Harvard Israel Trek students at the grave of Yasser Arafat in Ramallah
Yesterday, in
"Yes, We Visited Arafat's Grave", I reported on the beginning of a right-wing panic attack over the visit by a group of Harvard students to Yasser Arafat's grave in Ramallah in the West Bank. The upset stems from the fact that the visit was part of the
Harvard Israel Trek, which has been underway during Harvard's spring break, and which is supported by
Harvard Hillel and funded by Boston's
Combined Jewish Philanthropies, among others.
Now, CJP's president, Barry Shrage, has responded in a strongly-worded statement to what he called "vicious attacks by ideologically motivated bloggers from across the country."
TO: Board of Directors, Past Board Members
FROM: Barry Shrage
DATE: March 20, 2014
SUBJECT: A response to recent attacks on CJP and our Harvard Student “Trek” to Israel
Yesterday CJP and a group of deeply committed student leaders were the subject of vicious attacks by ideologically motivated bloggers from across the country. The bloggers took one photo out of context to smear our Federation and a group of students whose only motivation was to tell Israel’s story and connect their fellow students to Israel in all its beauty and complexity.
The students who led the mission are among the brightest and most deeply committed I know. They have consistently fought for Israel and against the forces of BDS at Harvard. They created a huge and highly effective symposium at Harvard http://www.timesofisrael.com/... to counter the infamous “One State” anti-Israel conference that preceded it at the University. The organizers include four IDF veterans who fought for Israel as soldiers and continue to fight on behalf of Israel on their campus.
The blog that you may have seen attacking the “trek” is a good example of the terrible polarization within the American Jewish community where a few bloggers at the extreme edge of the Jewish community can demonize those who try to deal honestly with the complexities of life in Israel.
We at CJP are committed to continuing to work to bring both Jews and non-Jews to Israel, to help structure and fund missions that can capture and reveal the amazing achievements of Israel in technology, business, the arts and society and also to examine the complexities and challenges facing Israel today. We believe that understanding those challenges and opportunities from a first-hand perspective is the best way to create knowledgeable and informed supporters of Israel and to strengthen the bonds between the American and Israeli people.
(Emphasis added). (I apologize for having to link to a right-wing site, but it's the only online source I've so far found with the complete text of Shrage's statement.)
Just a few years ago, Boston's Jewish Community Relations Council decisively defeated a vicious right-wing attempt to prevent J Street from joining the JCRC.
As background, here's yesterday's diary about the Harvard Israel Trek and the visit to Arafat's grave.
Recently six Israeli Harvard undergraduates, five veterans of the Israel Defense Forces and the sixth an Arab-Israeli, organized the Harvard Israel Trek, which is currently underway during Harvard's spring break. The participants are a group of non-Jewish Harvard students.
Last Monday, as the organizers write in today's Times of Israel,
participants of the Harvard College Israel Trek visited Ramallah in order to meet with senior members of the Palestinian leadership. During the visit students were shown the Mukataa, the headquarters of Palestinian Authority, which includes the grave of Yasser Arafat and met with Nabil Sha’ath, Ali Jarbawi, and members of the Palestinian Negotiation Team. In line with our objective to broaden exposure to the issues discussed on the trek, participants have been documenting the entirety of our time in Israel through pictures, video, blogging and other forms of social media. As such, a photograph of participants posing at the burial site of Yasser Arafat was shared on social media and picked up by various online publications.
The trek is supported by Harvard Hillel and funded by Boston's Combined Jewish Philanthropies and a number of family foundations.
For the kerfluffle this is beginning to cause, please follow me below the fold.
TruthRevolt, a right-wing website of which I'd not previously heard, quotes a "Boston Jewish leader" as being "appalled and offended" by the visit to Arafat's grave. This 'leader,' it turns out, is a Rabbi Chananel Weiner, director of Aish Campus Boston. (Aish, as it happens,is an ultra-Orthodox "outreach" organization of extremist, 'Greater Israel' views.
I am appalled and offended by the visit to Arafat’s grave funded by Boston’s Jewish community for the Harvard Trek to Israel.
For Boston’s Jewish community’s funds to go toward the lionizing of Arafat strikes me as a turn of events that will stain our community beyond recognition.
To my mind, the willingness of Harvard Hillel and the 'organized' Boston Jewish community to support the Harvard Israel Trek is a shining moment for the community.
In their Times of Israel article, the trek's six organizers write:
As Israelis who love and care about the identity and future of Israel, we believe in the importance of nuanced and responsible engagement with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in general and the Palestinian narrative in particular. That said, let us be clear: the visit to the Mukataa and to Arafat’s grave was never about honoring Arafat’s memory; not for a second would we dream of “paying respects,” as some have suggested, to a man responsible for the death of countless Israelis. And as Israelis, this experience was troubling and upsetting. But it isn’t about us. It is about creating an honest conversation regarding some of the most contentious issues facing both Israelis and Palestinians today.
Whether we like or not, Yasser Arafat is important to the Palestinian narrative, and as educators committed to an honest exploration of these issues we could not afford to deviate from Trek policy that encouraged students to document and share their experiences with their respective communities. We are saddened and sorry that a photo was taken out of context, causing pain to people who we love and respect.
* * *
We stand firm behind our decision to visit Ramallah. Ignoring the Palestinian narrative would be seen as an attempt to mask the situation in the West Bank by focusing on issues beyond the conflict, and thus delegitimize our position as educators. But more importantly, failing to confront the reality facing Israelis and Palestinians is unjust, irresponsible and counterproductive, and it weakens the legitimacy of Israel in the broader sense. Our ability to expose students to a multiplicity of narratives is a sign of strength, not weakness. It is a testament to our unwavering commitment to building a better future for both Israelis and Palestinians. We might add that visiting Ramallah is not unique to the Harvard College Israel Trek: Every peer-led trip to Israel from the various Harvard schools, as well as universities across the country, includes a visit to Ramallah and a meeting with Palestinian officials.
Similarly, I my heart was gladdened to learn of the formation of The Third Narrative Academic Advisory Council, about which I diaried yeterday, a group of "progressive scholars and academics who reject the notion that one has to be either pro-Israel or pro-Palestinian. We believe that empathy for the suffering and aspirations of both peoples, and respect for their national narratives, is essential if there is to be a peaceful solution. Scholars and academics should play a positive role in asking difficult questions, and promoting critical thinking, about the Israel-Palestinian conflict. To achieve this goal we insist on the importance of academic freedom and open intellectual exchange, and so reject calls for academic boycotts and blacklists, as well as efforts to punish academics for their political speech, including even those who support the academic boycotts that we oppose."