Shani Shahmoon: Israeli Independence Day provides opportunity for campus discussion

Sometimes, one people’s independence is another people’s displacement.

In 1948, Israel declared itself a state. As a result of the declaration of the State of Israel, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced from their homes and forced to flee to neighboring countries. While Israelis celebrate their independence, Palestinians mourn Al-Nakba, or “the catastrophe.”

This Thursday, one of UCLA’s pro-Israel groups, Bruins for Israel, is hosting an Israeli Independence Day event. In the past, this event has been a celebration filled with music, speakers and dancing in the center of Bruin Plaza. Understandably, it has often been surrounded by counter-demonstrations in solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

As the child of Zionists and proof of the importance of the State of Israel, but also a student who continues to educate herself on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I am faced with an internal struggle between celebration and mourning.

Dealing with that struggle has forced me to find a sort of compromise: I choose to celebrate the creation of the State of Israel which has allowed my family and so many others safety and acceptance, but I also acknowledge that this day should not be approached with unilateral joy. Both sides of the debate owe themselves and each other an approach characterized by education.

When that is done, students, both informed and uninformed, can learn more about the conflict in a way that doesn’t breed hostility between campus communities.

Last year, groups protesting held a counter-demonstration during Bruins For Israel’s celebration of Israeli Independence day. The photo demonstration replicated a powerful image taken in the past of Ellen Siegel, an American Jew, and Ghada Karmi, a Palestinian Arab. The women were photographed holding up signs that stated Siegel’s right of return and Karmi’s lack thereof. It aimed to show students participating or walking past the celebration that there is another side of the issue.

I remember feeling attacked by their signs when I attended the celebration that day. I felt as though the protesters were delegitimizing the importance of the creation of the State of Israel at a time when Jews were being persecuted on a global scale. Israel was created at such a crucial time, when both sides of my family escaped there for safety. They created a life in a country that ensured continuity of the Jewish people, and because of their guaranteed existence, I am here today.

The demonstration that day made me feel as though my fellow peers felt I had no right to exist.

Today I recognize the protesters right to protest and mourn. I see that a day that is glorified and commemorated in my community has created pain and displacement for another community. Campus climate at UCLA has forced me to delve deeper into the topic to understand the fixation on a trans-Atlantic conflict, and now I see the complexities of this conflict with clearer eyes. Students, directly affected or not, have every right to support a cause with the intentions of educating others on their side of a issue.

An educational approach from both sides of the conflict would prevent the potential feelings of attack and disregard on both sides. To achieve better understanding, students at the celebration and at the counter-protest should have a table with pamphlets and students speaking about their beliefs and experiences.

Omar Zahzah, president of Students for Justice in Palestine and a graduate student in comparative literature, said that nothing has been planned in response to this year’s event, but he anticipates there will be some form of protest. This counter-demonstration will not be aimed to sabotage the celebration of Israeli Independence Day, he added.

David Mostovoy, the administrative director of Bruins for Israel and a third-year political science student, said Bruins for Israel recognizes the right of students to protest and their stance of disagreement.

UCLA’s campus has been a battleground of blanket statements and this event should be seen as an opportunity for change. While Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace and Bruins for Israel are notoriously known for not cooperating in discussion and dialogue, it seems the different communities may be striving for understanding this year.

This is a small but distinguishable step. Student organizations affiliated with this particular cause tend to neglect one another on the premise of supporting their particular side. But it is important, on a day such as Israeli Independence Day, to recognize this multidimensional holiday and acknowledge all sides.