Spring Break
Palestine on campus
Carla Mancebo
Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: News
|
Dressed in army fatigues, Hanny Zaki, a junior majoring in international business and a member of Students for Change, the campus organization that planned the event for Palestine Awareness Week, shouted at the two volunteering students for proof of identification, attracting the attention Zaki said they needed to bring awareness to the plight of Palestinians.
"This is a glimpse into the life of a Palestinian," Zaki said. "In Palestine there are kids who just want to go to school but are unable to because of walls and checkpoints.
"Palestinians are not able to sustain normal lives because of the policies Israel implements."
Raed Hassan, a junior majoring in electrical engineering, participated in enacting an event he has experienced first-hand. Hassan lived in Jerusalem and attended college in Abu Dees, a Palestinian village separated from Israel by the 25-foot-tall Apartheid Wall making his 5-mile commute to school two hours.
"I couldn't step out of my house without my ID," Hassan said. "Without my ID the Israelis would think I was sneaking into Jerusalem and take me to the police station to verify my identity."
Students for Change also created a depiction of the Apartheid Wall, which Director Sarah Morris said was to inform students of the oppressive nature of the Israeli government.
"We want people to see it and experience it," said Morris, a junior majoring in nursing. "For a lot of us in America occupation is foreign."
Morris said the Apartheid Wall was built under the guise of security for the Israeli people. She said this is an illegal barrier that confiscates land and separates families; justified because the media tells the public Israelis are acting in self-defense.
"Israel as a state wants to stay a Jewish state with as much land as possible," Morris said.
Crowds began to flock around the discussions held between two students wearing white shirts that read, "If you were a suicide bomber you would be DEAD by now" and the students running the event.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 22
Ted Rudow III,MA
posted 4/26/07 @ 7:03 AM PST
Pray for the poor Palestinians who are suffering so greatly. Pray for the innocent Israelis who die or are wounded in terrorist bombings. Pray for the other Arabs, that they'll stand up for their Palestinian brethren for a change. (Continued…)
Hanh
posted 4/26/07 @ 8:54 AM PST
This is insanse... If the Palestine people want to change, they need to do it...in their home and by themselves. What can we do over here as student, should we join you and fight for your freedom?. (Continued…)
James Desmond
posted 4/26/07 @ 1:45 PM PST
"Apartheid Wall"?
Are the editors of the Spartan Daily aware that this description of the separation barrier appeared in the story outside of quotation?
Are we now to assume the Spartan Daily now a satellite division of Al-Jazeera?
Leila Forouhi
posted 4/26/07 @ 5:38 PM PST
Thank-you Spartan Daily for supporting this student activity. Muslim students need to unite with other students on campus no matter what religion or race - I would like to see a dialogue between the Jewish and Muslim student groups. (Continued…)
khalid and raed
posted 4/27/07 @ 1:55 AM PST
Great article, GOOD Job
Mark
posted 4/27/07 @ 5:10 PM PST
Great. Now the Spartan Daily is sounding like Al-Jazerra West.
Robert Haim
posted 4/27/07 @ 5:31 PM PST
I guess it would be very difficult to do a mock performance of the palestinian terrorists who bomb restaurants in Israel:-)
Or when they shoot rockets to civilian areas in Israel. (Continued…)
Julia Martisius
posted 4/27/07 @ 10:07 PM PST
Dear Editor,
I am appalled and offended by the display put on by Students for Change, and even more by the irresponsible journalism that took place after. (Continued…)
Max Grossman
posted 4/28/07 @ 12:03 PM PST
Dear Sirs and Madams,
This is a follow-up to my face-to-face conversation on April 28 with managing editor Sara Spivey, who, together with executive editor Kris Anderson, is responsible for permitting Carla Mancebo to publish this hateful and unprofessional article. (Continued…)
Merlin Dorfman
posted 4/28/07 @ 3:20 PM PST
"In Palestine there are kids who just want to go to school but are unable to because of walls and checkpoints," says Hanny Zaki. In Israel there are kids who are dead because of suicide bombers and rockets coming from the Palestinian territories. (Continued…)
Post a Comment