The Wake

Because of freedom of speech, a Palestinian woman who has lived in the United States since 1996 was able to discuss an unpopular viewpoint — the result of gradual and persistent Zionist victimization of Palestinians in Israel.

Isra’ Muzaffer, a second year university PhD student, stood before a group of more than 30 intellectuals on Feb. 11 in Heller Hall. She stood up for what she believes is “ethnic cleansing” in Israel. She outlined the unofficial plan by the Israeli government to build a wall twice as high and three times as long as the Berlin wall. The wall will to slice up the West Bank, making Palestinians segmented in a land they have lived in since the seventh century.

In a question and answer section of the lecture, Muzaffer clarified the fact that it is difficult for Palestinians to gather and speak out against the oppression because of the anti-Semitic label.

“Don’t underestimate that,” Muzaffer says. The Jews have developed an “apartheid state” — with the minority of Jews ruling over the majority of Palestinians.

“The fact that I’m able to stand here and give this presentation without being attacked is remarkable,” Muzaffer says.

Often Americans feel lost when confronted with disturbances over religious ideologies in the Middle East. The history of such conflicts has become so complicated that it is difficult to understand. Anyone who wants to know what’s going on says it’s too complex, Muzaffer says.

“Americans find it difficult to separate what happened in World War II with what is happening now,” Muzaffer says. “The victims have become the victimizers.”

The front-page news of Ariel Sharon shaking hands with Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian president, on Feb. 8 was very discouraging to Muzaffer because the leaders didn’t even mention the word “occupation.”

Muzaffer is encouraged by the idea that Palestinians are making a move to “remove excuses” for oppression of Palestinians. Muhomoud Abbas dresses like a westerner, Muzaffer says, without the headwear that his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, displayed. The cease-fire called will hopefully prevent suicide attacks on Israel proper.

Despite her distress over the situation in Israel, Muzaffer says she believes the way to fight a Zionist ideology is with another ideology — democracy. What is happening in Israel with the wall segmenting the West Bank is systematically undemocratic, something that the United States values highly in the Middle East, Muzaffer says. The idea of true democracy happening in Israel brought tears to Muzaffer’s eyes at the end of a spirited and passionate lecture.

The brief lecture was part of a lunchtime series that typically meets every Wednesday at noon, sponsored by the political science department at the university to explore international perspectives.