Panelists give voice to Gaza conflict

Author: Adam Schaffer

The College community packed into Dana Auditorium on Jan. 14 to engage a panel in discussing the escalating conflict in Gaza.

The conflict boiled to the surface again on Dec. 27, when Hamas fired rockets from Gaza into Israel. Israel retaliated with targeted air strikes into Gaza, killing what some say has been an unjust number of Palestinians.

The discussion was organized by Micah McFarlane '09 as part of the College's Dialogues for Peace program, and was co-sponsored by the Middle Eastern Studies and Religion departments.

The discussion panel consisted of Mori Rothman '11, C.A Johnson Fellow in Political Philosophy Kateri Carmola and Mohammed Almzayyen '09.

Rothman began the discussion by articulating the Jewish-Israeli position.

Because Hamas calls for the "annihilation of all Jews," Rothman explained, the recent rocket fire has brought "Jews to an immense state of fear," leading them to act in self-defense in order to protect their nation.

On a personal level, however, Rothman broke with the Israeli position and was entirely opposed to the war.

"I don't believe that this is a war that can be solved by military might," he said.

Almzayyen explained the Palestinian position through numerous painful stories, including the bombing of a UN school, the shooting of 30 Palestinian medics and a vivid image of overflowing hospitals. Despite what he called the over-aggressiveness of the Israeli military, Almzayyen recognized that Hamas' rockets contributed to the problem and were not an appropriate response to the Gaza blockade.

With the goal of taking a neutral stance, Carmola outlined how international law would judge the conflict. Carmola first explained that one must decide whether this is a just or unjust conflict - because of the rocket attacks, "there was a just reason [for Israel] … to go to war, [however], I have a lot of problems about how it initially went," she said in her opening statement.

Once a war begins, Carmola said, two principles should guide the conflict. First, one should look at discrimination, or who is being killed. Second, one should look at the proportionality of the killing - "the punishment should fit the crime."

As far as engaging in a just war, "Israel has not done a good job at all," Carmola said. "It has not been offering [civilians] a way out, a safe area" away from the attacks to control casualties and maintain just discrimination and proportionality.

As to whether Hamas had a just reason to hit Israel with rockets, Carmola responded that although "it is an absolute right of any state to protect its citizens," the manner in which it protects "its citizens is another question."

Almzayyen echoed this sentiment, saying that while he was "not defending Hamas," the pain endured by the Palestinian people under the Israeli blockade was unbearable. He challenged audience members "to go back to [their] rooms, turn off the water and make it come every [couple of hours]" to better understand the plight of the Palestinian people.

Rothman seemed to agree, but was careful to point out that "while these rockets were not killing people … [it wasn't] for Hamas' lack of trying."

Looking to the future, Rothman has hope that the Jan. 20 inauguration of President Barack Obama will bring peace to the region.

"I think there is no choice but to hold on to this optimism, this hope, because if you don't you fall into rhetoric and despair," he said.

Almzayyen pointed out that "hope is good, but let's not lose touch with reality." Before any real progress can be made, Israel must address its humanitarian issues. "[You] can't bargain with human rights, like 'we'll let you have electricity for five hours if you do this.'"

Carmola saw Israel's treatment of minorities and the legitimacy of the Hamas government as problems that must be addressed. All three panelists agreed that U.S. influence will be vital if a peace deal is to be reached.

Isabel Shaw '12 applauded the panel for attempting to take a balanced look at the situation, and for the inclusion of Carmola, which forced audience members to "check [their] own opinions" against fact.

Likewise, Alex Lin-Moore '12 viewed the evening as beneficial, as it allowed the audience to understand the opposing sides. But in the end, he expressed frustration that "it didn't really get anywhere."

Rothman came away with other complaints. He admitted to being slightly irritated with the "use of heady rhetoric (such as 'genocide' by my co-panelist)," he wrote in an e-mail, explaining that such rhetoric and the way in which the forum appeared to be a Palestinian against an Israeli failed to illuminate the nuances of the conflict.

In an effort to bring peace and understanding to the College on a smaller scale, the Middle Eastern Studies department will be hosting small group discussions in the near future to facilitate debate on the Israel-Palestine conflict.