On many college campuses, students
still indulge in old ways -- sign wars, flag waving, finger pointing, and fist
shaking.
They want to "take sides" and "show
them that they can't get away with that."
These rallies and "choosing sides" are not
adding up. They are obsolete.
Earth has only one side.
On some campuses -- Stanford, Illinois, University of
the Pacific, others -- "adults" are emerging among the students,
discovering you can "be for both peoples."
Students are discovering they can be for Israelis and
for Palestinians at the same time.
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Here is news about students at two schools -- DeAnza
College and the University of Washington -- who are beginning to cross the
divide and close the big disconnect between them.
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Today, Friday, June 7, 2002, twenty-five students from
the Israeli Club and the Muslim Students Association at DeAnza College,
in Sunnyvale, California, met for two hours. Some of them arrived very
nervous.
The Muslims did more of the facilitating and were
sophisticated, inclusive, and personal. The Jewish students were
welcoming, very responsive, and generous with their personal narratives.
The listening skills of both groups were impressive, and the morning inspired
and encouraged. It was a start.
The advisor for the Jewish students is Brynne Speizer,
who can be reached at StudentLife@hillelsv.org.
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Yesterday at the University of Washington appeared
UDoves -- an embryonic organization of pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli
students.
The goal is to open Dialogue.
"It's a much-needed voice on campus," said
member Maha El-Taji.
Jesse Salomon, Jewish, with relatives in Israel,
was drawn to UDoves after witnessing tensions escalate among groups during
rallies on campus.
After one rally, Salomon started talking with some
Palestinian students. "I really felt like I connected with them
after feeling so much tension between us. I really felt like I broke
through and started finding some common ground with them," he said.
"So when I found out about this new group, I thought it would be a perfect
vehicle to continue building on this progress."
UDoves may be contacted through Kate Blizinsky at
kbliz@u.washington.edu.
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Published in the Seattle (Wash.) Times -- Friday, June 07, 2002
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134469678_udove07m.html
Diverse views, one quest: end of Mideast fighting
By Gina Kim
Seattle Times staff reporter
Stop blaming each other and work together to find a
solution.
The simple message may not seem feasible in the
context of violence in the Middle East, but at least one local group is trying
to make it happen.
UDoves, a University of Washington organization of
pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian students, held a peace vigil yesterday at the
university's Red Square. About 40 people watched their candles flicker as
names were read of some of those who have died since September 2000, when the
most recent violence was sparked.
"A death on either side is still a death of a
human being. And no human being is more or less valuable than any
other," said one organizer, Jesse Salomon, 25, a third-year law student at
the school. "The deceased on both sides are mourned by everyone, and
our value of human life is the only thing that's going to see us through this
conflict."
About 2,000 names were on the list, including 1,500
Palestinians and 500 Israelis, said Salomon, who is Jewish and has relatives
living in Israel. But during last night's half-hour vigil, organizers got
through only the names of those who died during a period of less than three
months.
"It's taken this amount of time just to read
those few names. And if you think about it, each name is an entire life,
with a different set of goals and hopes and dreams," said another
organizer Mohammed Abbas Rizvi, 19, a UW sophomore. "I just feel
heartache."
The new group has met just four times, but its goal
already has been decided: to open dialogue and discussion.
"It's a much-needed voice on campus," said
member Maha El-Taji, 44, who is pursuing a doctorate in Near and Middle Eastern
studies. "The groups on campus are more polarized. I haven't
seen any joint activities."
Salomon was drawn to the group after witnessing
tensions escalate among groups during rallies on campus.
"I've seen a couple of times when there's almost
been fistfights," he said.
Then, after a speaker sponsored by a pro-Israel group
recently gave a lecture on campus, Salomon talked with Palestinian students
outside. "I really felt like I connected with them after feeling so
much tension between us. I really felt like I broke through and started
finding some common ground with them," he said. "So when I
found out about this new group, I thought it would be a perfect vehicle to
continue building on this progress."
El-Taji, who is a Palestinian and has relatives living
in the West Bank and Jerusalem, hopes the group will sponsor speakers who can
bring new insights into the conflict instead of simply "fanning
fires."
"The goal is to bring in people who can bring
understanding to the problems," she said.
"A lot of students don't know what's going
on. I see (this group) as having an educational function and a function
of just bringing people on campus together to talk to each other."
Gina Kim can be reached at 206-464-2761 or gkim@seattletimes.com.