8 CommentsYou may have missed your chance to get a balloon animal, but take heart, there’s still plenty of fun to be had around campus. Occupy CU is holding a protest outside of the Law School, calling on Michael Sovern, former CU prez and current chair of Sotheby’s, to end the worker lockout. The crowd was heard chanting “End the lockout!” and applauding a heartfelt speech “We are not just dirty hippies!…Not that there’s anything wrong with being dirty hippies!” as a gaggle of amused NYPD officers and passersby looked on.
Update: The protest is now over, but Bwog’s most active Activism correspondent was there. Look out for his account of the affair later this evening.
In addition, the Israeli Cultural Society is hosting an Israeli goods fair on Low Plaza until 5 pm, so stop by if you want to do some between-class shopping and support the Israeli economy.
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8 Comments
@incorrect-er I spend so much time wording myself constructively and discussing this issue politely with people like you, but I think I’ll just enjoy the freedom of this forum to really tell it like I see it.
First of all, you should not be so conceited as to assume that because you disagree with me, I am poorly informed. I don’t doubt that you know a great deal about the situation, but my opinions are based on basic facts that are so readily available and incontrovertible that I can only assume that you have never really tried to engage with them if you still think that my opinions are ‘prejudiced’ and the result of my ignorance and intolerance (and to use your words, my attempts to “demonise Israel”). I do no such thing, I actually do engage with Israel and Israelis, and know that there is a great deal more to the place and its people.
That does not change the fact that I am appalled at what the country has been doing to another people for over 63 years – and I’m sorry that we disagree with this point, but I happen to think this aspect of the conflict has, on some level, penetrated deep into Israeli society and shaped it in such a way that it will continue to be its defining factor until this situation is amended.
As for my use of the word Palestine, it is a place, with people. It was not simply a Roman province, it was also the territory controlled by the British under the mandate system, and the term Palestine is often used to refer to the whole historic territory of the land, which is not Israel, because Israel’s control of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem is in fact an illegal occupation condemned by the international community. In the comment I posted, my use of Palestine referred to the West Bank and Gaza, and I think it is entirely appropriate to refer to these places as such; after all, they are populated by Palestinians, speaking Palestinian Arabic, eating Palestinian food, holding papers from the Palestinian Authority. Nothing about this term is militant or controversial in any way – it is basic fact.
If my use of the word Palestine troubles you, I think you need to focus more on what people are actually saying as opposed to trivial facts, and what you assume their political views may be.
Finally, I am not some rabid anti-semite bent on the destruction of the State of Israel. I am a young, engaged Jew who is deeply disappointed by the failure of our people to take action against something that goes against so much of our tradition and its values. If only you and others could just see that too.
@incorrect I admit and apologize that I generalized based on your few words that you are related to the movement that does try to demonize Israel (as in the very existence of a Jewish nation state) under the guise of altruism. So now I’ll respond knowing your deeper understanding of the situation.
We don’t disagree that the conflict is problematic, though it seems to me that you wholly blame Israel, while the data suggests that it has been the more productive party in a situation (like any) where both sides are at fault to some extent. I don’t think it is fair to admonish Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians without mentioning the reverse in the same sentence. And again, even if the conflict has penetrated into Israeli society, it is not the defining aspect because it is a living, complex culture that like any other is defined by many aspects.
As far as the word “Palestine,” I too hope that one day it will exist in the West Bank and Gaza, but implying a country where there is not one yet turns Israel into the aggressive monster, occupying another place without stop. On the contrary, Israel conquered the territory from Jordan and Egypt in a defensive war and has since tried to help it gain independence so long as it could be a peaceful neighbor. Furthermore, just like “Palestine” has been used to refer to the entire region, so has “Israel” and if the latter is going to relinquish all claims and ties to part of the region, so must the former. It is because “Palestine” is so often used as a blanked for the West Bank + Gaza + Israel proper to deny Israel’s right to exist as a country that it makes me uncomfortable.
@Anonymous while Israel may be about more than just its conflict with the Palestinians, it is unfortunately the defining aspect of the country as long as it continues to suppress Palestinians’ human rights and occupy their lands. Furthermore, Israel’s economy is deeply tied to the economics of the occupation, Israel Week’s ‘drive to buy Israeli goods’ cannot be understood as anything other than an attempt to counteract activists’ calls to boycott, divest and sanction the corporations financially supporting the occupation of Palestine.
Finally, the entire concept of ‘Israel Week’ cannot be understood outside of the political context of the conflict – any attempt to ‘promote’ Israel as an ideal will inherently be tied to a specific political agenda as long as Israel occupies Palestine and denies Palestinians their rights. I simply do not understand why our school is hosting this event – we do not have ‘Poland week’ or ‘Costa Rica week’ to specifically “celebrate” any one country, and it is hugely problematic to do this for Israel, a country that continues to be defined by its occupation of Palestine.
@incorrect 1. just because one thing is Israel’s defining feature to YOU doesn’t mean it is in general. It’s a country. It’s a country in the middle of a war. If you care to learn about it maybe that one thing will cease to be all that matters to you
2. your repeated use of the word “Palestine” really gives your agenda away….likely a member of that hate group Students for “Justice” in Palestine. There has never been a sovereign state of Palestine, the name originates with the Roman province. EVERYONE with a moderate political outlook is working to create a state of Palestine, but those trying to demonize Israel, which only creates hostility where there should be diplomacy
@Anonymous SICK BALLOON ARCH.
@Anonymous limp balloon arch
@israeli economy... or occupation?
@economy you know, Israel is a lot more than just the conflict with the Palestinians. You don’t have to agree with every one of a country’s policies to learn about it. In fact, many if not most Israelis oppose the occupation.