Israelis spoke from heart, not from an approved script

Editor,

I am a graduate student studying the history of West Asia and South Asia. I am also a volunteer with the Middle East Peace & Justice Alliance. I recently attended an event the alliance co-sponsored called Jerusalem Women Speak. Three women who live in Israel spoke about their personal experiences living, working and playing in this much-contested region. They included Abir Kopty, a Christian-Palestinian citizen of Israel; Wejdan Jaber, a Muslim-Palestinian from Gaza; and Hagit Ra'anan, a Jewish-Israeli born in Tel Aviv. I found the presentation educational, enlightening, humorous, thought-provoking and inspiring. These kinds of intellectually stimulating events are what students expect from a university. For that reason, I credit the various departments that co-sponsored the event, including religious studies and women's studies, as well as those professors who encouraged their students to attend the presentation.

Dotan Kennedy, in her letter published in the Daily Lobo on Friday, claimed that the Jerusalem Women Speak presentation was "propaganda" and "one-sided." The event I attended on Nov. 5 was neither. All three women spoke from the heart, not from an approved script. Kopty poignantly shared how she felt like she doesn't belong anywhere as she is not Jewish-Israeli or Palestinian-Muslim, but somewhere between those two communities. Jaber somewhat surprisingly and refreshingly used humor to punctuate her descriptions of the immense challenges she faces in traveling overseas or from village to village through hundreds of checkpoints. With a gleam in her eye and tongue firmly in cheek, she showed a slide of her so-called boyfriend, George Clooney. If this was propaganda, then her speech writers need to work on staying on task better. Ra'anan shared the painful memory of losing her partner in a suicide bombing. I was impressed that this woman, instead of solely harboring anger for her loss, has channeled her energies into building bridges for peace across the Israeli-Jewish and Palestinian-Muslim communities, especially among

children.

I'm certain all members of the audience did not agree with all comments made by the speakers. But it's a stretch to call the dialog I witnessed one-sided and a propaganda. And, in fact, it's getting a bit tiresome to hear such charges every time Israel's human rights record is scrutinized.

I personally look forward to more events like these on campus that stimulate discussion, cause us to question our assumptions and present a different picture than the one we see and hear in corporate-controlled media.

Susan Schuurman

UNM student