Palestinian Activist Tells Her Side Of Story
Bridgewater College Hosts Advocate’s Talk
Posted: January 29, 2013
BRIDGEWATER — An activist for the Palestinian people spoke about human rights and international law related to the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict at Bridgewater College’s Cole Hall Auditorium on Monday night.
Noura Erakat — an attorney who has taught at Georgetown University and Temple University’s Beasley Law School — lauded Bridgewater College for allowing her to speak on such a controversial topic.
“It’s difficult to talk about a thing like this when the world has already picked a winner, and you’re not talking about that side,” she said.
Erakat, former legal counsel for the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee, discussed the cultural and legal entanglement between Israel and the occupied territory of Palestine, which includes the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Erakat spoke about potential solutions to heal the suffering region. She claimed that a two-state solution was impractical because the groups are irreparably entangled.
She presented a map that highlighted the border between Israel and the occupied territory in green. The map displayed several Israeli settlements highlighted in blue within the Palestinian border.
“They coexist, but they do not coexist as equals,” she said.
Erakat suggested a single-state solution that provides equal rights for all citizens.
“That’s the social contract we’ve entered into with our government,” she said, referring to the United States.
Jesse Winter, a 20-year-old English and philosophy major, said he came to Erakat’s speech because he had visited Israel, where he talked to parties on both sides of the conflict.
“Both sides have their own faults. Both sides have their own merits and arguments,” Winter said.
Monday’s event was the first of three related to the topic that Bridgewater College will host during the semester.
BC will host “The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” a lecture on the conflict’s historical background, the current issues and the prospects for conflict transformation on Feb. 19.
Then, from Feb. 21 to Feb. 24, students will perform the play “My Name is Rachel Corrie.”
Corrie was an American peace activist who traveled to the torn region to protest Israeli government practices during the 2003 Palestinian uprising known as the intifada.
While attempting to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home in the Gaza Strip, Corrie was crushed by a bulldozer.
Contact Alex Rohr at 574-6293 or arohr@dnronline.com
Noura Erakat — an attorney who has taught at Georgetown University and Temple University’s Beasley Law School — lauded Bridgewater College for allowing her to speak on such a controversial topic.
“It’s difficult to talk about a thing like this when the world has already picked a winner, and you’re not talking about that side,” she said.
Erakat, former legal counsel for the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee, discussed the cultural and legal entanglement between Israel and the occupied territory of Palestine, which includes the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Erakat spoke about potential solutions to heal the suffering region. She claimed that a two-state solution was impractical because the groups are irreparably entangled.
She presented a map that highlighted the border between Israel and the occupied territory in green. The map displayed several Israeli settlements highlighted in blue within the Palestinian border.
“They coexist, but they do not coexist as equals,” she said.
Erakat suggested a single-state solution that provides equal rights for all citizens.
“That’s the social contract we’ve entered into with our government,” she said, referring to the United States.
Jesse Winter, a 20-year-old English and philosophy major, said he came to Erakat’s speech because he had visited Israel, where he talked to parties on both sides of the conflict.
“Both sides have their own faults. Both sides have their own merits and arguments,” Winter said.
Monday’s event was the first of three related to the topic that Bridgewater College will host during the semester.
BC will host “The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” a lecture on the conflict’s historical background, the current issues and the prospects for conflict transformation on Feb. 19.
Then, from Feb. 21 to Feb. 24, students will perform the play “My Name is Rachel Corrie.”
Corrie was an American peace activist who traveled to the torn region to protest Israeli government practices during the 2003 Palestinian uprising known as the intifada.
While attempting to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home in the Gaza Strip, Corrie was crushed by a bulldozer.
Contact Alex Rohr at 574-6293 or arohr@dnronline.com