An initiative launched last year by a group of students from five American and Canadian universities, Israel Peace Week seeks to inform college students about Israel's democratic character and efforts at forging peace with its neighbors. Israel Peace Week also strives to highlight the multicultural, multiethnic and multi−religious aspects of Israeli society to students who may otherwise only associate Israel with the turmoil of the region or who may never even think about Israel at all. More than 20 different campuses successfully executed the campaign last year and, one year later, 50 campuses nationwide have adopted the educational initiative — including Tufts University.
Israel Peace Week is here to exemplify how this young country — 62 years of age and slightly smaller than the state of New Jersey — is a thriving democracy in pursuit of peace. In order to specialize Israel Peace Week for Tufts, Friends of Israel (FOI) explored the myriad democratic elements of Israeli politics and culture, selecting those felt to be most integral for surrounding countries of the Middle East to adopt today. The events this week are meant to demonstrate to the student body that Israel upholds the values of a pluralistic society and spearheads human rights campaigns in the Middle East. FOI furthermore hopes to present the many voices that exist within Israeli society in order to ensure that they are fairly represented.
Israel Peace Week's kick−off program, "The Many Faces of Israel: Ethiopian−Israelis Speak Out" brought three Ethiopian−Israelis to share their personal stories of exodus to Israel and integration into Israeli society. Despite its size, Israel has the highest absorption rate of African refugees in the Middle East and offers them citizenship, voting rights, land−ownership rights and subsidized housing and education, in addition to other basic civil rights.
The Israeli government mounted Operation Moses and Operation Solomon in 1984 and 1991, respectively, to rescue Ethiopian Jews from civil war and famine and to bring them to Israel. Subsequently, many Ethiopian Jews — now Ethiopian−Israelis — trekked across Ethiopia and Sudan, seeking refuge in the Jewish homeland. The Ethiopian−Israelis who came to Tufts spoke about their own narratives, touching upon integration into an entirely unfamiliar society and Israel's efforts towards providing its citizens with equal opportunities. Israel, like most other democratic countries — including the United States — still has challenges to overcome in terms of full integration of all citizens. But the speakers shared how — through the rights of minorities in Israel — they were able to overcome lingual, cultural and societal hurdles to become university students like us.
Tonight, Israel Peace Week presents "Israeli Democracy in the Middle East," with a lecture by the esteemed Dr. Jonathan Adelman, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and the doctoral dissertation advisor to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Dr. Adelman, a professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, will provide his perspective on Israel's role in the Middle East, the intricacies of Israel's democracy and its pursuit of human rights. His lecture will serve as an intellectual and academic opportunity for Tufts students to familiarize themselves with the diverse facets of Israeli government — especially its democratic character.
FOI considers it vital to educate students on Israel's history of compounded commitment to peace. Dr. Adelman will highlight the significant and often painful concessions — both successful and unsuccessful — that Israel has made in the hopes of lasting peace. From Israel's acceptance of the United Nations' declaration of "one Jewish and one Arab state" in 1948 to its peace treaty with Egypt in 1979 to more recent history, such as the peace accords and Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, FOI is committed to providing the Tufts community with an honest and complex representation of Israel. FOI hopes Dr. Adelman's presentation will engage students and inspire them to ask questions about the manner in which Israel's democracy and peace efforts operate in the context of the Middle East.
Lastly, FOI invites the Tufts community to delve into the complicated love story of Palestinian Ashraf and Israeli Noam in the popular Israeli movie "The Bubble" (2006). The film highlights Israel's flourishing and state−protected gay scene. For example, the movie displays Israel's full inclusion of openly gay soldiers in the Israeli Defense Forces — an action that has yet to be fully implemented in the United States Armed Forces today. The movie also serves to demonstrate grassroots activity in Israel toward coexistence with Palestinians and towards Palestinian rights. "The Bubble" captures the human aspect of the difficult realities of Israeli society as Ashraf, Noam and their friends are faced with questions of identity and loyalty.
FOI encourages the student body to partake in Israel Peace Week, ask questions and ultimately gain a better understanding of Israel.
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May Igawa is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. She is secretary of Friends of Israel. Natalie Milstein is a sophomore majoring in Middle Eastern studies. She is vice president of Friends of Israel.
