Israeli Speaker Sparks Controversy

by Erik Tomren
Right Turn

On Thursday, May 1st, supporters of Israel and protestors alike braved metal detectors and bag searches to attend a controversial speech by Ra’anan Gissin, Senior Advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Gissin is one of Israel’s leading spokesmen for the foreign press and the international community on security and strategic issues.

An estimated 200 people were in attendance for the HUB auditorium lecture, with 25 sign-bearing protestors situated in the back and several others scattered throughout the audience. Guests were encouraged to arrive an hour early to aid in the security process and University police officers were present throughout the event.
After a short introduction and a moment of silence for all who have lost their lives in the Middle East conflict, Gissin began his speech by touching briefly on the history of the Jewish people and their ancestral right to land in the Middle East. The Jewish people have a 4000-year old history in the Middle East, not only in Israel but in parts of what is now Yemen and Iraq, according to Gissin.

Gissin directed a large portion of his speech against Palestinian suicide bombers, who he singled out as being the main obstacle to lasting peace in the Middle East. “The pursuit of the strategy and philosophy of death, that sanctifies death, is bound to bring the world to utter destruction, and that’s why it has to stop. If you channel your efforts to the forces of life, instead of to the forces of death, you can reach the height of mankind’s potential,” he said.

Israel’s democratic institutions and its struggle against terrorism make it a natural ally of the United States, according to Gissin. The pre-ambles of the American Constitution, providing for the pursuit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, should apply to all of mankind and to Israelis and Palestinians alike. He praised the U.S. response to the September 11th terrorist attacks and linked American efforts in Afghanistan to the subsequent war in Iraq.

Gissin praised Bush’s April 30th ‘roadmap’ for a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He characterized the recent appointment of Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen as “a step in the right direction.” He emphasized, however, that only a democratic Palestinian state will be acceptable and that Israel must remain a Jewish state.

“But, my friends, until such time, as long as you continue to kill my children, as long as you continue to send your suicide bombers, don’t be surprised that I meet you at the doorsteps of your home and stop you there from doing it,” said Gissin.

Gissin avoided speaking on some of the issues most important to Palestinian and international activists, including the practice of expanding Israeli settlements, the demolition of Palestinian homes, and the use of overwhelming force against Palestinians. Gissin did, however, assert that Palestinian women have access to some of the best health care in the Middle East in Israeli hospitals. He also said that organ transplants in Israel are not based on race but on need.

“The problem, my friend, is not the Territories, the problem is not the settlements. The problem is my existence and the existence of my people in the land of Israel, in their ancestral homeland,” he said.

At one point in the speech Gissin held up a flyer that he said was found on campus. The flyer called for a ‘party’ in Red Square on Wednesday at 7 p.m. to celebrate a recent suicide attack on a Tel Aviv bar that killed three people. Protestors in the audience questioned the authenticity of the flyer and asked where it came from, but Gissin did not answer. Similar flyers did not appear to be widely distributed on campus.

The speech was interrupted numerous times by audience members shouting criticisms of the speaker and of Israeli policy. Gissin at one point told the audience to “shut up” and repeatedly advised them to “listen and you might learn something.” No audience members were ejected from the event but several were warned.

The question and answer portion of the event brought more controversy as the moderator randomly picked questions submitted by the audience on note cards. When asked whether it would be acceptable for Israel to become majority Palestinian, Gissin reiterated that the solution would have to be two states, one predominantly Palestinian and one predominantly Jewish.

“If (the Palestinians) return en masse to Israel, it would mean the demographic destruction of the Jewish state. So let that one Jewish state remain, and anyone who doesn’t like that has 22 other choices, okay?” he said.

One audience member shouted out a question about Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-old activist from Olympia who was run over by an Israeli bulldozer on March 16th while trying to protect a Palestinian home from demolition. Gissin replied that her death “is a tragic event. Misused and abused, misused and abused, by Palestinians who put her in a position where she served as a human shield.”

In the end, reaction to the speech was mixed. Gissin received several standing ovations and hearty applause, but others in the audience made derisive remarks and laughed throughout.

Taylor Haydu, a pre-major planning to study history, stated his opinion that “the Israelis, despite their reaching out to them, are not getting a good response from the Palestinians. Not only that but (Israel is) a democracy, and the U.S. should support democracies now.” Haydu said it was encouraging that the Palestinians have a new prime minister but that they should “get rid of Yassir Arafat entirely.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum were Karey Eals and Jesse Bacon, both Jewish and critical of Israeli policy. Eals graduated from UW in ’99 with a degree in International Studies. She described herself as an observant Orthodox Jew raised on the tenets of Zionism, which she has since begun to question.

In Eal’s opinion, “This conflict is not about religion, but it is being justified by religion. My religion that I grew up with and love, that I practice every day and every week in synagogue, is being perverted in order to justify killing people, humiliating people, and restricting people’s movement so they can’t get to work.”

Bacon, currently a student at North Seattle Community College, had other problems with the speaker. “No one who didn’t already agree with that would be convinced. That man had nothing to offer if you didn’t already agree with the Israeli government’s point of view.”

Gissin’s speech was presented by Caravan For Democracy, an organization that seeks to bring different Israeli speakers to college campuses throughout the United States. Their motto is ‘Israel and America: Sharing Hopes, Sharing Values.’ They receive additional support from the Jewish National Fund, MediaWatch International, and Hamagshimim.

"Protesters Show Up Early "

by Erik Tomren
Right Turn

Nearly an hour before the scheduled 7 p.m. speech in the HUB auditorium, an estimated 50 protestors had gathered with large banners and protest signs outside the HUB and in the HUB lobby. They were there to protest Israeli policies and Ra’anan Gissin, the Senior Advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

One of the principal organizers of the protest, Haithem El’Zabri, spoke about the different groups involved and what their goals were. According to El’Zabri, protestors included members of Muslim Students’ Association, Palestine Solidarity Committee, Hayaat (‘Life’ in Arabic), Voices of Palestine, and Council on American-Islamic Relations.

He expected members of Jewish Voices Against the War but was not sure if they had arrived yet. El’Zabri is himself a member of Hayaat.

According to El’Zabri, “The Isreali government is responsible for a lot of war crimes against the Palestinian people and Ra’anan Gissin, as an advisor and spokesman for Ariel Sharon, is equally guilty of supporting these crimes and justifying them. His purpose here is to justify the war crimes against the Palestinian people by deceiving the American public and making Israel appear as though it were the victim.”

Two members of the Muslim Students’ Association also spoke out against Israeli policies. “I mean, you can’t be a democratic nation and completely ignore or disenfranchise an entire minority group in your country,” said Brooke Santos.

Hussam Mousa said that “it’s wrong for Americans to think that their safety is in any way related to the Israeli safety. Everyone should have safety, but the way is not to support the Israeli policy of terrorizing and killing the Palestinians. The way is to resolve the problem by listening to both (sides) and making both sides make compromises.”

While an estimated 25 sign-bearing protestors attended the speech, another 25 were waiting outside the HUB auditorium to confront attendees with literature and protest signs. Tempers flared between Israel supporters and protestors, and police intervention was needed in several instances to avoid confrontations.

A young woman in Muslim garb had her protest sign torn by an angry attendee. The sign read ‘Stop Israeli Terrorism Now.’ Right Turn requested an interview with the woman, but she was visibly too shaken by the incident to respond to questions. Another Palestinian protestor told a Jewish man that “there will be celebrations upon your death.”