TO THE EDITOR:
On March 26, UNC Hillel will host “Israel Fest” to celebrate Israel. The event offers participants an opportunity to learn about Israeli culture and society. I urge students to consider the history of systemic violence and Israel’s continuing history of theft, segregation and aggression.
The creation of Israel as a homeland for Jewish people in Palestine was the direct result of the systemic displacement of Palestinian people and theft of Palestinian land. The idea that Palestine was “a land without a people for a people without a land” is at the heart of Zionism, the belief that Jewish people have the God-given right to settle in Palestine.
While UNC Hillel claims to inspire social justice and intellectual growth within its members, the organization plays an active role in the unjust oppression of the Palestinian people. Every year, UNC Hillel offers Jewish students 100 percent free “birthright” trips to Israel. While 7 million Palestinian refugees remain excluded from returning to their lands by discriminatory Israeli policies, a Jewish student born in North Carolina can immigrate to Israel and acquire automatic citizenship under Israel’s Law of Return. There is nothing to celebrate about an organization that participates in an ongoing colonial project.
To celebrate Israel is to celebrate a history of violence, land theft and displacement, and a continued system of oppression and discrimination against the Palestinian people.
Zakaria Merdi
Junior
