Israeli peace activist Adam Keller visited campus Thursday to discuss current tensions in the Middle East and his opinions about the creation of a Palestinian state. Keller spoke to a small but captivated audience, sharing his past as a “refusnik,” someone who would not serve in the Israeli army due to his disagreement with the occupation of Palestine.

Keller is currently the spokesperson of Gush Shalom, the grassroots Israeli Peace Bloc.

He grew up in Tel Aviv and developed his viewpoints early in life. When he was young, there was a common perception that one could perform the mandated military service while still favoring peace. During the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, he started an anti-war movement protesting the dishonesty of the government and the injustice of the attacks. He was jailed several times.

“I could not just go on being a small cog in a big military machine,” Keller said.

His most noteworthy offense was writing peace graffiti on 117 army tanks and an officer toilet, and putting anti-war stickers and posters all over army equipment. In 1990 he was ultimately declared unfit for military service after he started a hunger strike while serving another prison term.

Keller has a clear picture of what he would like to see occur in the Middle East.

“Israel should withdraw from the borders set up in 1967 and create a Palestinian state. It is not a perfect solution, but it will give something to both sides. Then we can build a common future.”

Leadership in the Middle East was also a prominent issue at the discussion. Keller believes that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is vulnerable because he is walking on a very tight rope and making his supporters angry by destroying settlements. He recognizes that Arafat is the elected national leader of Palestine and should therefore be respected and not systematically vilified.

Keller would, however, like to see new elections take place in the future. In terms of the United States’ role in the peace process, Keller stated that although the United States means well, it is not a true arbiter as its policies are very generous to Israel. He said that for the sake of the Israeli and Palestinian people, there must be a change in the United States’ efforts in Israel.

The talk was organized by the Coalition for Nonviolent Resistance (CNR), a group committed to educating others about using nonviolent movements as a means to peace.

“One thing I took from the lecture is that grassroots movements are underestimated but also key. Activism is universal,” said founder of the CNR Arusha Gordon ’05. “One person, even if she thinks she is doing nothing, will create change. In the long run, individual acts add up and create immense social change.”

Audience members were equally inspired by Keller’s words.

“I thought the forum was a good source of information from someone I could trust,” said Ben Levinger ’07.

David Abravanel ’08 agreed with Levinger about the effectiveness of the speaker.

“It was great to see students at Wesleyan politically engaged,” Abravanel said.

“It is reassuring to hear about the growing peace movement in Israel, especially the unification between Israeli peace groups and the Palestinians,” said Brian Brotman ’07.

When asked about the U.S.-led war in Iraq, Keller likened it to the situation in the Middle East.

“I certainly feel there are certain wars where the big hero is not those who fight but those who refuse. The Israeli/Palestinian war is one of them. The U.S./Iraqi war is one of them,” he said.

Living in a democracy, there are certain conventional methods that citizens of the United States can utilize as forms of protest. Keller suggests demonstrations, distributing leaflets, picketing and writing editorials to newspapers. Though he doesn’t condone breaking the law as a primary tactic, he said taking immoral actions is much worse than taking illegal ones. Ultimately, he said that he feels that it is a precious opportunity to live in a country where the citizens can choose the government.

Keller said he enjoyed his visit at Wesleyan and that speaking to a college-aged audience is significant to him because students will grow up and take responsible positions in society, perhaps even positions in which they can affect politics. He deems it especially important to speak to American audiences because they live in a country that has so much power and influence in the Middle East.