On Tuesday afternoon,
while
pro-Israel
and
Jewish student groups held
their annual Israel Day
on the Diag event, about
15 students in support of
Palestine gathered in the
corner of the Diag and held
a Palestinian flag. The Diag
Day is centered around
the celebration of Israel,
but dissenters arrived to
represent Palestine. The
event prompted a passerby
to call the Division of
Public Safety and Security,
despite
the
gathering
remaining peaceful.
An LSA junior, who asked
to remain anonymous for
fear of being placed on
anti-Palestinian blacklists,
said the gathering was not
formally
planned,
with
word spreading through
group chats. He said it
was intended to serve as a
reminder of the Palestinian
people and the oppression
they have suffered.
“There
wasn’t
much
mobilization to this, there’s
no affiliation with any org
— it’s just that we wanted
to be here to reaffirm
Palestine’s existence, its
people’s
existence,
the
struggle, the oppression,
the occupation,” he said.
Information sophomore
Sofia
Levinson
serves
as the Israel community
coordinator
for
the
University
of
Michigan
Hillel, a Jewish student
group
on
campus,
and
organized
the
event.
Levinson said the event
this
year
highlighted
Israeli
elections
and
provided an opportunity
for students to write their
hopes for their futures on
sheets of paper, which will
be placed in the Western
Wall in Jerusalem, a sacred
site for Jews.
According to Levinson,
Israel Day is a way to bring
people together. She also
acknowledged there are
diverse opinions of Israel.
“We wanted to celebrate
Israel, and we also have
a
table
where
we’re
hoping for a better Israel
in the future as well,
so
acknowledging
that
there are many different
opinions
of
Israel,”
Levinson said. “I think
that any country can hope
to improve in the future,
so
we
also
recognize
that there is room for
improvement.”
Despite
this
attempt
to bring people together
to celebrate Israel, many
students
supporting
Palestine
expressed
frustration at the event.
One LSA sophomore sat
at the side of the Diag to
remind those celebrating
Israel Day of the human
rights violations against
Palestinians. The student
also
asked
to
remain
anonymous for fear of
getting blacklisted.
“Never let them feel
like there’s nothing going
on over there,” he said.
“They
can
peacefully
put up that flag with no
conflict at all, as if it’s
a
completely
peaceful
country
that’s
done
nothing wrong. Because
the
human
rights
violations are going on
every second, and people
here today need to make
that known to everyone.”
Tilly
Shames
is
the
executive director of U-M
Hillel. Shames said she
thinks it is positive that
pro-Palestinian
students
gathered on the Diag. She
said pro-Israel groups have
done the same in the past.
“I
think
it’s
positive
that there are Palestinian-
identified students that are
here, and I don’t see them
interacting
negatively
with
the
students
that
are
celebrating
Israel,”
Shames said. “I see them
here to provide support for
their peers, possibly. When
we at Hillel see that there
is an anti-Israel display
on the Diag, often we will
come so that students who
are triggered by something
that they see as anti-Israel,
those students can come to
us when they’re concerned
or
upset
about
what
they’re seeing. I see this
pro-Palestinian group as
offering the same for their
community.”
Shames said the pro-
Palestinian group did not
disrupt
the
celebration,
and she does not view the
gathering as a protest.
DPSS received a call
from
a
student
that
reported
there
was
a
confrontation
between
student groups. However,
DPSS
spokeswoman
Melissa Overton said there
did not appear to be an
issue.
Additionally,
pro-
Palestinian students said
the decision to hold Israel
Day
three
days
after
the
murder
of
several
Palestinian
civilians
showed what they claim
to be hypocrisy and a lack
of willingness to engage in
real dialogue.
One
LSA
senior,
who
asked
to
remain
anonymous
for
fear
of
STUDE NTS SHARE DE I IDE A S
ON THE DAILY: SNL OFFERS ‘U’ MUG SHOT
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY: HEALTH SERVICE TO OFFER
FREE, ANONYMOUS AIDS TESTING
Over
the
weekend,
a
University
of
Michigan
mug was spotted on the
late night television show
“Saturday Night Live.”
The March 30 episode
was hosted by Sandra Oh.
The University mug made its
special appearance during a
skit in which cast members,
featuring cast member Kate
McKinnon, along with Oh,
sat together around a table
in an office kitchen setting.
The mug was placed in front
of McKinnon, and remained
visible during the entirety
of the skit.
Though
neither
the
mug
nor
the
University
received any special shout
out, questions have been
raised regarding the reason
behind featuring the maize
and blue prop on the show.
April 2, 1987
In response to rising concern,
University Health Service will
offer
anonymous
testing
for
acquired
immune
deficiency
syndrome beginning next week.
Health Service Director Caesar
Briefer said that, with anonymous
testing, he expects the number of
AIDS tests the service administers
to increase dramatically.
Currently, Health Service tests
about 30 people a week.
Health Service developed the
anonymous testing service to
remove some of the fear of being
identified with a high-risk group
for AIDS.
“There’s clearly a fair amount
of sensitivity regarding this issue,”
Briefer said.
AIDS testing at Health Service
includes two blood tests which
screen for the AIDS antibody.
The testing is free for students but
costs $35 for others.
Students will have to identify
themselves for the anonymous
testing by showing an ID card
or by putting the card in a cover
which would show their eligibility
but hide their name.
Anonymous testing is used in
many clinics, Briefer said, but is
not available in Washtenaw
County or through most health
services.
Fourteen people are infected
with the AIDS virus in Washtenaw
County, including one University
student, according to Briefer.
Briefer said the anonymous
testing program has been in the
works for months.
2A — Wednesday, April 3, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
KELSEY PEASE/Daily
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Diag event celebrating Israel Day
draws pro-Palestinian students
Annual commemoration of declaration of Israeli statehood prompts opposition
AMARA SHAIKH
Daily Staff Reporter
ZAYNA SYED
Daily Staff Reporter
blacklists,
called
the
decision “unconscionable.”
“The state of Israel killed
four Palestinians — three
of them were under the
age of 18,” she said. “They
did that on Saturday, and
today is Tuesday, and we’re
celebrating the state that
murdered four people just
a few days ago… So even
though I understand that
this is an annual event, the
audacity for them to still
organize this event within
that context, when Israel
and IDF (Israel Defense
Forces)
soldiers
have
been killing paramedics,
children,
amputees,
people
with
disabilities,
mothers,
just
blatantly
and so aggressively within
the
past
year
is
just
unconscionable to me.”
Another pro-Palestinian
student, a recent University
alum
who
identifies
as
Jewish and asked to remain
anonymous
for
fear
of
blacklists, said he believes
the event worked to silence
Palestinians.
“Obviously
you
have
to book the Diag well in
advance — I don’t blame
(Israel
Day
organizers)
for coming out today, I
just think it’s a little bit
hypocritical,
because
when
SAFE
(Students
Allied for Freedom and
Equality) has events on the
Diag, basically whenever
SAFE does anything, that
side calls them out for
insensitivity or brings up
recent events, that in some
cases
happened
weeks
beforehand,” he said. “So,
for (Israel Day organizers)
to be here so soon after
four civilians were killed, it
just shows that’s not really
what they care about. They
don’t care about sensitivity
— they care about silencing
Palestinians.”
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