|
|
January 30, 2009
Few Jews at interfaith event
Israel is criticized heavily at lopsidedly attended discussion.
RHONDA SPIVAK
About 100 people attended a program at the University of Winnipeg billed as an interfaith discussion about the war between Israel and Hamas, but only a handful of Jews were present. Most of the people who spoke criticized Israel's actions but only a relative few criticized Hamas in any way.
The program, held on Jan. 15, was sponsored by the University of Winnipeg Global College, faculty of theology, Institute for Community Peace Building, and Winnipeg Mosaic.
The first speaker was Esther Blum, a member of Winnipeg Mosaic. She said that, as a humanist, she has difficulty with all of the deaths in Gaza. She said that it was difficult for her to "hear the accusatory statements of both sides." As someone who has lived in Israel for many years and is a daughter of Holocaust survivors, 60 years after Israel's birth, she said, "it's equally hard for me to be still hearing that we'd [Hamas] like to throw you [Jews] into the sea." Nevertheless, she contended: "Violence can never bring peace. A whole new generation of Palestinians is growing up to hate us."
Alia Hart, a Muslim student at U of W and a Mosaic member, expressed her pain at seeing the "slaughter" in Gaza and referred to Israel and its "sophisticated army" fighting against Palestinians in a "one-sided" battle.
John Derksen, a Mennonite Christian who teaches conflict resolution at the Menno Simons College at U of W, criticized Israel's "10- to 20-fold" retaliation of Hamas rockets and said, "Even if you wipe out Hamas, a new Hamas will emerge." He said only nonviolence will solve the conflict. He also asked the Palestinians, "Where are the Gandhis and de Klerks and Mandelas among you?"
Retired professor of political science at U of W Rees Kahn said that, for the territorial conflict to ever be resolved, "Orthodox Palestinians and the suppliers of Hamas, Iran and Syria, will have to accept the reality that nothing in the world will dislodge Israel" and that they'll have to learn to live with it, and that "it is a pipedream to think that sending rockets onto Israel" will dislodge it. He also said that Israel will have to realize that "the Promised Land in its entirely can't be regained and it, too, will have to compromise." In his view, the conflict is "not likely to be resolved in the next 60 years."
Louay Abghoul, a Canadian of Palestinian origin, said, "Four of my family members [living in Gaza] have been killed in the last 20 days." He said this is "not a religious war" but a war about occupation and Israel is the occupier."
Idris Elbakri, a Palestinian Canadian, said he was born in Jerusalem and has a Jordanian passport, and that his wife has a passport from the Palestinian Authority. "We had to spend three hours [being questioned] getting into the United States," he said, and this always happens. He said Palestinians "have been confined to a cage."
A U of W professor who teaches Islamic studies said that "we need to see the complexities of people's identities," and each side is not "monolithic." For example, she said, there are Palestinians who talk of a two-state solution and "aren't denying Israel as a state." She said, "There are Jews who are upset and they don't like the numbers either."
A U of W student, named Ashley, who said her grandmother's mother was raised Jewish, said she was scheduled to go on a Birthright trip to Israel on Jan. 4, but cancelled since she couldn't "take a vacation to Israel," given events in Gaza. She said, "Now many of my Jewish friends won't talk to me." She told this reporter that she used to go to Jewish Students Association/Hillel but won't likely continue to do so. "My heart goes out to Palestine," she said.
In response to questions from this reporter about why the event contained so much representation from the Muslim and Palestinian communities, but very few Jews, no Israelis and no one from the many pro-Israel organizations in the city, the organizers who responded said they had sent an e-mail to the Winnipeg Jewish Federation on Tuesday, Jan. 13. They said this was two days before the event, which was when others were notified as well.
When contacted after the event, Samantha Loxton, director of JSA/Hillel, which is on the U of W campus, said she had not gotten any notice of the event from the organizers.
"I would have gone if I had heard about it," said Paul Myerson, a U of W student active in JSA, whose father is Israeli.
Ron East of Canada-Sheli, an organization made up of Israeli Winnipeggers, said he has "been in dialogues with Palestinians before at the U of M," but he didn't know about this event, as "we were never contacted by anyone."
Erez Rotem, the Israeli emissary of the Jewish National Fund as well as other Jewish/Israeli organizations, also said they had not been notified by the organizers.
The organizers of the event did not say why the gathering couldn't have been scheduled so as to give more notice and ensure that a much broader segment of the Jewish community was present.
Rhonda Spivak is a Winnipeg journalist. She is the editor of the Jewish Post and News.
^TOP
|
|
