Column: We are all Palestinians... and Israelis

Israel breaks my heart in two. There is one part of me, passed down by Irish peasants fleeing famine, that understands the need for a safe homeland. The other part of me remembers how the Irish were pushed into desperation by the colonizing forces of the British. I try to embrace this painful confusion because it keeps me from grasping easy answers.

I was raised with full knowledge of the Holocaust and the suffering of the Jewish people. My mother took me to see Schindler's List when I was in elementary school. I was then launched into research on this part of history. Later, I learned that even though the world said "never again," that same world often remained indifferent to human suffering. What had first been one terrifying moment in history became the rule for too many people. I still haven't recovered from this realization.

The pain of this realization and my interest in the Middle East conflict prompted me to attend a Tikkun student conference last fall. Tikkun is a progressive Jewish organization that works for the recognition of Israel while also pushing for a Palestinian state and an end to Israeli settlements. At the Tikkun conference I witnessed the pain of Jewish students trying to uphold justice even if it meant standing up to their synagogues or their own families. Those at the Tikkun conference understood that Israel's survival depends upon the creation of an equal Palestinian state. More deeply, they understood a truly Jewish state is peaceful and just. They knew Israel's oppression of Palestinians was killing their souls.

I, like those at Tikkun, affirm Israel's right to exist in peace. I realize it was unjust to displace native Palestinians in the creation of a Jewish state, but until I am willing to give up everything I have to Native Americans, I can not ask Israelis to do what I will not.

Like Israel, Palestine also has a right to exist in peace. The occupation of Palestinian territory must end. Given the amount of power on the Israeli side, Israel must initiate the peace process. Since the Israeli government is currently one of the warmongers, the U.S. and the rest of the international community must intervene. A boycott of military companies doing business with Israel is essential for peace. International peacekeepers need to be stationed to protect civilians on both sides of the conflict. The campaign for peace in the Middle East is not against the Israeli people or Israel's right to exist, but against an Israeli government determined to stand by while this conflict continues to escalate.

The lines between "Israeli" and "Palestinian" deaths must be torn down. All deaths should be recognized and mourned at Duke. When an Israeli bulldozer killed Rachel Corrie, a young peace activist, where were the statements from Jewish organizations? This young woman was trying to defend Palestinian lives by risking her own. Such actions are beyond political: They are acts of courage that have the potential to transform this conflict.

Palestinian rights groups also need to mourn the deaths of Israeli civilians. When women and children were killed at Metzer Kibbutz, a group firmly committed to peace and cooperation with their Arab neighbors, perhaps the only anti-occupation group to denounce the killings was Tikkun. These Israeli innocents are brothers and sisters with all the Palestinian civilians who have been killed in this conflict. The Israeli soul must cry for Rachel Corrie, Jenin and slaughtered children. The Palestinian soul must cry for Metzer Kibbutz, Israeli students and massacred civilians on their way to work.

At the Tikkun conference, a Muslim student made a beautiful but chilling point: If Arab and Jewish students can't make peace between themselves here in the U.S., there is no hope for peace in the Middle East. Our survival depends upon peace. And peace starts here at Duke, through dialogue with each other, lobbying our government and expressing anger and disgust at those people and corporations that fuel this tragic conflict. If not here, where? And if not now, when?