I was disappointed to see no mention of Wheels of Justice in the last issue of the Argus. Sponsored by ADAPT (Association for Direct Action for Palestine/Israel Today), Wheels of Justice came to campus on their bio-diesel bus last Thursday to provide insight into the occupation of Iraq and Palestine through education, outreach, nonviolent actions and personal witness. ADAPT’s last speaker, Alison Weir, rightfully drew harsh criticism, both in the Argus and around campus. Although she shared valuable experiences and sparked crucial dialogue, she was controversial because she used statistics as self-evident facts, vilified Israeli soldiers and civilians, and had substantial gaps in her historical knowledge (not to mention her overly aggressive attacks on students with opposing viewpoints).
Conversely, Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh and activist Joe Carr of Wheels of Justice presented a grounded theoretical analysis of occupation, ethnocentrism and resistance. Mazin Qumsiyeh, a Palestinian American and former Professor of Genetics at Yale University School of Medicine, spoke on Palestine, while Joe Carr, an anti-oppression activist and performance artist, spoke on Iraq. I do not claim that they presented a holistic, comprehensive, or objective presentation. I do not believe in objectivity, especially within the Israel/Palestine dialogue. However, I was grateful for their focus on human rights and sustainability in conflict resolution.
One of my main objections to Weir was her use of statistics as the means to understand the conflict. As in most conflicts, numbers can be manipulated to prove any point. But in order to further a constructive dialogue towards peace, one must humanize all sides and not use death statistics similar to football scores to determine who “wins” and who is the bigger victim. We cannot discount hurt or oppression. Wheels of Justice took a different approach, presenting the theoretical faults of political Zionism and its imperialist results. By political Zionism, I refer to the notion of Judaism as a nationality, where one ethnic/religious identity is given preferential treatment and greater rights and protection.
A state whose existence results in the domination, expulsion, and humiliation of another group solely based on an ethnic identity is, needless to say, unjust. For example, I, as an American Jew, have the “right” to settle and gain citizenship in Israel because it is my “ancestral homeland.” And yet the Palestinians forced from their land in 1948 and 1967 have no such right and are not currently entitled to any reparations, much less an apology.
I do not mean to vilify all Israelis. Many Israelis are aware of these abuses and speak out strongly against these injustices. Many are aware of the complexities, and struggle with balancing personal security and moral values. This past summer, I worked at a Jewish summer camp with a large number of Israeli staff, and they told me about the multi-sided issues associated with security. One, a former solider stationed at a checkpoint, spoke of being completely cognizant of the checkpoint’s brutal effects on Palestinians. Checkpoints inconvenience, humiliate, and imprison millions of Palestinians and lead to grave injustices such as preventing pregnant women from reaching proper treatment, too often leading to the death of their child. And yet, confronted with this knowledge, he had stopped an ambulance carrying a pregnant woman trying to get to an Israeli hospital, and after searching the ambulance, found it lined with explosives. After arresting the others in the ambulance, the soldier called an Israeli ambulance that took the woman to an Israeli hospital.
Such stories are necessary to fully understand the complexities of the conflict. However, they are no excuse for occupation. Largely based on ethnic and religious identity, the occupation leaves the Palestinian people powerless over their economic and political destinies. Palestinians are subject to inhumane attacks by the Israeli army, and basic rights such as access to running water and electricity are controlled by Israeli hands. Homes are demolished for “security purposes,” often meaning that the permit to build is impossible for a Palestinian to obtain. The wall/barrier/security fence physically isolates Palestinian villages, while settlements rob the Palestinian people of access to water and strategic hilltops. The roads connecting these illegal settlements form a matrix in which Palestinians are left immobile.
While Wheels of Justice did not address all of these issues per se, Qumsiyeh and Carr spoke out of a commitment to human rights and a sustainable future. In this issue saturated with bitterness, emotion, and uncertainty, we need to recognize the complexities of this multifaceted conflict.
Leave a Reply