|
|
April 25, 2003/Nisan 23 5763, Vol. 55, No. 35
Rally features suicide bombers
ALEXANDRA J. WALL
Jewish Bulletin of Northern California
SAN FRANCISCO - The scene was a familiar one to activists on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Sproul Plaza on the U.C. Berkeley campus was awash April 9 in the red, green, black and white of the Palestinian flag, and the blue and white of the Israeli flag. Students wearing kaffiyehs milled about, as did students in yarmulkes.
But there was a new element at this demon-stration: A few Jewish students with fake red explosives tied around their waists were posing as suicide bombers.
"This was special for this demonstration," said Lee Kaplan, an East Bay-based activist with the national group Dafka, who outfitted a few students with the fake explosives as he spoke, calling out, "I need a few more suicide bombers!"
Students for Justice in Palestine staged the rally to commemorate events on April 9, 1948, when the Irgun, pre-state Israel's underground militia, killed more than 100 Palestinians in the Arab village of Deir Yassin outside Jerusalem. A similar rally was held the same day at San Francisco State University.
But April 9 also happened to be election day for U.C. Berkeley's student Senate, and many students were out campaigning for themselves, including Miya Keren, an Israeli. Like many of the other Jewish students, Keren had a sign pinned to her back reading, "Wherever I stand, I am standing with Israel."
At issue at this particular rally was an "Apartheid Wall" that the SJP had built to represent the barricade Israel is currently erecting to separate itself from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel has argued it needs such a barrier to prevent suicide bombers from infiltrating, while the Palestinians say it will allow no Palestinians into Israel at all, imposing even worse economic con-ditions.
Dafka's mock suicide bombers were there to show "why the checkpoints and wall are necessary," said Kaplan.
Several counter-demon-strators dressed as suicide bombers walked around with signs pinned to their backs saying "$25,000 for my family! Thanks Saddam and Saudi Arabia!" and "I fight for justice by killing Jews."
The tactic definitely gained the ire of the SJP protesters, one of whom trailed Susanna Orah Klein - who was dressed as a female bomber, complete with a hijab, or Muslim head covering - with a sign calling her a racist.
But the pro-Palestinians weren't the only ones to question Dafka's tactics. "It's completely illogical because they're saying that all Palestinians are suicide bombers," said Lisa Stampnitzky, a graduate student and member of Tzedek, Berkeley's pro-gressive Jewish group.
Chris Silver, co-chairman of the Israel Action Committee, felt differently. "It's not the way I would choose to advocate for Israel," he said, "but it does demonstrate an issue that the Students for Justice in Palestine will never address, that civilians in Israel are victims of Palestinian terror and that suicide bombers prevent Israelis from living normal lives."
The rallies on both campuses were mostly peaceful, with Adam Weisberg, executive director of Berkeley Hillel, saying the one at Cal was calmer and smaller than any of those sponsored by SJP last year.
|
