From: Office of Multicultural Affairs
Date: October 13, 2023
Subject: OMA's response to recent events re: Israel, Hamas, & Gaza


OMA’s Response to recent events re: Israel, Hamas, & Gaza

In OMA, we deeply mourn the many lives lost and the cruelties committed in the Israel-Hamas war. The latest figures:

  • Killed/Injured in Israel (1,300/3,400)
  • Killed/Injured in Palestine/Gaza (1,799/6,388)
  • Killed/Injured in Palestine/West Bank (46/700+)

As we have continued to watch, these numbers keep going up. These figures have been reported by the Palestinian health ministry, Palestine Red Crescent Society, and Israeli Medical Services. ÔÇï(Source #1)

We understand that the terror inflicted by these events hurts and threatens the perceived and real safety of CWRU students and their families.

ÔÇïÔÇïÔÇïÔÇïÔÇïÔÇïWe also recognize the apartheid that has been perpetrated in the area in the last half century is not only violating to the human rights of those involved in the conflict but is also harmful and painful to CWRU students and their families. 

OMA believes in the protection of
both Jewish AND Palestinian
lives AND liberties

We condemn both the war crimes of massacring/abducting civilians and those of denying civilians en masse food, water, fuel, medicine, and electricity. 

What do we know

1.    This past weekend, there was a ferocious attack by Hamas on Israel, the most devasting between Israel & Palestine since 1948. Hundreds of Israeli civilians were killed and over 100 were abducted. 

2a.    The attack by Hamas was not the start of violence.   (Source #2) (Source #3) (Source #4)  

  • The attack by Hamas was not “unprovoked” as President Biden labeled it. 
  • The attack by Hamas is best understood in greater context, and not isolated or in a vacuum. 

 

2b.    Antisemitism is increasing and is never acceptable.

  • U.S. Antisemitic Incidents Hit Highest Level Ever Recorded
  • 10 incidents for each day in 2022 – the highest level of antisemitic activity since ADL started keeping records in 1979 (Source #5)  
  • Antisemitic incidents 'quadruple in UK' since Hamas attack in Israel (Source #6)
  • Antisemitism Surges Around World as Israel, Hamas Clash (Source #7) 
  • We're witnessing the highest rise of antisemitism in 50 years: Irwin Cotler, Canada's special envoy on combatting antisemitism (Source #8)

3.    War crimes have been and continue to be committed now by both sides of this fight, and breaking international law is nothing new.
In addition to the reports of apartheid produced by numerous human rights groups, specific international law crimes have been documented by the International Criminal Court in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, called out (Source #9)

  • Hamas for taking civilian hostages
  • both sides in targeting civilians, civilian infrastructure, 
  • and Israel for their siege of Gaza, cutting off access to food, electricity, clean water, emergency services, or fuel

New evidence shows that Israel has used White phosphorus artillery. (Source #11) 

  • White phosphorus burns as extremely high temperatures, can’t be put out with water, and can cause immense injuries to flesh.  (Source #12)  
  • International law allows for certain uses of white phosphorus, such as creating smoke screens or generating light, but human rights groups say that the deployment of white phosphorus in areas where it could harm civilians or via airdrop is prohibited by international human rights laws. 

