Walking with authority and sporting a trendy American suit, Ali Abunimah preached to a large crowd in Annenberg Hall Tuesday. Over 150 students, professors and community activists came to hear Abunimah address the question "Palestine and Israel: What Next?" Abunimah began his lecture by grabbing a "Students for Israel" flyer and commenting on it point by point."This is an all-out assault on the Palestinian people," Abunimah began. He delivered a scathing condemnation of Israel's "occupation and aggression." He presented four accusations: the Israeli "cover-up" and media manipulation, the "myth" that the entire occupation and strategy was a function of defense, the "myths surrounding previous peace talks between Arafat and Israeli leaders" and the strong Israeli lobby "manipulating the American government."
"Israeli forces attack journalists. They attack ambulances - 8 Emergency Medical Service personnel have been killed in the past month under the pretense of preventing the smuggling of arms to Palestinians," Abunimah asserted. "Israel says the deaths of Palestinian civilians are simply collateral damage - are you telling me those 400 people just got in the way? Since the beginning of the Intifada, Israeli forces have undertaken killings just as cold-blooded and more so than the suicide bombers themselves."
The talk painted a picture of evil Israeli generals reminiscent of "Apocalypse Now," beating civilians into submission and massacring innocents in order to create a climate so horrible that the resistance to this "internationally illegal aggression" would finally crumble. The whole thing has been perpetrated and instigated by the Israelis, Abunimah assured listeners.
"After Israel, not Palestine, backed out of the peace negotiations, which continued from Camp David to Egypt, Palestinians responded with unarmed protests. Israel's responses were not unarmed. This is what started the Intifada," he said. "This stems from the idea of 'the Jewish character of Israel,' like the white character of the southern U.S. before the Civil War. The goal is to have one ethnic group controlling the area and maintaining power whatever means necessary. Your rights in Israel depend on your ethno-nationalism."
Abunimah continued, accusing Israelis of initiating an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Palestinian people. "Suicide bombings do not justify this kind of aggression and occupation," he said. "We have Israeli government officials talking about what is basically ethnic cleansing."
Abunimah quickly put to rest what he called the "myths of US being uninvolved in the conflict and that of Arafat walking out of peace negotiations at Camp David." "Being a friend is not getting your "friend" drunk and high, handing over the car keys, and saying 'go on a rampage, have fun' - which is what the US does for Israel. Israel demolishes Palestinian refugee camps with Apache gun ships and F-16's - do they make those in Israel?"
In response to peace-talk allegations Abunimah said, "Palestine could not accept the terms - it would be like controlling Illinois but not Chicago, the state's airspace, or any major highways or borders. When Palestine tried to continue negotiations, Israel walked out. Israel tries to personify the conflict in Arafat, but Arafat is just a man, not the instigator of the problems."
Abunimah did not address whether or not Hamas was more responsible than Arafat for the bombings and violence.
The question session saw angry and ardent students voice concerns whether or not they pertained to the issues. When asked if Israel would be defensible if it withdrew back to the 1967 borders, Abunimah responded that "the point of making peace treaties is to eliminate conflict." "I don't think that should really be an issue," he said.
Abunimah cited high government officials such as Colin Powell as being in the right position and mind to challenge the lobby.
"I foresee violence accelerating and escalating," he said. "Eventually it will boil over and the U.S. will have to stop its unconditional aid and support for an ally that the U.S. Diplomatic Register sees as a strategic liability. Israel is just too politically belligerent."
When asked what realistic solutions he saw for the conflict, Abunimah's responses sounded like he wanted an America in the Middle East: "The two sides could possibly peacefully coexist with a complete and genuine withdrawal, or there could idealistically be one country with complete equality, freedom, and peace. I favor a secular state with human rights where everyone can practice their various religions freely."
Abunimah would not respond to a question about Iraq's new aid program for families of suicide bombers.
"Would suicide bombings and violence against civilians really stop if Israel pulled back to its 1967 borders?" asked Josh Furman, a WCAS sophomore and former head of Students for Israel.
"I cannot guarantee that specific groups would all stop the violence," retorted Abunimah. "Is martyrdom a cult? Israel is the one that brought terror tactics to the Middle East with market place bombings and car bomb assassinations... Palestinians don't have F-16's or Apache helicopters."
Furman remained unconvinced. "He has his facts and our side has ours," he said. "The Palestinian Authority is officially in charge, but we don't know how much control Arafat really has or how much Hamas has."
Few students thought that an Israeli withdrawal would stop suicide bombings by Muslim fundamentalists who seek to rid the Middle East of Jewish "infidels".
"The ideas were interesting - he did a lot of complaining about Israeli Americans," said WCAS sophomore Mike Bekesha. "But he was just blowing off a lot of steam, he offered no real solutions. He even said his goals were rather pointless. Following his logic seems to lead only to dead ends."
