Mideast Groups Clash Over Vigils

Harvard Students for Israel (HSI) held a “solidarity gathering” yesterday in response to the weekly vigils organized by the Palestinian Solidarity Committee (PSC) for victims of violence in Gaza.

The PSC vigils—the group has held three in response to recent Palestinian civilian deaths in the Middle East—have come under fire from HSI members for their allegedly politicized nature.

Jewish and pro-Israel groups had approached the PSC in an attempt to organize vigils mourning both Palestinian and Israeli civilian casualties, HSI President Rebecca M. Rohr ’08 wrote in an e-mail.

“Sadly, the PSC refused...and insisted on proceeding with another of their politically charged vigils,” Rohr wrote.

In turn, HSI organized a solidarity gathering to show support for Israel.

The Progressive Jewish Alliance (PJA) had proposed that HSI and PSC sign a joint statement of commitment to a “just peace.”

“We decided this was inappropriate,” the PSC wrote in a statement, adding that the term “just peace” was not clearly defined, and that their vigils were not intended to be confrontational.

At noon yesterday in the Yard, about 54 people congregated to show support for civilian victims of violence in Israel and voice their opinions about the conflict, Rohr said. The gathering lasted for half an hour, as demonstrators waved Israeli flags and held up signs demanding peace and the release of the imprisoned Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped by Palestinians affiliated with Hamas in June.

Dana A. Stern ’09, who was at the HSI gathering, said she was disappointed that members of the PSC did not attend yesterday’s gathering.

“I feel it was inappropriate for them to put a political spin on what should have been a mourning event,” Stern said. “It really does not show that productive steps are being taken to achieve peace.”

Several members of the PSC said that in this case, politics were simply unavoidable.

“The very notion that you can pay tribute to [Palestinian] deaths in an apolitical way is completely fallacious,” the PSC wrote in a statement. “Mourning the dead without talking about how and why they died dishonors their memory.”

Rohr said she still hopes to pursue cooperation and mutual understanding.

“I am very discouraged and disillusioned by the truly sad state of affairs we find ourselves in when two campus groups cannot even agree on the moral necessity of calling for an end to all civilian deaths,” Rohr said.

The PSC called for “substantive debate.”

“We know everyone wants a just peace. What is important to talk about is not that fact, but rather what justice and peace mean to each,” the organization said.

As the HSI gathering drew to a close, a “Walk for Peace” demonstration—put on weekly by Cambridge citizens—traveled by with its own plea for peace in Iraq.