Five panelists spoke on the Middle East conflict last night at the Sanford Institute of Public Policy, discussing both the climate surrounding the current debate and specific prescriptions to achieve a cease-fire.
Rabbi Bruce Seltzer, assistant director of the Freeman Center for Jewish Life, said he was concerned that everyone, especially the Duke community, feel safe. He said he hopes people can express their beliefs without threatening others.
"For Jewish students on campus, Israel has great symbolic value," Seltzer said. "It's a source of identity. Anything perceived anti-Israel is perceived as anti-them.
"Over the past few weeks, I've seen a deterioration of rhetoric and dialogue [at Duke]... with individuals targeted," Seltzer said. "I want everyone on campus to know that we are roommates and friends and classmates."
Quoting the Quran, Imam Abdul-Hafeez Waheed, the Muslim campus minister, emphasized the Muslim belief in the dignity of all people.
"As human beings, we should not be quick to side because it's Muslim [or] because it's Israel, but... we should be quick to side with justice," Waheed said. "I think too many have allowed their hurts and feelings to interrupt their perspectives of justice."
Benjamin Miller, a visiting political science professor, said the problem is "a mismatch of political boundaries versus the political loyalties of people in the region."
He said a hopeful peace seemed to be emerging in the '90s, but that both sides had made mistakes. While Israel's settlements in the West Bank and Gaza threatened its security, he said, the Palestinians made mistakes in three areas: state-building, refugees and education.
"When states build, the government should monopolize the means of violence," Miller said. "However, [Palestinian leader] Yasser Arafat actually proliferated the number of armed groups."
By refusing to resettle Palestinian refugees and instead blaming Israel, Miller said, the Palestinians and Arab states refused to recognize Israel as a state. The Palestinian Authority's hatred toward Israel has also influenced its education system, he added.
The key ally for the Palestinians is the Israeli public, Miller said, adding that the Palestinians need to stop their suicide bombing campaigns and show a full commitment to peace to achieve statehood.
He said the United States can make peace because of its special relationship with Israel.
Calling President George W. Bush's war on terrorism a foolhardy "one-size-fits-all" approach, Ebrahim Moosa, associate research professor of religion, criticized U.S. foreign policy. "Every political action is viewed as terrorism," Moosa said. "The U.S., as Israel's patron, is an accomplice in the death and destruction of Palestinians."
He also criticized what he called U.S. double standards and imperial interests. "When 20 Jews get killed, which is a terrible thing, it's called a massacre," Moosa said. "Two-hundred Palestinians are killed, and it's Oonly 200.'"
Bruce Jentleson, director of the Sanford Institute, talked about how to achieve peace. The former senior foreign policy adviser to Vice President Al Gore said Israel needs peace to achieve guaranteed security, and Palestinians need peace to create an independent, stable state.
On the Palestinian side, Jentleson said the terrorism has to stop. "Groups like Jihad and Hamas are not fighting about any deal at all," he said.
As for Israel, Jentleson said, "I know [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon is interested in security. I'm not convinced he's interested in peace."
Although Jentleson disagreed with both Moosa's rejection of U.S. foreign policy and Miller's contention that the United States' close ties to Israel would help it achieve peace, he said the Washington should play a role by achieving some measure of a cease-fire and starting a political process.
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