This Week
Fighting Back
Supporters of Israel protest divestment conf erence at U-M.
DON COHEN
Special to the Jewish News
I is been a week of planning, politicking, postur-
ing and persuasion in the run-up to the "Second
National Student Conference on the Palestinian
Solidarity Movement" that begins this Saturday,
Oct. 12, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
The three-day conference, ostensibly to support a
national campaign to encourage divestment of universi- .
ty funds from corporations doing business with Israel,
is attracting increased local and national attention and
activity.
Groups for and against the conference have been
using the Internet to spread the word and encourage
support and turnout for their positions and events.
Anti-Israel and "alternative" political Web sites
encourage support by providing registration and con-
tact information. As the anti-globalization and anti-war
movements increasingly make common cause with
pro-Palestinian activists, the Michigan conference is
.
seen as an increasingly popular destination.
At the same time, pro-Israel Web sites and e-mail
lists have been working overtime, organizing opposi-
tion. Calling the event "pro-Jihad," "pro-terrorism" and
"the Zionism-is-racism conference," activists express
concern about the divestment issue but clearly see more
at stake. Most messages urge sending e-mail to U-M
President Mary Sue Coleman-and university regents
expressing everything from displeasure to condemna-
tion. Reportedly more than 1,000 messages criticizing
the conference have reached the U-M administration
during the past week.
An online petition organized by the U-M Hillel at
wwwumichjustice.org seeks U-M student, faculty, staff
and alumni opposition to the call for divestment, call-
ing it "a one-sided and counter-productive attempt to
de-legitimize Israel."
While acknowledging diverse opinions regarding
Israeli policies, the petition states, "We are unanimous,
however, in our condemnation of this [divestment]
movement," calling it "destructive." The statement and
the names of the endorsers will appear in an ad in the
Michigan Daily student newspaper within weeks.
Meanwhile, a statement by an ad-hoc pro-Israel
group called "U of M Alumni for Peace with Israel"
goes beyond the issue of opposing divestment by
requesting additional specific actions, such as condem-
nation of terrorism, by the university, conference
organizers and the general community.
And e-mail was at the center of a controversy when
messages were sent to thousands of faculty and students
in late September Containing anti-Semitic and extreme
anti-Israel statements — all under the name of confer-
ence organizer Fadi Kablawi. Kiblawi denied any
involvement in sending the e-mails and condemned
their content.
ITN
10/11
2002
16
For related editorial: page 39
Lawrence Jackier
John Loftus
On Oct. 3, U-M Interim Provost Paul Courant
issued the findings of a university investigation that
determined the e-mails originated in California, not
from any U-M e-mail accounts. The investigation
could not determine if any U-M students or organiza-
tions were involved in sending the e-mails from the off-
campus site.
The University also has used the Internet to clar ify
its views by posting "Q & A on the Palestinian
Solidarity Conference" at
vvvvvv.umich.eduipalestineconfhtml
Students Respond
Ben Berger, who staffs the pro-Israel groups at the U-
M Hillel, says things have been "beyond crazy" the past
week.
A number of Hillel-affiliated student organizations
joined together to plan an Oct. 10 pro-Israel rally fea-
turing Dr. Raymond Tanter, professor of political sci-
Rick Dorfman
Mary Sue Coleman
ence and research associate at the Middle East Center
at the University of Michigan, and student and com-
munity leaders. Metro Detroiters organized carpools to
attend. In the evening, Emory University history pro-
fessor Michael Bar-Zohar, David Ben-Gurion's biogra-
pher, was expected to draw a significant crowd at Hillel
to discuss the challenges democracies face in combating
terror.
Hillel chose to organize events prior to the anti-Israel
conference to frame the issues, not bring more atten-
tion to the conference once it began. Also, it made
sense because a previously scheduled "fall study break"
Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 14-15, means many stu-
dents will leave campus for a long weekend before the
conference even begins.
During the past several weeks, opinion pieces have
appeared in the Michigan Daily explaining opposition
to the conference and divestment, and providing infor-
mation in support of Israel. A major theme- has 'been
Online Petition To Oppose Israeli Divestment
W
e, University of Michigan
faculty, staff, students and
alumni/ae who support ,
peace in the Middle East, oppose the
movement for divestment calling for
punitive actions by the U.S. govern-
ment and American Academic insti-
tutions against the State of Israel.
We have diverse opinions on how
peace in the Middle East can be
achieved, and widely differing views
of the policies of the current Israeli
government.
We are unanimous, however, in
our condemnation of this movement
No less ttin the Palestinians, Israel
has a right to exist free from vio-
lence. To place blame solely on Israel
for the current situation, and to
demand unilateral concessions with-
out showing any concern for the
safety and well-being of its citizens, is
unjust. Reasonable people should
work for a peacefully negotiated
solution based upon respectful dia-
logue, rather than single out Israel
for partisan attack.
The divestment movement does
not advocate a peaceful resolution to
the conflict between the Palestinians
and the Israelis. Rather than engage
in dialogue, supporters of divest-
ment choose to demonize Israel. The
movement does not support the citi-
zens of Israel in the face of an end-
less stream of suicide bombings, car
bombings, and shootings, let alone
condemn such heinous attacks. It
does not even offer aid to
Palestinians who have lost property
and dignity in the conflict. The
divestment movement refused to
recognize the widespread desire
within Israel for a long-term and just
solution, nor of previous attempts to
achieve a peaceful settlement.
Instead, the divestment movement
assigns blame to Israel alone, and
calls for abandonment and disen-
gagement at this critical time.
We therefore denounce the
divestment movement; we appeal to
our colleagues who support it to .
-reconsider, urging them to con-
tribute to the cause of true, lasting
peace by acting in a constructive
rather than destructive manner. We
call upon the Regents of the
University of Michigan, in support
of the courageous stand taken by
President Mary Sue Coleman to
repudiate it and deny its
demands. ❑
— U-M Hillel