Israeli Vice Consul Anat Gilead came to Tufts on Monday night to discuss the Middle East conflict from a pro-Israeli perspective, informing students of Israel's specific motives in the standoff and encouraging them to contribute actively to public opinion. In a fairly one-sided address, she also implored the audience to understand and counteract what she perceived as biased reporting from media organizations covering the conflict.
Gilead began on a somber note, summarizing the crisis to date and informing students that, in her opinion, there is still no end in sight.
"The situation is more severe than we've had in the past decade," she said. "I'm afraid I'm not coming here with good news. It doesn't look like peace... that any time soon both sides will go back to the negotiating table."
Adrian Wilairat, president of Tufts Friends of Israel, noted that, while many of the people who attended were immersed in the recent events, it is important for them to get a broad overview of the conflict from a knowledgeable leader.
Gilead worked to show that Israel has striven for peace, through its peacekeeping efforts with Egypt and Jordan and its agreements with Palestine last summer at Camp David. Since then, she said, the Palestinians have violated major tenets of the agreements, such as the obligation to renounce violence, to apprehend and withhold terrorists, and to confiscate illegal arms.
"All of these violations... raised for the Israelis one fundamental question: How can we trust a partner who constantly violates the agreement signed?" Gilead asked. "Our partners must show us similar determination.... It's very hard to understand Arafat's logic. We believe there are interests common to both sides. The Palestinians are, and always will be, our partners in peace."
According to Gilread, the Palestinian unwillingness to cease aggression has induced a lack of security and a fear of terrorist attacks. Israel, she said, has both of her hands extended - one for peace and one for defense. "The violence you've all been following has not been initiated by Israelis in any way," Gilread said. Arabic Student Association Co-President Samer Abou-Ezzebbine disagreed with the consul's viewpoint, and took a much more neutral approach to analyzing the conflict.
"When I look at the news... when you get to the point where motives and strategies become ambiguous, I don't know who's right or wrong," he said. "In their hearts, I think the Palestinians are right. In their hearts, I think the Israelis are right. But now it's not the question of who is wrong or right, but who is dying."
Gilead also blamed the media for propagating incorrect perceptions of the conflict. While the media may show images of tanks advancing on poverty-stricken civilians with stones, she asserted that stones, too, can kill, and that the Palestinians have been using guns and arms that were given to them by the Israelis as part of the Camp David concords.
Gilread went on to recommend that students start making a difference by voicing their opinions. "There is a need for action, and this struggle is not over yet," she said. "And a lot of this struggle is public opinion - American public opinion."
She also noted the recent Boston Globe photo of what seemed like a wounded Palestinian and an Israeli in back of him. Following further investigation, it was found that the people shown in the photo were an American soldier wounded with an Israeli rushing to assist him. This was just one example that she gave to demonstrate the media's lack of accuracy.
The majority of students who attended the talk left with a better understanding of the issues facing Israel and the influence of the media. Even though her views were pro-Israeli, many believed she was fair in her overview of the situation.
"It helped clarify the situation because I just heard the biased situations of the media. I'm thinking about studying abroad in Israel, but I may not go now," junior Beth Ann Katz said.
"I thought her speech was very important. Even though she had a pro-Israeli perspective, I thought she presented the facts objectively," Wilairat said. "I think it's important to have events like this because a lot of the media is biased against Israel and the campus needs to know the background behind the facts. Seeing an image on TV or in the newspaper out of context is terrible."
"I think that there's a big Palestinian side in terms of the larger issues, such as who should get land and who has the right to be there. But in terms of the recent attacks and recent violence that the Vice-Council was talking about, for me the Palestinian argument doesn't hold water," senior Debra Steinberg said.
Gilead served in the Israel Defense force as non-commissioned officer for education and at the Officer Training School for men. She joined the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1995 and served in the North America and Latin America divisions. In 1997, she was appointed Second Secretary at the Embassy of Israel. And in July of 1999, she was appointed Vice-Consul of Israel to New England.
