In response to the letter “Bringing terror to campus,” I would like to directly contradict the accusation that Students for Justice in Palestine supports violence. We do not believe that anyone that strives for justice can support violence against innocent civilians. In fact, one of the primary goals of the event was to call for an end to Israeli violence.

In Arabic, Intifada means uprising or rejection of oppression. Resistance to oppression does indeed come in many forms, whether it is through the expression of art, voting, dressing a certain way, or just saying no. The poignancy of the event was our drive to resist through poetry and other forms of art. The original Palestinian Intifada was characterized by its use of non-violent boycotts, strikes, and rallies while the Israeli military responded to this with brutal repression and continued destruction of Palestinian property and lives.

Juxtapose that to the reality of Israel’s development of its Nuclear Program – to this day Israel remains the only nation in the world that does not have its nuclear facilities inspected by the international community. Why does it receive such special treatment? A nuclear-free Middle East sounds like a bright idea, but it seems pretty impossible since Israel has over 250 nuclear weapons.

According to the United States State Department, Israel also misused cluster bombs and chemical weapons in its recent conflict with Lebanon. Thus, wouldn’t this make Israel’s possession of such weapons a threat to the international community, just as it does in North Korea and Iran’s cases?

A second significant fallacy is the claim that Arab regimes finance the Palestinian resistance. Before Hamas came to power, the United States and the EU gave more money to the Palestinian Authority compared to any Arab regime. Following the election of Hamas, these same Arab regimes put a block on money transfers to the newly elected Palestinian government. So now the Palestinians are being punished for adopting democracy through economic sanctions placed on its government.

Anyone who attended our event last night would know that we in no way condone any acts of violence, and in result, we condemn all use of violence against the innocent. There was a widely diverse audience and group of performers showing their solidarity with Palestinians and all other occupied and oppressed peoples of the world. Freedom and justice to all!

Lina El-Beshbeeshy

President, Arab Students Association