to make their cases better
and stronger than the other to college-campus communities . They
largely stopped talking to one another and started talking past one
another.
The problem isn’t with celebrating or protesting
Israel’s birthday. The problem is that many of the people
““ from both sides ““ who were in Bruin Plaza on
Wednesday were so captivated by the politics that they did not take
the next step, which is to acknowledge the legitimacy of the other
viewpoint.
To all the world, Israelis and Palestinians might look intensely
divided. In the Middle East, they might be separated by fences and
borders; at UCLA, by their positions on Bruin Walk. But considering
that neither side is liable to simply get up and walk away from the
dispute, is division really the best way to coexist?
We say no. And UCLA is one of the best places for these
divisions to be healed. After all, if it isn’t going to
happen here, how can it happen over there?