As an incoming first-year student at Georgetown and an active Israel supporter, I had heard a lot about the debate over the Israel issue on campus. The things I had heard labeled Georgetown an anti-Israel campus and even anti-Jewish in some respects. As such, I was nervous when I arrived on campus, but I was equally eager to get involved with Georgetown’s pro-Israel and Jewish student groups. My Judaism and Zionist beliefs form much of who I am as a person, and I wasn’t about to let anyone stop me from supporting Israel.
The campus environment proved to be drastically different than I expected. From what I had been told, I thought I would be faced with a lot more adversity and discrimination in expressing my beliefs. Although I haven’t encountered any major problems, some issues still exist. The major problem I face consists of the stereotyping of the Georgetown Israel Alliance and its members. I’ve heard comments from numerous students who criticize GIA because of its pro-Israel stance without any real knowledge of the group. Consequently, group members are labeled in certain ways simply because they are associated with Israel.
It is imperative that people stop looking at all Israel supporters through a single lens. Israel is a true and real democracy?not all hold the same political views. Israel supporters in general, and particularly in GIA, hold wide-ranging views on Israel, not only as regards to the Israel-Palestinian conflict but also to many other foreign and domestic issues that Israel deals with.
While I wouldn’t describe this campus as anti-Israel, I would declare that more than a few students are guilty of uneducated groupings and criticisms towards Israel supporters. I am not suggesting that every student is guilty, nor am I saying that every student on this campus should support Israel. Students are free to hold their own views, but it is wrong to assume that others don’t have unique and individual views of the situation either.
One thing GIA has done to promote Israel as a nation of people and not some as war-mongering machine was to organize a presentation by three Israeli students on campus. All who attended this event a few weeks ago quickly realized that Israelis hold wide-ranging opinions regarding their government, terrorism, American Jewry and other topics.
To end this conflict, the Israeli public will have to be involved. Already, the Israeli public has approved numerous peace processes such as Israel’s 1979 peace treaty with Egypt and its 1994 peace treaty with Jordan. It must be noted that Israel also approved the Oslo Accords until the start of the second Intifada. The current reign of terror led to the election of Ariel Sharon, and a cessation of terror would hinder the Israeli right-wing and help the political parties of the left who are more inclined to make peace.
With tragic consequences for Israelis and Palestinians alike, peace is not in Yasser Arafat’s best interest. The man, who is worth $1.2 billion, does not care for peace nor for the plight of the Palestinian people. Furthermore, he does not hold the courage to take on the terrorist groups of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who would pose tremendous threats to his life (and would likely end it) if he made peace with the Israelis. He is not made of the same strength and courage as Anwar Saddat, Yitzhak Rabin, King Hussein and Mechanem Begin, all Arab and Israeli leaders who have gone the distance to make real, long-lasting and beneficial peace.
So, how will the conflict be solved? Anyone who thinks an imposed agreement on Israel that forces the creation of a Palestinian state will work is out of touch with the reality. Aside from all the lives lost over the past two years, trust has disappeared. What took seven years to build was destroyed in several months by the reign of terror unleashed on Israel, and it can’t be rebuilt overnight. Palestinians and Israelis will continue to suffer as long as there is no Palestinian leader willing to make a true peace with Israel. Therefore, the potential leader must be willing to take on the terrorist groups as well.
One might say that Israel is responsible?its re-entry into the West Bank and Gaza caused all of this. There is no excuse for terror, for blowing up innocent people as they eat in a restaurant or celebrate holidays. Don’t be fooled by Hamas and Islamic Jihad when their representatives tell you that they only want to end the occupation. The occupation they’re referring to is the State of Israel’s existence, and they will not cease until it is destroyed or they are destroyed. Forget about the suicide bomber and his reasons for blowing himself up, and think about him as a military weapon. That’s how the people who strap explosives to him and send him to his death think.
Settlements pose a tremendous problem. In a true peace deal they should be dismantled. Israel’s renewed presence in the West Bank and Gaza is a problem as well. But one need only look at past achievements to realize that Israel is reacting with the aim of protecting its citizens. Before October 2000, Israel was moving out of the West Bank and Gaza, giving back land and the control of the land to the Palestinian Authority. Only recently has Israel re-entered these areas in an attempt to protect its citizens from being blown up randomly. A two-state solution is imperative, a motion that is supported by several Israeli prime ministers and 60 percent of Israelis. Now it is time for a true Palestinian leader to make a commitment to stop terror and end the plight of the Palestinian people by negotiating for a two-state solution. It is the only way.
Jonathan Aires is a first-year student in the School of Foreign Service. He thought he was going to the East Coast but somehow ended up in the dirty south.
