UNC students debate Israel, Palestine

The original version of this story misquoted professor Sarah Shields as saying Palestine has always been a state based on a 1947 U.N. vote. She actually said the U.N. partitioned the Palestine mandate in 1947, creating both an Arab state and a Jewish state. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.

Although the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not much closer to a solution after years of peace talks and false starts, UNC students are finding ways to become engaged in the debate.

Both Israeli and Palestinian student groups held events on campus Tuesday in order to advocate peaceful solutions to help resolve the ongoing conflict.

UNC Hillel, a Jewish group, hosted a gathering in the Pit Tuesday afternoon.

Jacob Plitman, co-chairman of the Israel Committee of UNC Hillel, said the purpose of the gathering was to encourage both Israeli and Palestinians to come together and resume peace negotiations after Palestine’s recent application for statehood at the United Nations.

“Our goal is to take a step back from what is happening at the U.N.,” he said. “We must depoliticize the issue.”

Hilla Paz, an Israeli Fellow of N.C. Hillel, said most Israelis are politically moderate and that it is necessary for all parties to find a balance.

Paz supports a two-state solution, which she says respects the security of Israel and the human rights of the Palestinians.

Before coming to United States, Paz trained Israeli students —who were about to join the Israel Defense Force — about human rights issues and cultural tolerance.

UNC Students for Justice in Palestine held a related event Tuesday. The group organized a discussion focused on the United Nation’s vote on Palestine’s statehood.

UNC history professor Sarah Shields, Duke mathematics professor Rann Bar-On, and UNC Arabic professor Nadia Yaqub spoke at the forum.

The audience of about 60 students were treated to baklava as professors engaged in the discussion.

Shields said Palestine has always been a state, based both on a 1947 U.N. vote and the universal recognition from most international parties in the benefits of a two-state solution.

But ongoing problems on both the Israelis and Palestinian sides have brought negotiations to a standstill, she said.

Layla Quran, a freshman originally from Palestine, attended the meeting.

Quran is helping organize a walk for a free Palestine, which will be held Saturday on Franklin Street.

Quran’s own activism mirrors that of her parents.

“My mother went to Bethlehem University and had to go through numerous checkpoints just to go to school,” she said.

“In Palestine, you don’t know what is going to happen at the next minute,” she said. “My parents grew up in a scene where if something wrong was happening, it wasn’t even a question. You have to go out and protest.”

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