Peace talk held despite objections

A Sunday peace talk on the Israel-Palestine conflict inspired objections from local Jewish groups.

With UNM Peace Studies and American Studies’ support, Palestinian-American Ali Abunimah spoke at the SUB, though the departments received letters from the Jewish Federation of New Mexico and the UNM Hillel that called Abunimah’s talk anti-Semitic.

Sam Sokolove, JFNM executive director who wrote the letter, said Abunimah’s support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement is troubling. He said the BDS is a global movement to delegitimize the Jewish state, and he isn’t opposed to Abuminah’s dialogue so much as his message.

“It’s masqueraded as a peace and justice campaign,” Sokolove said. “BDS is antithetical to dialogue and conversation … We believe in negotiation. We believe in dialogue. We believe it’s absolutely appropriate to criticize the policies of the Israeli government. But what Mr. Abunimah is advocating for is for the end of the Jewish state.”

Abunimah defended his position during his Sunday talk.
“Nobody is delegitimizing Israel; Israel is delegitimizing itself through its actions,” he said.

The BDS movement puts economic pressure on Israel in an effort to end perceived inequality between Palestinians and Israelis, according to its website.

Abunimah said Israel and Palestine should be combined into one state, with equal rights for Arabs and Jews. He compared the BDS movement to the boycott against South Africa during the apartheid.

“As long as whites in South Africa felt immunity, they felt they could carry on with apartheid forever, and they could vilify and demonize the struggle against apartheid,” Abunimah said.

Sokolove said the comparison is invalid.

“BDS proponents equate Zionism to racism, and they equate Israeli policies to apartheid,” he said. “The racist policies of the South African government are not found in Israel.”

Les Field, head of the Peace Studies program, said Abunimah’s viewpoint needs to be heard. He said he was surprised by Sokolove’s letter.
“In the letter, the chair of American Studies Alex Lubin and I were basically accused of supporting anti-Semitism,” Field said. “Not only am I a Jewish person, I’m a practicing Jew. … I reject the charge that Ali Abunimah is an anti-Semite.”