lol, Israelis for peace.

Maybe they could annex some buildings around NYU.

lol@ subversive comments

Troll toll.

Elana, the response to trolling to to not respond at all. By acknowledging the existence of their posts you are indeed getting trolled. They get their kicks off that.

That said, I was expecting more Jew jokes, but what can you do.

I feel like this is not a coincidence this coincides with Israeli Apartheid week.

I am very smart.

So proud to be Israeli. Regarding this issue by twisting political terms is a negative propaganda, that will not lead us anywhere. My fear is that this event will mark the beginning of a period of increasing polarization and disenchantment between Jewish and Muslim students on campus. Israeli peace week is a just and honest way to try and balance the streams of hatred being spread by the Israeli apartheid week.

Why is Israeli apartheid week wrong? Because the term “Israeli apartheid” is misleading. Is there an Israeli occupation? Obviously. we can discuss its minuses for hours, but in fact, most israelis would like to end this occupation once they feel the palestinians are able to build their own state. Is Israel apartheid? Not at all. Apartheid was a system under which a small minority ruled over the larger majority population. Apartheid subjected blacks to severe political, economic and social discrimination and segregation. They could not be citizens, vote, participate in the government or fraternize with whites.
Israel gives equal rights, liberties and protections to all its citizens. Israeli-Arabs participate as full and equal members in Israeli society. While Israel, like all multiethnic democracies, struggles with the disadvantages that its minorities experience, its laws try to eradicate not endorse discrimination.
Israel never formally annexed the West Bank or Gaza, and the Palestinians are not Israeli citizens and wish to have their own state. Today, Palestinians have their own government, the Palestinian Authority. One day, we all dream, palestinians and Israelis would find the way to build a sustainable Palestinian state next to the Israeli one, and bridges of peace, understanding and prosperity between the two states.
With that said, I am a supporter of the Palestinian state. I believe that the pain and suffering their people are enduring deserves action in the form of state-building, humanitarian relief, and so on.

The apartheid week is a twisted propaganda that does not discuss the true issues to be solved. In my view, in the long-run it will certainly polarize the Jewish and Musim communities at our university, and I cannot see any benefit which will comes from this.

Support peace? Visit Israel and palestine, get to know both narratives, understand both sides’ ambitions and pain. Only then, you will be able to be true friends- friend of peace, life and security. Friends of both Palestinians and Israelis. Friends who helps us to achieve peace.

Barak.

The events taking place this week really do highlight the Israeli quest for peace. Tonight, for example, the Arava institute came to campus. The Arava Institute is a sustainability university that brings Israelis, Jordanians, and Palestinians together to work on much needed environmental work in the region. On Thursday, Abrahams Vision is coming to speak, and they bring Jews, Muslims, Palestinians and Israelis to the Balkans to discuss conflict resolution. So for all you people so quick to dismiss these events, why don’t you look into them for a second and see the real potential for peace?

I wish those who made the first comments would come to the events before judging. The goal is not to spread hate or embitterment , but in part to counter act what many believe is a hateful and detrimental campaign, Israeli Apartheid Week. I say this from having attended their events the past few years. There is no message of peace or understanding in those events, and we have very few chances for peace as it is. Israel Peace Week is not trying to argue the issues are black and white and if you would all come and listen you would hopefully feel this way as well.

Facts and arguments can be manipulated to prove anything. Instead of wading through long, drawn out arguments, take a look at who is placing themselves in which camp, and decide who you want to be with:

“The word Zionism personifies racism that falsely resorts to religion and abuses religious sentiments to hide their hatred and ugly faces.”-Mahmoud Ahmadenijad

“The time has come for you to liberate yourselves from fear and the ideological terrorism of neo-conservatives and the Israeli lobby.”-Osama Bin Laden

“Israel is our enemy. This is an aggressive, illegal, and illegitimate entity, which has no future in our land. Its destiny is manifested in our motto: ‘Death to Israel.’”
– Hassan Nasrallah, Leader of Hezbollah

“The state of Israel is today a political reality, not because the Bible says Jews belong there (although many Jews and Christians might think so) but simply because the Zionist movement has ensured that Jews are a majority in that territory. This was done through a deliberate policy of settlement and immigration, coordinated over decades.”-Arthur Kemp, prominent South African White Supremacist

“I see Israel, and never mind saying it, as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security and that security must be a reality.”-Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“The State of Israel is not an apartheid state. I know because I write this from Jerusalem where I have seen Arab mothers peacefully strolling with their families – even though I also drove on Israeli roads protected by walls and fences from Arab bullets and stones. I know Arabs go to Israeli schools, and get the best medical care in the world. I know they vote and have elected representatives to the Israeli Parliament. I see street signs in Arabic, an official language here.”-Simon Deng, Sudanese Human Rights Activist

“I am a proud Israeli – along with many other non-Jewish Israelis such as Druze, Bahai, Bedouin, Christians and Muslims, who live in one of the most culturally diversified societies and the only true democracy in the Middle East. Like America, Israeli society is far from perfect, but let us deals honestly. By any yardstick you choose – educational opportunity, economic development, women and gay’s rights, freedom of speech and assembly, legislative representation – Israel’s minorities fare far better than any other country in the Middle East.” – Ishmael Khalidi, Bedouin Muslim Israeli Diplomat

So who do YOU identify with?

Joshua, does it have to be so cut and dry? Choosing either one side or the other?

The point of these events is to come together on the grounds that we can agree on, rather than on the differences that separate us. The peace quest in the Middle East is not meant to say which side is right and which is wrong. Both sides have suffered tremendously.

But at the end of the day, we are all tired of this useles fightig. Our brothers and sisters (regardless of what faith you identify with) are living in the midst of all this. And we need to come to an agreement where both sides can live together, rather than choosing sides and thereby continuing this legacy of nonsense.

Lillie,

I’m afraid you misread my intention with this post. I am not talking about “choosing sides” in the classic sense of who is right and who is wrong.

This article (and its consequent first few posts) is about the fact that there are currently two programs, Israel Peace Week and Israel Apartheid week happening simultaneously. Both represent different approaches to the resolution of the conflict. One approach mainly features demonization and hate language to “force the evil state of Israel” to comply with a certain goal through the use of divestment and boycott. The first four quotes featured are by those prominent people who use such language to approach the issue.

The other quotes are by prominent parties who are interested in promoting peace through respectful discourse and education. This is the message of Israel Peace Week. None of the quotes above are intended to lay out who are “pro-Israel” and “pro-Palestinian (Arthur Kemp is neither pro-Palestinian nor anti-Apartheid),” but are intended to show who uses what kind of language in approaching the issue, and consequently to offer one the opportunity to see with whom one is in league with in using either approach to a resolution.

Lillie, your statements have shown you to be one that approaches the problem without hate language and I admire you for it. I am attacking only those who promote demonization, not one side or the other, and I apologize if my post did not convey that clearly enough.

@Joshua I think you should read this article over again. It’s about IPW only, and I don’t say much other than provide a brief schedule.

It’s a response to Cooper.

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