Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine held a protest yesterday in the Amphitheater as part of Palestine Week. An independent group of students responded by handing out pamphlets voicing an opposing opinion in support of the Israeli view outside of the event.
"We were protesting to bring to the forefront and the front of University students' minds an issue," SPJP President Tarek Ismail said.
SPJP handed out flyers listing statistics regarding the wall dividing Palestine and Israel and voiced their disapproval.
"Human rights violations are happening left and right due to this wall," Ismail said. "It's something that should be brought to attention, especially since [University students] don't know too much about" the dividing wall.
Third-year College student Michael Wain was one of approximately six students who handed out pamphlets that voiced the Israeli point of view.
"We really wanted to educate students that there is another perspective out there," Wain said.
The two groups are showing the two sides of a divided issue that has come to the forefront during Palestine week.
Hoos for Israel President Josh Levy said he was concerned the protest, as well as other events throughout the week, will create more conflict than dialogue.
"If [SPJP] would like to have a cultural celebration, I think that would be great," Levy said. "I've gotten an extremely different impression.If they were interested in promoting dialogue, they would have a forum. They wouldn't have a demonstration."
Ismail said the goal of the protest was to bring awareness to the student body about an important world issue.
"There was no agenda, our goal was just to raise awareness," Ismail said.
While two different viewpoints were being expressed, both groups said all interaction was amicable.
"It didn't hinder anything," Ismail said. "People are free to express themselves. We're not going to complain about someone expressing their views."
Ismail said he hoped the display has sparked the interest and concern of students. Construction on the wall began in 2000. It creates a boundary between the Israeli and Palestinian states. Ismail said Palestinians were disturbed that the wall separated some Palestinians from their farmland and schools and violates human rights.
"It goes around some cities like Qalqilya, it encircles those cities and has suffocated those cities," he said.
Wain said the fence was put in place to decrease suicide bombing. He said terrorism has been decreased by over 90 percent.
"While a fence is not the ideal solution to this conflict, lives come first and the inconveniences and unfortunate occurrences may be something we have to live with for now to avoid the cost of human lives being taken," Wain said.
The desire voiced by both parties was for dialogue to result from the information relayed.
"It's important for students to be aware that [there is] not just one side to this conflict," Wain said."I think that what should be encouraged at this University are events that promote dialogue."
Ismail said the University community should build off the protests.
"The whole world is affected by this," Ismail said. "We want to raise dialogue with people who don't normally talk about it or maybe don't even think about it."
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