NOVEMBER 23 • 2023 | 39
The Arab Cultural Society,
Muslim Student Association,
Students United for Palestinian
Rights (SUPR), Yemeni Student
Association (YSA), Egyptian
Student Association (ESA),
Students Organize for Syria
(SOS) and March for Our
Lives (MFOL) introduced and
collaborated on the bill. There
is a strong one-sided bias that
is evident throughout the
legislation.
The bill is plagued with
misinformation, making a
plethora of incorrect claims.
The authors state that “under
International Law, the
Palestinian people have the right
to defend against colonialism
and apartheid experienced in
… Gaza and the West Bank …
in which Israel still has control
over.
”
There’s a lot to unpack here.
For one, Israel is not an apart-
heid state. Israeli Arabs have
all the same rights as Jewish
Israelis, serving in parliament
and holding successful careers.
An apartheid state is racially
segregated by law, which sim-
ply is not the case here. Israelis
are not colonialists as they are
indigenous to the land. You can-
not be a colonialist in your own
country.
Furthermore, Israel disen-
gaged from the Gaza Strip in
2005, and since then, no Jewish
people have inhabited the ter-
ritory.
Gaza is controlled by the ter-
rorist organization Hamas, and
the West Bank is governed by
the Palestinian Authority. The
claim that Israel controls both of
these areas is wrong.
The last claim made is
that “
ASMSU will support
Palestinian, Arab, Jewish and
allied people according to this
bill.
” The authors’ addition of
the Jewish people seems like an
afterthought. We are not repre-
sented throughout the bill.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
MEETING
Approximately 50 Jewish stu-
dents and 70 students support-
ing the Palestinian side attended
the ASMSU General Assembly
meeting, where the fate of the
bill was determined. Jewish stu-
dents sat on the left side of the
room; the Palestinian students
and their allies on the right.
Many students on the right side
had tape over their mouths to
show that their beliefs were
being “silenced.
”
There was a clear divide
between the two minority
groups. You could cut the ten-
sion with a knife.
The meeting lasted nine
hours, until 4 a.m. Impassioned
students gave public comment
for the first three and a half
hours, expressing why or why
not they believe this legislation
should or should not pass. In
their speeches, many students
from the Palestinian side
claimed that the Israeli govern-
ment is an apartheid, ethnically
cleansing the Palestinian people
in Gaza. This is, again, false, as
the population growth rate in
Gaza is among the highest in the
world, and Jews and Arabs have
the same rights in society.
There was a clear double
standard shown throughout
the meeting by those who were
supposed to be unbiased. While
speaking, Jewish students were
consistently interrupted by
the Office of the President of
ASMSU (OTP), who claimed
that what we were saying
was “not germane to the bill”
because of the graphic nature.
The students on the Palestinian
side would say things even more
explicitly and get away with
it. The favoritism by OTP was
inappropriate and singled out
Jewish students, even after going
through so much post-Oct. 7.
I gave public comment, and
it was the most nerve-racking
speech I will ever give, proving
that I indeed found my voice.
My heart was racing as I iden-
tified myself as a Zionist, and
immediately, the “other half” of
the room held up Palestinian
flags, pictures of a 6-year-old
Palestinian child who was bru-
tally murdered in Chicago, and
posters with horrible messages
that I could not get myself to
read.
Unfortunately, saying that
I am a Zionist is highly con-
troversial these days despite
it being a crucial part of my
identity. I stayed true to myself
and expressed why the existence
of a Jewish state is so critical to
the Jewish people and how it
is problematic that ASMSU is
becoming politicized.
After speaking, I was too
afraid to go out into the hallway
to buy a bottle of water from
the vending machine, scared to
be harassed for staying true to
myself.
I never thought something
like this would happen at my
university. Whenever Israel
is in the news, there is always
an uptick in anti-Zionist and
antisemitic rhetoric and acts
on college campuses, but not in
East Lansing. Michigan State’s
Students for Justice in Palestine
(SJP) chapter (SUPR) has not
historically been active, and
until Oct. 7, I did not know we
even had a club of this nature.
Hearing about this bill as a
Jewish student on campus was
very scary. Once I digested
what these students were calling
for, I knew that the outcome
would not be favorable for the
Jewish population on campus.
University students are barely
educated on the Arab-Israeli
conflict; how are they supposed
to make an informed decision
when voting on related legisla-
tion? This conflict should not
have been brought into Student
Government in the first place.
Many of these General
Assembly representatives want
bills to pass to make themselves
seem accomplished, explaining
the number of votes supporting
the bill 60-30. Perhaps it is their
performative activism inspiring
them to support this bill. They
seldom read the legislation nor
consider the impact it would
have on all of the constituents
they represent, which was appar-
ent in this instance. I do not
feel represented by the students
elected to represent me. It is
evident that they only represent
those who yell the loudest. @
Laela Saulson is a member of the
MSU Class of 2024.
ABOVE AND FACING PAGE: Pro-Israel students at a vigil on campus.