On Tuesday afternoon, students from the Young Arab Leadership Alliance formed a makeshift checkpoint in Red Square. The checkpoint was designed to increase campus awareness of the daily struggles of Palestinians living in Israeli-occupied territories.
“The basic rights of Palestinians are being violated,” said Jumana Salem (SFS ‘03), co-president of YALA.
The protest was not meant to target any religious or University organizations but rather as a “means of education” for Georgetown students, Salem said. “By erecting a visual symbol of Israeli aggression, students will better understand the daily struggles of Palestinians,” she said.
On Wednesday, the Georgetown Israel Alliance set up an informational table in Red Square in response to the mock Israeli checkpoint. The theme of the table was “no terrorism=no checkpoints.”
“This is part of an official sustained educational campaign to increase Middle East literacy,” said Josh Levin-Epstein (SFS ‘04),the president of GIA. “I received many concerned phone calls regarding YALA’s provocative abuse of the freedom of expression policy. It was not a forum for the exchange of ideas, it was guerrilla theatre.”
Salomon Kalach (CAS ‘03), vice president of the GIA, said that he was disappointed with YALA’s demonstration because the group oversimplified the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
An anonymous flyer responding to the checkpoint was posted in Red Square and later distributed by GIA. The flyer read, “If anything, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East should serve as a reminder to all of us at Georgetown that pride, [and] partisanship … exacerbate feelings of distrust and animosity.”
There were some concerns that the mock Israeli checkpoint violated the University’s speech and expression policy. According to Vice President of Student Affairs Juan Gonzalez, the checkpoint did not violate the policy.
“[The demonstration] was simply an example of people expressing their opinion but having others completely disagree,” Gonzalez said.
During the makeshift checkpoint demonstration, YALA members wore army fatigues and sunglasses and asked students to show their school identification cards in order to pass through Red Square. Students who refused to show their IDs resisted were physically restrained by YALA members.
YALA members also handed out leaflets during the demonstration entitled “You are about to experience life as a Palestinian: The Israeli Checkpoint” featuring a photograph of a heavily armed, Israeli soldier confronting a Palestinian civilian.
“We feel it is imperative that U.S. citizens understand that their hard-earned dollars pay for Israel’s apartheid policies. Apartheid was wrong in South Africa and it is equally wrong in Palestine,” said the leaflet.
Former President of the Jewish Student Association Steve Glickman (CAS ‘02) said that he felt that the protest further divided a campus that was trying to decrease the tensions that exist between the Jewish and Muslim communities. Glickman said that he felt these tensions have been particularly strong after the terrorist events of Sept. 11.
“Here at Georgetown, we have the tremendous opportunity to get beyond politics and get to know one another as human beings and fellow students. Today we took several huge steps backwards in these efforts,”said Glickman. “It is far more important for organizations like YALA to engage in intelligent dialogue, rather than political stunts,” Glickman said.
Despite the controversy following the protest, YALA members, including Kate MacDonald (CAS ‘04), remained firm.
“If our checkpoint simulation was one-sided, it was one-sided on the side of human rights, international law and morality. If it fomented division, I would say it caused discussion and questioning of our perceptions,” MacDonald said. “If it hindered dialogue, I would say that people are afraid to speak out against Israeli violations because they are afraid of being called anti-Semitic.”
On Wednesday night, members of YALA held a meeting in the Intercultural Center to discuss Tuesday’s demonstration. With about 30 students in attendance, the meeting provided an opportunity for YALA to explain their demonstration as well as a forum for students to voice their complaints.
