Many people would consider Wallid Shoebat to be a Palestinian.
He was born in Bethlehem, raised in Jericho and educated in
Palestinian culture.
But call Shoebat “Palestinian” and he’ll
immediately reject the label.
“I don’t like the term Palestinian. I don’t
believe in it,” he said.
Shoebat’s story, which he will tell today at UCLA, is
unique even among those knowledgeable of the Israel-Palestine
conflict. And it is more than likely to raise a few eyebrows: He
says he was a former terrorist for the Palestinian Liberation
Organization but has become a staunch supporter of Israel.
Pro-Israel groups point to Shoebat as someone who has an
insider’s perspective on the truth about Palestinian
terrorism. Supporters of the Palestinian cause say Shoebat
misrepresents their position and that his views are racist.
“It’s an amazing story; it’s an incredible
story,” said David Hakimfar, a Bruins for Israel member who
helped bring Shoebat to campus.
“This is utter nonsense,” said Jiries Mogannam, a
member of Students for Justice in Palestine, when asked about
Shoebat’s views.
The event’s sponsors, which include Bruins for Israel and
Bruin Republicans, say they want students to hear Shoebat because
he represents a little-heard position on the Israel-Palestine
conflict.
Shoebat’s views on Israel are in line with many of its
strongest supporters.
He says Israel has already done “the lion’s
share” for peace in the region and the burden should now fall
on the Palestinian Authority. He believes Israel’s policy of
destroying the homes of Palestinian terrorists is completely
justified. And he does not sympathize with Palestinian civilians
who harbor terrorists and are killed during Israel’s military
incursions into the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Shoebat’s perspective has made him immensely popular among
Israel advocates. He has spent the last eight months on a
cross-country speaking tour and is booked solid this year.
His views have alienated him from Palestinians, some of whom
call him a traitor. Shoebat says the Bank of Bahrain has a $10
million bounty on his head.
Shoebat, who was raised as a Muslim, said the Palestinian school
system taught him to hate Jews through everything from songs to
graffiti. As he grew older, he said he was naturally inducted into
Palestinian terrorist organizations.
He said he was on the way to bomb an Israeli bank before he
changed his mind at the last minute. He placed the bomb on the roof
of the bank where it detonated harmlessly.
Shoebat said he began to make the transformation from
Palestinian terrorist to Israel supporter when he researched
Judaism in 1993 and discovered much of what he had been taught to
hate about Jews was untrue. His research led him to convert to
Christianity and take up Israel’s cause.
Mogannam disputes the claim that Palestinian schools teach
anti-Semitism.
“A couple schools might teach their children these kinds
of things, but that has to do more with the recent
situation,” he said. “They aren’t teaching them
to hate Jews because they’re Jews. They’re teaching
them to fight the oppression going on there.”
Shoebat also sees a crucial battle being waged on U.S.
universities for support of Israel, and dismisses many other forms
of reconciliation.
“Forget dialoguing with the opposition. Win the middle
ground of the university campuses. Win the Americans.”
The speech is at 3:30 p.m. in Young CS 24.