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J Street U stands in solidarity with Susya

By KELSEY KO | November 17, 2016

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COURTESY OF KELSEY KO Students demonstrated against the Israeli demolition of Susya.

The Hopkins chapter of J Street U, a nationwide college campus movement advocating a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, gathered in front of Gilman Hall on Monday in solidarity with the Palestinian village of Susya. The village faces potential demolition from the Israeli government since it was built without building permits.

Roughly 10 students participated, holding signs with lines like “#SaveSusya,” or “#WontLookAway.”

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has displaced thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza strip. If Israeli forces demolish Susya, it would displace about 250 Palestinians.

Junior Ben Gellman, co-president of J Street U, said that this demonstration is part of a national day of action put on by different college chapters of J Street U. Gellman believes that it is particularly important for Jewish Americans to show support for Palestinians given Susya’s potential demolition.

“[J Street U] wants the American Jewish community, a community that has power on this issue, to step up and let the Israeli government know that destroying Susya is bad for a two-state solution. It’s bad for the future of Israel; It’s bad for Palestinian human rights; It’s bad for peace,” he said.

Junior Marty Feuerstein-Mendik, who is also co-president of J Street U, explained that college students play an important role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because their voices reflect the broader Jewish-American community.

“We actually have power. The Jewish community is extremely concerned about the atmosphere on college campuses,” he said. “Given that, we are what they look at. Because of that, gathering here and showing the Jewish community that students on campus care about this issue makes it more likely for them to take some sort of action.”

Those who support Susya’s demolition argue that the Palestinian residents of Susya did not seek building permits from the Israeli government and thus do not lawfully live in the village. Gellman stressed that obtaining these permits is easier said than done.

“It’s true that the village of Susya was built without building permits, but that’s because building permits are almost impossible to obtain in the West Bank,” Gellman said. “Over 90 percent are rejected.”

Gellman shared that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict goes beyond politics for him and that as a Jew it is a deeply personal matter.

“A lot of my connection — and for many people in [J Street U] — is personal to Israel or Palestinian human rights, or both. For me, it’s personal in both of those ways,” Gellman said. “A one-state solution where Israel annexes the West Bank is not going to work for me because it’s not going to be Democratic. It’s not going to be Jewish if it does that.”

Vice President of J Street U junior Miranda Bachman spoke about the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the context of Donald Trump’s electoral victory. During the campaign, Trump has said he would declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

“Since the election of Donald Trump last Tuesday, the Education Minister of Israel Naftali Bennett stated that this is the end of the idea of a Palestinian state,” Bachman said. “Ever since Trump won the election, there’s been a lot of talk about dropping the two-state solution, expanding settlements. Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, has been talking about an even more fierce policy of settlement expansion.”

Bachman believes it is important to remain vocal about the conflict, especially in the United States.

“I think this is more about the Jewish community on campus, it’s about the progressive community on campus, too, and the greater Baltimore community,” Bachman said. “There’s overwhelming silence in the American community and the American Jewish community about Palestinian dispossession and settlement expansion.”


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