As though walking into a secret underground meeting of activists
trying to make a difference in politics and ideology on the other
side of the world, students slowly filled a small lecture hall
above capacity Wednesday night during a town hall meeting held to
discuss one organization’s steps toward conflict resolution
in the Middle East.
The forum was hosted by OneVoice ““ an organization that
seeks compromise between Palestinians and Israelis through
educational campaigns aiming to depolarize extremist groups from
both backgrounds in hopes of reaching peace.
Arian Soroudi, a seventh-year psychology and political science
student, sat quietly waiting for the discussions to begin.
“I was hoping to get unbiased information,” Soroudi
said, explaining her interest in attending.
Judea Pearl, computer science professor and president of the
Daniel Pearl Foundation, introduced the night’s general
topic.
Pearl emphasized that every problem has two dimensions: physical
and ideological. While the physical side of the Middle East crisis,
war and suicide bombings, has stalemated, compromise could still be
reached on ideological aspects to quell the violence.
Following Pearl’s speech, actor Jason Alexander from the
sitcom “Seinfeld” stood up to explain his involvement
with the OneVoice organization.
“This crisis alone is going to determine the quality of
life in the 21st century,” Alexander said.
Jake Hayman, OneVoice international program director, shared a
series of photographs showing the efforts the organization has made
to reach out to local communities in both Israel and Palestine.
“(OneVoice) is about finding solutions for the next
generation, not to fight the physical battles of this one,”
Hayman said.
Also present at the forum were two of OneVoice’s senior
youth activists, Palestinian Christine Soudah and Israeli Eran
Schafferman, who also reiterated that the general sentiment of the
populations they are a part of in Israel and Palestine are a desire
for peace and an end to political conflicts.
“Honestly, I am just tired of it … you can’t drive
for more than 15 minutes without hitting a checkpoint,”
Soudah said.
Schafferman also said that politics aside, the movement toward
peace is about respect and a humanistic attitude.
The event later opened up to discussion and questions, where a
student voiced his concern on the practicality of achieving
peace.
Film director Hanna Elias, a UCLA alumnus attending the event,
answered the concern, his passion resonating through the crowd.
“People like me, like you … they want to live, they want
to flourish,” he said, describing why he believes the groups
may eventually find a compromise.
In a closing thought that ignited a roar of applause, Elias took
hold of a projector remote Soudah and Schafferman used to share
photos earlier.
“This is a plastic remote; it’s nothing spectacular.
(Earlier in the night) when it was passed between an Israeli and a
Palestinian in sync. There’s something beautiful in that.
That is the domain I want to swim in,” he said.
At the end of the event, students rushed to ask speakers more
questions. Among them was Daniel Eliav, a fifth-year history and
Jewish studies student.
“It’s nice to see so many people interested in a
moderate voice for peace. I’m sure not everybody agreed with
everything that was said, but at least we’re trying to do
something,” Eliav said.