Students curiously inspected a giant indoor wall and heard arguments for the Palestinian side of the Middle East conflict at a two-day long demonstration against the so-called Israeli Barrier. The UTSC branch of the students’ organization Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) held the demonstration at U of T’s Scarborough campus, amid growing fear and anger in the Arab community at what they see as a further curtailment of Palestinian human rights.
The demonstration filled UTSC’s Meeting Place and consisted of information displays, traditional Palestinian dancing, and the wall that symbolized the Israeli Barrier, the 750 km wall that is being completed in Israel to separate the Israeli and Arab populations. Israel has described the wall’s construction as a security measure, but it is seen by Palestinians as being a 21st century Berlin Wall, except far larger, and far worse.
The SPHR constructed the approximately seven-foot high grey wall to encircle the centre of the Meeting Place, decorating the outside with dramatic photos of Palestinians underneath orange fencing. Students entered the walled area through parted coils of fencing in order to peruse documentary videos as well as information and maps detailing the history of the Palestinian uprising.
Israel recently came under massive fire regarding the barrier at the international court at The Hague, and the criticism levelled by Monday’s demonstrators was similarly concerned with violations of international law. Protesters are concerned that the barrier violates human rights by depriving them of access to school, electricity, and health care, essentially creating a desperate living environment.
“We can’t believe that we have this wall in this modern day. It’s an open-air prison,” said SPHR UTSC’s president, Yasmin Suleiman. “I feel it is my duty as someone who possesses freedom of speech to speak out against these illegal actions.
“If this wall is a security measure, then it must provide for an understanding between the two sides. You can’t oppress one side and expect security. This is a fallacy. How can the barrier exist to provide safety, when barbed wire and snipers can’t differentiate between armed individuals and civilians?”
Large displays showed the discrepancy between the path of the 750 km wall and that of the 1948 Green Line, which is 250 km. The latter separates the West Bank, the Gaza strip, and East Jerusalem from Israel, but the new barrier extends much further into these Palestinian territories to annex a reported 50 per cent of the West Bank, according to information from Palestinian NGOs. To the Palestinian population, this is simple land theft.
In addition to the information available, Tuesday’s demonstration included a performance of traditional dance by the Raje’am group of performers, who were clothed in black except for their black and white Palestinian hatas, or headscarves. Hailing from Pearson College in Victoria, B.C., the group is currently completing a cross-Canada tour, and were contacted by SPHR to perform at the protest.
Students also had the chance to buy Palestinian crafts, including the traditional hatas. Suleiman was dressed in a traditional Palestinian peasant dress originally designed for farm work.
A second-year Political Science and International Studies student, Suleiman said she got frustrated with the lack of representation for the Arab community at Scarborough and decided to form UTSC’s branch of the SPHR last semester. This is their first public event. “A lot of the general student population don’t even know that Palestian people exist,” she complained. “Because the oppression has escalated more and more, it’s led to a greater awareness of the problem.”
Arab groups have recently experienced problems organizing events because of actions from pro-Israel groups. But Suleiman refuses to see this as an obstacle, or put the conflict in Jew-versus-Arab terms. She distinguishes between Jews and Zionists, shying away from the issue of racial discrimination (whether it be towards Arabs or anti-Semitism). “Jews and Palestinians are brothers and sisters. We all lived together before this conflict,” she said, adding “Is the barrier going to cause Palestinians to become more desperate? No. The level of desperation in for the Palestinians is already as high as it can go.”
