The original version of this article contained information that was unclear and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for more information.
Bruins for Israel members released a statement Wednesday asking for students in the Empowered Arab Sisterhood to apologize for displaying maps of the Middle East that did not list Israel’s name on them at an on-campus fair.
About 30 student groups, including Empowered Arab Sisterhood, set up booths for the World In-Sight fair at Wilson Plaza Wednesday and gave out food and other items to showcase the cultures of communities around the world.
Members of the group had map activity sheets at their booth for students to “Find All The Middle Eastern Countries.” The maps did not include the names of Israel, Iran or Turkey in a list of countries for students to identify on them.
The Empowered Arab Sisterhood is a sorority that aims to educate students about conflicts in the Arab World and their effects on Arab-American women, among other goals. On its website, the group says it is “a strictly cultural organization, (which) expresses no religious or political affiliation but rather focuses on the humanitarian aspect of the conflicts plaguing our Arab countries today.”
Ivana Younan, the public relations chair of the Empowered Arab Sisterhood who graduated from UCLA last quarter, said the group meant for the maps to be an educational tool for students at the fair to learn more about Arab nations and their location in the Middle East.
Younan said the maps should have clearly noted that they were only referring to Arab nations in the Middle East and that the group made a mistake in the titles of the maps. But the maps were not meant to be a political statement against Israel in any way and the group does not plan to issue a formal apology, she said.
“I refuse to apologize on behalf of the sorority because we are not targeting (Israel). … We have never taken a side on any political issue,” Younan said. “I’m so frustrated this happened over something so minor.”
In the statement Bruins for Israel released, members said they felt the maps “effectively eliminated the Jewish state from the Middle East” and that they are concerned the Empowered Arab Sisterhood did not list Israel’s name on the map deliberately. Bruins for Israel members said in the statement that they think the incident reflects larger problems on campus with anti-Zionism.
“Whether deliberate or not, the omission of Israel from the Middle East in EAS’ materials represents yet more disinformation that undermines the Jewish people’s right to self-determination and alienates Jewish and pro-Israel students on campus,” the statement said.
The statement also asked the Empowered Arab Sisterhood to recognize “the State of Israel as well as the right of Jewish people to self-determination in their ancestral homeland” in their requested apology.
Compiled by Samantha Tomilowitz and Amanda Schallert, Bruin senior staff.
Correction: The map activity sheets did not include the names of Israel, Iran or Turkey in the list of countries for students to identify.