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At the Intersection of Death’s roundabout yesterday, students participated in a silent “die-in” protest to recognize alleged human rights abuses against Palestinians in Israael. Hanan Ashrawi also spoke.
“Peace in Palestine is an imperative,” Hanan Ashrawi told a packed Kresge Auditorium last night in a speech entitled “Palestine: Is Peace Possible?”
“The essential first step toward a resolution in Palestine is the liberation of Palestine from the shackles of occupation,” said Ashrawi, a Palestinian Christian activist. “There is a real need for Israel to stop being an occupier. Once Palestine is freed, then peace talks will be viable.”
Ashrawi has won a number of peace prizes, including the 2003 Sydney Peace Prize, and she was nominated for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. She also serves on multiple international advisory boards, including the World Bank Middle East. Ashrawi's visit was co-sponsored by a number of Stanford organizations, including Students Confronting Apartheid by Israel (SCAI).
“A few weeks ago, another speaker came to Stanford and proposed the one-state solution to the Palestinian conflict,” said Nabill Idrisi ‘09, co-president of SCAI. “It was definitely very interesting to hear Ashrawi defend her argument for the two-state solution.”
In her speech, Ashrawi expressed confidence that peace in Palestine would be possible with direct political action and genuine commitment from all international and Palestinian parties.
However, Ashrawi also outlined certain obstacles that would have to be overcome before peace talks could occur, the first of which was the Israeli occupation in Palestine.
She criticized the transformation of Palestine into a “charity case rather than a case of self-determination and freedom.” She affirmed that the majority of Palestinians “have been protective of their fundamental rights and want to build a state based on democracy and human rights.”
In addition, Ashrawi referred to the concrete structure being built in Jerusalem as a “horrific wall that is stealing our horizon and our land.”
She also stressed the concept of sharing Jerusalem among both Palestinians and Israelis.
“All Palestinians should be able to move through Jerusalem freely,” she said. “Many different views of Jerusalem exist, but we must keep Jerusalem whole as one city for two states.”
A large portion of the audience consisted of Bay Area Palestinian-Americans and Arab-Americans who were not affiliated with the University.
“She’s an articulate speaker and a representative of the Palestinian people,” said Vivian Zelaya, a Palestinian-American from San Francisco.
Certain students, however, expressed a degree of doubt regarding Ashrawi's arguments.
“Overall, her speech was pretty well-rounded, and I think she suggested a viable solution,” said Fadl Saadi ‘10. “Though I’m not sure how I feel about the idea of Jerusalem being the capital of two states.”
Joseph Gettinger ‘11, who spent a year in Israel after high school before coming to Stanford, said he wished Ashrawi had been more specific in her speech.
“If she stands by what she said tonight, then she’s a moderate who will be key in bringing about a two-state solution,” Gettinger said. “I agree with 90 percent of what she said, but she was also vague. She insisted that concrete steps were necessary toward resolution, yet she didn’t suggest any of those concrete steps.”