Issues of Jewish Identity on the Evergreen State College Campus in relationship to Israel, The Middle East and Palestine

      What does it mean to be Jewish? This is a question that has become a hot button point of controversy on campus. It began long before the current conflict with Jews who were Pro-Israel not feeling safe on campus, and who ended up leaving in the process and students and Palestinians who have felt that their voice has not been heard except only in the Evergreen Community. In both instances people have been made into an "Other" and personhood denied in some way. I will explain in what ways later in the blog. First the events that occurred today on February 23rd 2011 and how they came about. 

   The latest issue was an art project an Jewish Evergreen Student made that was taken in Palestine and labeled, "Hebrew is the language of abuse." It was meant in the context of most Palestinians experience with Hebrew when she was over there. The language of soldiers, war and checkpoints. But it understandably set off a spark. Labeling any language the language of abuse, even in a given context, labeling a people, in this case some Jewish students on campus felt that it was an attack on them, one student even writing a letter to the campus newspaper the Cooper Point Journal mentioning the other students who have left because Anti-Israeli sentiment and that she would be one of them:

http://cooperpointjournal.com/opinion/letter-editor
. Out of this came the event "Shir l'Shalom: Hebrew Songs of Peace." Which was to counter Anti-Israeli sentiment and focus on the common wish for peace by all sides and how the language of Hebrew had peace within it's language. It was hosted by Evergreen Hillel whose goal seemed to be for the intention of unity among all Jews and celebration of Jewish songs of peace. On the program for the songs it quotes the Talmud saying,

    "The entire Torah is for the sake of the ways of peace." -Talmud, Gittin 59b.

    Sadly the event did come out of a reaction the the art and in the process a few Jews campus felt that their perspective and the point the art was trying to make about how disempowered the Palestinians feel with Israeli military checkpoints through their territories and having Israeli settlers settling where their homes once were located in Gaza and the West Bank. Due to the inequality between Israeli and Palestinian power that the art was trying to illuminate was being drowned out by a call for unity, Jewish students hosted their own event called "From Songs of Peace to Peaceful Action."

    The event had three speakers who spoke about what Hebrew meant to them. There were three speakers. One was a woman who is a member of Jewish Voice for Peace:

http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/

   The other was a man who has both Israeli and American citizenship, and the third was an older woman who grew up in a Jewish Ghetto in Chicago in the 30's and 40's. 

       I went to both events and caught the beginning of Shir l'Shalom and the end of "From Songs of Peace to Peaceful Action." The songs sung at Shir l'Shalom are songs of peace and God's love for all people. It was great being there for a while before heading off to my Philosophy of Religion Contract. After I headed to the second event.

       I caught the last half hour of the second event when the member of Jewish voice for peace was talking about their needs to be more awareness about what our language means to others. Then questions began. It was a quite for a while and the male speaker spoke saying he saw the "Shir l'Shalom" event as poison since it was ignoring the plight of Palestinians in relationship to Israel.

       My thought on that was he was missing something that could be a great way to bring about change...the God of Abraham of Islam and Judaism calls on the people for peace and to "treat others as they wish to be treated" and to "Not raise a sword again." I think these are things can be good for getting rid of the jingoism and militarism being used by certain Imans and Nations causing for Israel's destruction, and for the militarists within the Israeli government  and certain Rabbi's who see war as the only way. In both cases personhood of the other is denied. They are somehow less and not a victim, only the one claiming to be a victim can be a victim...it's impossible for the victim to bully and victimizer (which both sides deny being but certain members are or end up being).

   At the event I experienced white noise from this. The IDF soldier and his father and those they talked to mostly did Ad hominem attacks on one another. They gave some good knowledge as well, but most of it was ad hominem before actual discussion. There was a member of the IDF and his father who were at the event and brought up the issue of Israeli's security and denied the Palestinians as people, just as the people at the event were denying the fact that in the past Nations and individuals have called for Israel to be "Wiped off the map."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/03/AR2006080300629.html

   This goes both ways. Members in Israel or who are sympathetic with the Israeli government refuse to recognize the rights of the Palestinian people and continue to create settlements on their land, ignoring past peace treaties they made that respected Gaza and the West Bank as belonging to the Palestinian People.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/palestinians-threaten-to-quit-talks-over-settlements-1920121.html

      In the end the lack of virtue being practiced by both sides is ignored. Both sides "other" their opponent and different ways, rather then dealing with how they or their allies are practicing unethical actions. You have desperation to live being practiced by both as no one listens, and those with power choose not to respect those without power. What can be done? First off the settlements need to stop and the Palestinian Territories allowed to develop and not cut off from the rest of the world, and leaders outside of Israel need to respect Israel's right to nationhood, just as Israel should respect and honor the Palestinians right to Nationhood.

    I probably haven't covered everything, but the core issue of "othering" and with it ignoring a person or peoples right to exist needs to stop. I think religion can be the greatest move forward on that. Both Holy Books respect the other and at the core are about God's love for all his people. All his people are the world, which includes, Arabs and Jews. It's from that love that the sons of Abraham need to come together and end this. If they don't...one side is going to wipe out the other, or they will wipe out each other.