The library in Kerckhoff 146 blends into the background, but the books on the shelf are crisp, new and hand-picked for a specific reason.
The books – which cover novels about Palestine to journals about current events in the Middle Eastern area– are neatly stacked in the single shelf. A wooden desk, a grocery bag on wheels and a hodgepodge of cardboard boxes fill the rest of the room.
Members of Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA opened the Alex Odeh Memorial Library this quarter to offer students a collection of works which they believe accurately portray the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The student group advocates Palestinian self-determination and the end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and encourages the university to divest in companies that support the violation of the Palestinians’ rights to equality.
The board members and other members of Students for Justice in Palestine began brainstorming ideas for the library last summer to help students put current events in political and historical context, said Kaleb Herman Adney, a fourth-year history student and director of resources and education of Students for Justice in Palestine.
“Without a proper contextual understanding of the history of Palestine, then one can just look at the news and get a pretty biased story,”Adney said.
The project is an homage to the Palestinian-American civil rights leader, Alex Odeh, who was killed by a pipe bomb of unknown origin in Santa Ana 29 years ago.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a regional dispute over the occupation of the Palestinian West Bank by the Israeli military and the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, among other issues. The issue is a consistently contentious topic on campus, saidReem Suleiman, a fourth-year comparative literature student and member of Students for Justice in Palestine.
Members of Students for Justice in Palestine said they named the library after Odeh to shed light on his untimely death and express support for renewed investigation of the alleged assassination, which remains unresolved.
“He was an activist who stood for equality between all groups of people– including Palestinians and Israelis,” Adney said. “He worked really hard on the West Coast to support dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis.”
“The face you usually see representing Palestine on the news is the face of an extremist, fundamentalist and terrorist, which in fact is not the case,” Adney said. “Alex Odeh is a perfect example of how there are countless Palestinians and Palestinian sympathizers who have fought for justice … in peaceful ways.”
The library currently consists of over 40 written works, maps and movies. Readers can browse through a selection of poems and literary novels by Palestinian authors as well as academic journals and books on Palestinian history and current events.
Students can view currently available titles on the student group’s website and submit an online request, Adney said. They can pick up the books from the library once they receive an email notifying them of the availability of the titles, he added.
The board members of Students for Justice in Palestine selected the current items based on their wish list and recommendations students made on the group’s Facebook page, said Rahim Kurwa, a graduate student in sociology and vice president of Students for Justice in Palestine.
Students purchased the entire collection using about $300 worth of donations from students, faculty members and outside organizations, he added.
Suleiman drops by the library several times a week to pick up new book titles. She recently checked out two books to write a paper on the boycott, divestment and sanction movement in Palestine.
The global campaign, which was initiated by Palestinians and organizations, demands various forms of boycott against Israel and companies that profit from violation of Palestinian rights to freedom and self-determination. The push for boycotts is ongoing until these rights are recognized in compliance with international law.
Suleiman said she finds the library convenient because she has access to books – some of which are required for class.
“These are books that I actually read for my own education and (that are) necessary to my activist work for (Students for Justice in Palestine), so I have them all in one space,” Suleiman said.
Members of Students for Justice in Palestine said that access to accurate information is important to prevent misperceptions of Palestinians. They said they think some students on campus see Palestinians in a negative light because they’re misinformed.
Professor Robin D. G. Kelley of the history department said he decided to donate money to the library because he thinks the library provides a space to educate students about not only the issue of Palestine and Israel, but also the broader question of human rights.
“To have a student-run institution and discussion and (engagement) in these things on their own, it’s not propaganda – it’s the production of knowledge,” Kelley said.
The collection is a complement to the online resources about Palestine available for students on the student group’s website.
“We wanted to have the library available so (that) people can come on campus physically and retrieve information,” Adney said.
Adney said he thinks Students for Justice in Palestine decided to create a library rather than multimedia or interactive platforms because, to him, sitting down and reading a book is the best way for students to digest information.
Kurwa and Adney said they are working to expand the collection of works in the library. Kurwa said the board members plan to spend about $100 to $200 on more books.
“I like the fact that it’s a communal space, where people can feel safe to (come) and look for information together or alone,” Adney said.