4   The US is complicit in the situation / We are no innocent 3rd party.

  • For what we have done:
    • We continue to support Israel militarily (Source #13)
      • The United States has given Israel more combined military and economic aid than any other nation since World War II, granting it more than $260 billion, plus about $10 billion more in contributions for missile defense systems like the Iron Dome.
      • Almost all U.S. aid to Israel recently has been military aid rather than economic aid, in the form of Foreign Military Financing grants – U.S. grants and loans to Israel for acquiring U.S. military equipment and services. Israel is typically allowed first access in the region to U.S. defense technology to stay ahead of neighboring militaries, a concept summarized as a “qualitative military edge” by the Congressional Research Service in a report on foreign aid to the country.
    • we attempted a failed coup of Hamas (Source #14) (Source #15) 
  • For what we have not done
    • We have failed to call Israel’s policies and practices toward Palestinians to question, or allowed the United Nations to pass resolutions against Israel’s actions toward Palestine. (Source #16) (Source #17) 
      • The United States has vetoed dozens of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions critical of Israel, including at least 53 since 1972, according to UN data.
      • On Monday, Washington blocked a joint statement calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas – the US’s third such veto reportedly within a week.
      • The US has vetoed at least four UNSC resolutions condemning Israel’s settlements on Palestinian land, which are considered illegal under international law. US vetoes of resolutions condemning Israel’s settlements date back to at least 1983.
  • And for what we continue to do
    • Conflating support for Palestinian people with antisemitism, we have failed to pay attention to the ongoing human rights catastrophe in the West Bank & Gaza.  (Source #18) 
5. Neither the prevalence of antisemitism nor the attack by Hamas justify Israel from continuing to commit injustice and extreme genocidal violence against Gaza. 
  • There continues to be an extreme amount of bombing (Source #10) 
    • The Israeli air force said on Thursday that it had dropped 6,000 bombs on Gaza since the war began on Saturday
    • “Israel is dropping in less than a week what the US was dropping in Afghanistan in a year, in a much smaller, much more densely populated area, where mistakes are going to be magnified,” said Marc Garlasco, a military adviser at the Dutch organization PAX for Peace and a former UN war crimes investigator in Libya.
6.    Calls for justice are essential to any calls for peace.  
  • Justice is a "necessary precondition for peace” Marc Lamont Hill (Source #19) 
  • Shalom (Hebrew: ήͩÎüΣÎòÍ╣ÎØ š─ül┼ìm) is a Hebrew word meaning peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility. As it does in English, it can refer to either peace between two entities (especially between a person and God or between two countries), or to the well-being, welfare or safety of an individual or a group of individuals. (Source #20) 
  • “Only a negotiated peace that fulfills the legitimate national aspirations of Palestinians and Israelis ... can bring long-term stability to the people of this land and the wider Middle East region.” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres (Source #21)  
7.    Both groups involved have been severely marginalized through history.

Therefore

A. We need to watch where we get our news/opinions

  • Social media - not our go-to friend for reliable news
    • Elon Musk spent the hours after Hamas attacked Israel spreading misinformation about the conflict and even told his 150 million followers to get news on the attack from two verified accounts that have a clear history of sharing false information (Source #22) 
    • Fake Accounts have spread (Source #23) 
  • News Sources themselves are biased
    • Interactive Media Bias Chart  (Source #24)
    • “If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”  ~ Malcolm X
  • Misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war is easy to find online. Here’s how to avoid spreading it.
    • The S.I.F.T. method breaks down to four steps: “Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, and Trace claims, quotes, and media to the original context.”  (Source #25) 
B. We need to be vigillant against becoming 1-sided
  • Despite the sheer number of sources that are claiming this, the surprise attack by Hamas was NOT Israel's 9/11
    • These claims actually serve to manufacture the case for a wider war and case for genocide.  (Source #26) 
  • 35 student organizations at Harvard, the Palestine Solidarity Groups, signed a completely 1-sided statement stating "Israelis regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence" (Source #27) 
C. The world needs us instead to be wise peacemakers – Not naïve peacekeepers.  (w/Sustained Dialogue skills)
  • Peace/Shalom
    • Peace without justice is merely lack of violence, not peace/shalom.  (wholeness, safety, completeness)
    • peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility
  • Being a peacekeeper means trying to maintain harmony by avoiding or smoothing over conflicts
  • On the other hand, being a peacemaker means actively working towards resolving conflicts and finding a #solution that works for all parties involved. (Source #28) 
  • Sustained Dialogue skills (Source #29)
    • Definition of Dialogue: “A process of genuine interaction through which human beings listen to each other deeply enough to be changed by what they learn. Each makes a serious effort to take other's concerns into their own picture, even when disagreement persists. No participant gives up their identity, but each recognizes enough of the other’s valid human claims so that each will act differently toward the other.” ~ Dr. Harold Saunders

What Now?

During your 4 years at CWRU, this is a unique opportunity for you to go to events from a range of different groups (Hillel, Chabbad, Muslim Student Association/MSA, Middle East Cultural Association/MECA, Students for Justice in Palestine/SJP) to meet other students, and to hear about the world from THEIR perspectives.

Sources

with reliability scores from Interactive Media Bias Chart
Al Jazeera (44.63)
Anti-Defamation League
BBC (45.11)
Christian Science Monitor (44.74)
National Post (43.12)
NBC Bay Area (43.67)
PBS (45.17)
Reuters  (46.23)
The Guardian (41.31)
US News & World Report (44.55)
Vanity Fair (33.53)
Voice of America (46.31)
Vox (40.20)
Washington Post (37.97)
Wikipedia
Ynet News

by Dennis Goris (USA) 10 October 2023
"Middle East: Sad situation for everyone"