Wherever one stands on the political spectrum and however one sees the current conflict in the Middle East, students should applaud and support the formation of Sakina, the revamped Palestinian Advocacy and Dialogue Group at Washington University.
By simply changing the group’s name to the Arabic word meaning tranquility, the former Committee for Peace in the Middle East has opened its doors to those in the community who were put off by the group’s former designation.
Additionally, the Muslim Students’ Association (MSA) and Jewish Student Union (JSU) have begun to make a connection. Uthayla Abdallah and Debra Rosenbaum, presidents of MSA and JSU, respectively, have met to discuss developing a better understanding between the two groups.
This engaging spirit-in which student groups agree to disagree in a way that promotes conversation and not animosity-should indeed appear throughout campus life.
Last year, many students objected to the nomenclature used by the Committee for Peace in the Middle East because such wording did not disclose the standpoint of its members. Using an Arabic word for the group’s new name makes that important distinction.
This year, Sakina is making a strong-and, at the same time, reasonable-statement for peace and Palestinian rights. According to their statement of purpose, Sakina does not “stand in opposition to the existence of Israel”; rather, the group will focus its energy on promoting “the creation of a Palestinian state.through equal justice between the parties involved.”
In other words, Sakina is a Palestinian advocacy group much in the way WU Solidarity for Israel (formerly WashIPAC, WU Israel Public Affairs Committee) advocates for Jews living in Israel.
An effective Palestinian advocacy group with clear goals has been missing on campus until now. Sakina has a two-fold purpose: “to advocate the basic human rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to freedom from oppression and occupation” and “to advocate the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people.”
Faith Rowold, one of the group’s founding members, believes that the group will encourage “mind-expanding” discussions on the Middle East.
“We don’t expect to be able to solve the Mid-East conflict,” she said, “but we believe that through education and activism we can broaden the collective world-view of the campus to include the Palestinian point of view.”
Sakina’s second general meeting will be meeting tonight, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. in Ursa’s Caf‚ on the South 40.
Although created to support Palestinians in the Middle East, this group has the potential to become a more formalized venue to start a dialogue on campus about the Middle East. Students should be able to discuss openly plans for peace, the creation of a Palestinian state, and the adequacy of both Yassir Arafat’s and Ariel Sharon’s politics, to name a few topics.
Students should bring such discourse to other forums within the WU community.
For example, Campus Week of Dialogue just ended this past Friday. Although such a week is only one of the many this year in which student groups will try to promote cultural awareness, the strength of the Campus Week of Dialogue was its publicity and wide variety of programming options, from a game on “Facing Race” played at Ursa’s Caf‚ to a rally held Friday in the Quad to cap off the week.
Junior, Juliet DiLeo, intern for Each One Teach One, spoke at the gathering.
“Through dialogue with others,” she said, “I have come to realize that if I ignore the color of a child’s skin, then I am not fully appreciating who the child is and the culture and values that are part of him or her.”
By attending Sakina’s opening meeting and creating ties between JSU and MSA, pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian students can begin to appreciate each other’s viewpoints.
Similarly, Students for Life and Students for Choice should host more open forums. WU Students for a Sensible Drug Policy should actively invite those in community who do support, for example, medicinal marijuana.
As DiLeo stated Friday, it is important to open up and see people not only on face value but also to understand from where that person is coming.
“I am thankful,” she continued, “for the challenge that the dialogue about race created for me.”
We hope that more such dialogues on campus continue to challenge us as students.